There is no formal training involved when you become an MP. I was elected on a Friday and told to turn up at the House of Commons in three days’ time at 8am. We were given a laptop, a rucksack, and a locker to put our coat in. My first office was a shared office with up to 20 other MPs in and we were given a budget, then told to find a constituency office, staff, and do all the admin ourselves. Very daunting, but the point I am trying to make is that over 100 of us turned up for our first day of work and hardly any of us knew what to expect, but we muddled through and eventually you find your feet and get stuck into the role.
I think we all come into this job for the right reasons.
What we weren’t prepared for was level of attention we were now receiving from the media and the public and that is something that can be quite overwhelming. Overnight we had gone from being local candidates in General Election to becoming MPs in the public spotlight. And with that came more abuse, vile threats through social media and disgusting emails which is something that I have learnt to live with - which is a sad thing to admit.
I was out on the streets delivering leaflets and talking to residents when I heard the terrible news that my colleague Sir David Amess MP had been brutally murdered. I just stood in silence alone as I did not really know what to do. After a short while I got in my car and went home and thought to myself here is a colleague whom I had spoken to just a few weeks earlier, who has just been murdered whilst doing his job. I felt sick at the time, then extremely sad, and now the anger is burning through.
Sir David was a kind, decent, gentle, warm, and funny human being who had dedicated most of his adult life to public service and it is important to remember that we come into this job to try and make our communities and our country a better place to live, work and raise our families.
David’s death is tragic, and questions are being asked about how MPs interact with the public. However we must remember that we are public servants, and the ability to being able to communicate face to face with constituents is a vital part of the job and a vital part of our democracy. Therefore, I will continue to meet residents from my community, but obviously I am always mindful of my own safety but more importantly the safety of my staff.
It is impossible to eliminate all the risks involved in a public facing role, but we must all be vigilant and mindful that there are people out there who will kill to try and disrupt our way of life. We must never let these people win and the day I have to stop meeting my residents is the day I stop doing a job I love.
Hope that helps you understand a little bit better about how things are.
Today we will all be thinking of Sir David's family.
