Welcome to my December Newsletter. It has been one year since I was elected to serve as your Member of Parliament for Luton South and it has certainly been an eventful year. The idea that we would be facing a global Pandemic that would lead to the deaths of tens of thousands and completely alter the way we live our lives was inconceivable. We have all had to quickly adapt to new ways of living and working, myself included.
Over the past year, I have received over 11,000 emails from constituents covering a diverse range of subjects. To help you understand the range of subjects you contact me about I have included the three most common topics below:
- Covid-19: whether it was for help understanding the public health advice or to enquire about the economic support available, coronavirus queries have been the biggest issue this year, unsurprisingly.
- Palestine Annexation: many constituents were concerned by the Israeli government’s proposed annexation of Palestine territories.
- Reopening of zoos: Towards the end of the first lockdown, many constituents contacted me to ask the government to allow Whipsnade Zoo to open as soon as possible.
I hope that gives you a flavour of the variety of topics that constituents contact me about. It has been an extremely busy year and next year, I will continue to ensure that me and the team support you.
In my first year representing you in Parliament I have:
- spoken in 92 debates
- asked 131 questions
- signed 72 Early Day Motions (EDMs)
- sat on two Parliamentary select committees,
- led two debates, and
- presented 1 petition.
It is my duty to hold the government to account on your behalf, but too often I find that the government just doesn’t seem to understand the impact of their decisions on most people's lives. I will continue to stand up for Luton South in Parliament in 2021, ensuring your voices are heard in Westminster.
It has been a difficult year for us all and Christmas will be very different for many of us not being able to see friends and family. While the vaccine will hopefully allow us to return to some form of normality in 2021, please stay vigilant as the virus will be with us for quite some time yet.
May I wish you all a happy and safe Christmas and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year.