Swindon Advertiser Weekly Article - 31st October

This week in Parliament, MPs were given the opportunity to enrich democracy and enhance their accountability to their electorate. I am referring to the Recall Bill and the amendments that were put forward which saw a free vote on whether to implement ‘Real Recall.’

The recall of MPs Bill would see voters given the power to recall MPs in-between elections. An MP would face a by-election if 10% of the electorate were to sign a petition that outlined a legitimate reason as to why their local representative needed to be brought towards the electorate. Whilst the ballot box still acts as the ultimate tool of accountability, Recall is important to ensure that MPs remain engaged with their constituency and voters throughout the Parliament. 

I was very open-minded about the debate and considered the many residents who had gotten in touch with me over the past few weeks when it came to the vote. Whilst the ‘Real Recall’ amendments were not perfect, I felt it was an important milestone in helping to restore trust in politics after being so badly damaged by the disgraceful expenses scandal.

What often concerns me is those MPs who lose interest, whether through outside interests or frankly are in a sulk about their own political progress. This is unacceptable. As MPs, we have a duty to be active, which includes voting and speaking in Parliament. If you failed to turn up in any other working environment, you’d be fired and rightly so.

I take my role as an elected representative very seriously. As a fellow local resident, I am extremely proud to have been selected by the people of North Swindon. This is what drives me to continue to work hard to represent residents. That’s why I have one of the highest voting and speaking records in Parliament. I also believe that collectively, as MPs, we have a crucial role to play in restoring faith in our political system. Recall would play a key part in this process.

Elsewhere I was very pleased that I got a chance to speak during the debate on domestic violence. In Swindon, between April 2012 and March 2013, there were 2,459 confirmed cases of domestic abuse. But that is only estimated to be a small part of the real total - a figure which is hard to grasp because of the number of people that suffer in silence. Having visited the Swindon Women’s refuge and supported the National Women’s Aid, as well as launching the ‘Football United Against Domestic Violence’ campaign in Parliament; I was keen to speak on this issue and champion the work that has been done - predominantly by volunteers in our community - to help tackle this distressing issue.