Westminster Report

BY Southend West MP Anna Firth.

MANY of you will have turned out to vote in the recent local elections. I want to say thank you to everyone who used their important democratic right and took part in the process.

Ahead of polling day, my team and I joined our hard-working Councillors to get around as many wards as possible and to meet as many of you as we could. As always it was a pleasure to hear from everyone and receive some really useful feedback.

Speaking as a Conservative I was disappointed by the final polling results, but despite Labour making gains, they failed to unseat us in some of their key target wards.

If you look at the overall results, the Conservative vote across the City has proved to be robust, and it was particularly gratifying that we gained a seat in Shoeburyness.

We have listened to the voters and will be working doubly hard to unleash our City’s potential and make Southend and Leigh safer, healthier and wealthier for all.

Safer: Keeping our children safe online has quite rightly been in the headlines lately, and I’ve been determined to support the Government’s Online Safety Bill.

In late April I was delighted to be asked to take part in The Westborough School’s Online Safety Assembly alongside presenters from Google.

The ‘Be Internet Legends’ programme is designed to help 7-11 year-old pupils become safer and more confident explorers of the online world.

The assembly covered the five main aspects of internet learning that support a child’s media literacy: staying Sharp about what you’re sharing online, being Alert to scams and misinformation, using tools to keep your devices Secure, being Kind with others online, and being Brave by talking to trusted adults about problems.

I stressed how important it is to keep bedrooms screen free and leave phones switched off in a drawer somewhere away from beds.

I explained that this is key to a good night’s sleep, which is essential for good mental and physical health, and will help keep them safe from cyber-bullying or being targeted by horrible people who might want to do them harm.

It’s a good habit to get into whatever age you are!

Healthier: As you know, I’ve now convened four ‘clean water’ summits where local people and business owners have had the chance to closely question the bosses from Anglian Water. It’s a constructive way for everyone to engage properly and I’m pleased to say it’s already delivering results for Southend.

On Tuesday 30 April, Anglian Water published its ‘Love Every Drop’ live storm overflow map.

https://www.anglianwater.co.uk/…/sto…/storm-overflow-map.

Having had early sight of the live map, I am pleased that Anglian Water took my feedback on board and have ensured the map is easy to navigate and will give local residents as clear a picture on what is happening with Southend’s storm overflows as possible.

It enables people to get ‘real time’ updates on the quality of the sea water, vital for those who enjoy swimming, sailing and using our beautiful beaches.

Pushing for this map to be published as soon as possible was one of my top priorities and I welcome this new level of transparency from Anglian Water.

We still have a lot of work to do on water quality locally, but we are making great strides. I will continue to hold Anglian Water’s feet to the fire to ensure they keep their promises to local residents and deliver the further improvements we need.

And finally, on Saturday 18 May, I’m going to be donning a Superwoman outfit and lowering myself over the side of the 154ft tower at Southend Hospital to raise money for the Spotlight Radiotherapy Appeal.

I first tackled the abseil challenge in 2022, dressed as Wonder Woman, and I was delighted to raise over £2,100. Despite being terrified of heights I can’t wait to do it again!

Please do sponsor me if you can – here’s the link to my Just Giving page: justgiving.com/page/anna-firth-charity-abseil-2024.

Wealthier: When the House of Commons had the long awaited second reading of the Football Governance Bill, I was truly delighted to speak in the debate on behalf of Southend United and all its fans.

Our local football club means a great deal to Southend and is a great source of social capital.  Research from Liverpool University shows that professional football clubs not only generate income for their towns, but they also promote civic pride, public attention and feelings of identity.

As often happens in Parliament, the time MPs are allowed to contribute to proceedings gets shortened considerably as time goes on, so the full version of my speech is available to read on my website: annafirth.org.uk/Football-Governance-Bill-Speech.

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