Westminster Report

BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.

I HAVE started doing regular visits of each of the Wards within our constituency and kicked off with Belfairs Ward thanks to my host Coun Stephen Aylen.

During our time I visited several businesses as well as the Belfairs Park and Nature Reserve.  It was great to meet so many residents and businesspeople. More Ward visits are coming over the next month.

We have had to deliver some tough messages recently, in advance of this autumn’s budget.

We need to be honest with the public about the economic outlook we have inherited and how we need to do things differently. Hard choices must be made.

I understand fears over cuts to winter fuel payments, but I want to make clear that not everyone will lose out.

Those who need it most will continue to get it and that is everybody who receives Pension Credit. If you are a pensioner with a low income, please make sure that you check if you are eligible: you can apply online or call 0800 99 1234 to find out.

We are committed to supporting pensioners with a range of measures including the triple lock, our Warm Homes Plan and by improving health care. We will not shy away from making hard decisions if they are right for the country in the longer term, as the Prime Minister has outlined.

There was plenty to celebrate when I visited South Essex College on GCSE day. Students there should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved. It’s a testament to their fantastic teachers. Young people deserve an enormous amount of credit for their success in the face of the huge disruption of recent years.

I have also paid a visit to Southend Hospital with my colleague Bayo Alaba, Labour’s Southend East and Rochford MP. We held an introductory meeting with the NHS leadership team at Southend University Hospital including the CEO Matthew Hopkins, followed by a tour of the building.

We discussed how we as MP’s can work in partnership with the organisation and were shown around, including a walkthrough of the updated Stambridge Ward and of the new LINAC bunker.

Getting NHS wait times down is a big priority for this government. So, it was really good to get a sense of the challenges and pressures at play, and of how we as MPs can offer support and work proactively. Bayo Alaba and I agreed it was fantastic to meet the top team and discuss their plans moving forward.

Next, a plea to everyone to hand in any zombie style knives or machetes ahead of next month’s ban. There is an amnesty running now until September 23^rd when it will be against the law to own one. So, get rid of them now and you might be entitled to compensation if you surrender these weapons to police stations.

The police have said that this is an opportunity for people to hand over any weapons they might have.

I believe the amnesty is an important step and I encourage anyone who owns a weapon to get rid of it. We need to get these dangerous blades off the streets. Knife crime ruins lives for all those affected. Do the right thing and hand in any weapons today.

The weather has been fine for most of the Bank Holiday and we have seen visitors flocking to this fabulous resort to enjoy our seaside. I would like to thank all those who work so hard to keep us safe in the water. Many volunteers give their time and expertise to running our lifeboat stations and I met some of them when passing Chalkwell Lifeguard station.

I enjoyed speaking to Yvonne and Jeremy Wilkes there. He is a lifeguard and demonstrated his swimming prowess by taking to the water, despite the strong winds and Yvonne brought out her pair of binoculars.

As an observer, she uses them to scour the sea looking for incidents. My thanks to both of them and all their colleagues, including Tony who co-ordinates the running of the centre. They all do marvellous work keeping the station running and maintaining the memorial to Sir David Amess.

We are now at the end of the summer holidays and next week parliament resumes in Westminster. The Labour Party is taking the opportunity to press forward on its legislative programme before the Party Conference season. There is a lot of work to do and do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you think I can help you in any way.

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