AS news of the terrible death of MP Jo Cox spread through Westminster a week last Thursday afternoon the sense of shock was palpable.
The idea that another MP could be murdered, out of the blue, in broad daylight, while carrying out her customary constituency duties seemed hardly credible.
While every MP’s thoughts immediately turned to her husband, her young children, her friends and staff, inevitably the tragedy also started a debate about the safety of our elected representatives.
And at the heart of that debate is the long-held principle that MPs are easily accessible to their constituents – just as Jo Cox was last Thursday.
It is one of the great strengths of our system of parliamentary democracy that every MP represents a geographical area to which he or she is accountable to.
It is a system that is widely admired around the world. William Hague once told me a story when he was Foreign Secretary and attending an important overseas summit meeting with Hilary Clinton, then Secretary of State (the US equivalent of Foreign Secretary). When he told her he had to leave the summit to get back for his surgery in Richmond, she was amazed – but also very impressed.
It’s the same for every MP. Whatever weighty matters we might be dealing with in Westminster, we always have to remember the needs of the people back home who elected us.
That means we have to have regular and meaningful contact. The regular surgeries I and other MPs hold are just one way of maintaining that relationship and assisting those who need our help.
I also try to spend as much time as I can at local events where I can meet lots of constituents – like the two village fetes, the festival and the 10k event I wrote about in last week’s column.
At those four events held over a two-day period I had the opportunity to talk informally to scores of constituents. They bent my ear about all sorts of things – not just Europe – and that’s incredibly valuable to an MP. It’s direct, immediate feedback about what local people are thinking and feeling.
So while I understand some people’s fears about MPs’ security in the wake of Jo’s death, I would resist anything that would interfere significantly with your ability to talk to me about whatever is concerning you.
I was glad to participate in the special session of Parliament to remember Jo on Monday. It was very moving to see everyone wearing the white rose as we paid tribute to the life and commitment of a true Yorkshire lass.
I received plenty of good advice and views from constituents at last Friday’s Friendship Lunch at the Black Bull Inn, Moulton, near Richmond.
The Friendship Lunch was the idea of Sasha Ibbotson, of the Durham Ox, Crayke, as a way of combating loneliness among people in rural areas. Elderly people in the local community are invited to attend the monthly lunches to enjoy a good meal and meet new friends.
Sasha launched them at the Ox and now they are held in all the Provenance Inns pubs in North Yorkshire run by her husband Michael.
Loneliness is a real problem in rural areas, particularly among the elderly, and I think these lunches are a very good idea. I applaud the Ibbotsons for their initiative.