A friend asked me recently why I sometimes comment publicly on foreign affairs.
I was initially a bit surprised at the question as it seemed to imply that I should limit myself to Stroud, and maybe, as a GP, medicine, as those are my most obvious areas of interest. However, I felt that I should give the question a bit of thought.
The first thing to say is that it is simply the right thing to do. We cannot let ourselves become desensitised to worldwide injustices just because we see or hear about them every day. As an MP, I’m in an incredibly privileged position to be able to amplify the voices and stories of those who are marginalised in the constituency as well as across the world.
The Stroud constituency overwhelmingly dominates the work that my team and I do. We have hundreds of contacts with constituents every week, helping them in all sorts of ways, or pointing them in the right direction for the support they need. My focus is on delivering improvements for people across the Stroud District, and an MP’s role involves working on national policy as well as local detail – housing, health, education, transport, the environment and so on. The government sets the framework and we want the government to get it right.
Secondly, of course, and I think that Stroud people do this more than most, we get hundreds of emails every week asking us to represent constituents’ views about world affairs. People here care deeply about what happens in many countries, especially where they perceive injustice. Not only do these concerns sometimes mean taking a more moral position, but they also effectively hold up a mirror to ourselves, and who we are. As an MP, it is part of my job to respond to that – to reflect those values and concerns in the work I do.
Thirdly, and this again is quite a Stroud thing, our businesses, education and communities are linked at every level with others across the world. It matters economically and socially what happens in other countries, so we have to take a view.
As an elected MP I have a voice which most people do not, and it’s right that I should use it. The range of issues that come up in Parliament, or as a result of my position, require me to do what I think is best on behalf of my constituents and the country. My role is to listen to the Stroud District, and then to represent the Stroud District, and that’s what I try to do.
