James Duddridge's Southend Standard column: Friday 18th October 2019.
"I have been the Member of Parliament for Rochford and Southend East since 2005. In that time, I have helped constituents with more than 48,000 separate cases – 6,120 of which have been dealt with in the last 12 months alone.
Residents sharing their views or concerns with me is an important part of my job. It helps me better represent them in Parliament and highlight certain issues that local people feel very strongly about.
A recent example of this has been on the topic of crime and policing. From speaking to residents on the doorstep, at my advice surgeries or just looking at my inbox, constituents wanted me to ensure our police had the tools and resources they needed to keep the streets of Southend and Rochford safe.
This feedback supported me and fellow Essex MPs through our extensive lobbying efforts, and I am delighted that following that, Essex will be receiving an extra 135 officers next year. These additional officers come on top of the 365 currently being recruited – putting the force well on track to reach its recruitment target of 3,218 officers by April 2020.
This is a fantastic result, and to help me to continue to campaign on the issues that matter to you, I have created a new feedback website which allows constituents to share their priorities – both locally and nationally – directly with me.
I have already been inundated with responses, so thank you to everyone who has taken part already. As you can imagine, delivering Brexit ranks high on the list, but so do other important issues such as the National Health Service, animal welfare, the environment and ensuring we have a fair yet robust immigration system.
If you live in Rochford and Southend East and want to take part, you can do so by simply visiting telljames.co.uk. Or, if you’d prefer to do it by writing, you can always pen a letter to me and post it to the Houses of Parliament, London, SW1A 0AA.
I look forward to reading your views soon."
