MP’s surgeries

MP murdered while holding a surgery

A key part of our democracy is the ability of individuals to make contact with their member of parliament and this is usually done in a surgery which can be in a number of settings. People sometimes forget that the system has improved in recent times and the days when MPs were seldom seen in their constituencies has long gone. The great majority of MPs have regular meetings in their constituencies with organisations of varying kinds as well as with individual constituents.

The recent murder of Sir David Amess was a huge shock. The Salisbury group has only recently met our MP, Mr John Glen, to express our concerns – along with over a hundred other organisations – about a series of bills currently before parliament which we believe will seriously inhibit our human rights. The chair of our group wrote a letter to the Salisbury Journal published on 21 October 2021 thus:

Following the tragic death of Sir David Amess last week, I am writing to say how much we value the tradition of MPs’ surgeries.

My group had a meeting with John Glen earlier this month, where we were able to exchange views on current [proposed] legislation in a respectful way; while we had our disagreements, we took note of each other’s views and departed amicably. It is vital that this kind of relationship continues between us and our representatives, and it would be a sad day indeed if restrictions on this process were deemed necessary.

We would urge parliament and the government to do everything they can to keep local surgeries going even with whatever enhanced security may be appropriate to protect the lives of our elected MPs

Andrew Hemming, Chair, Salisbury Amnesty International