There is no “template” on how to be an MP. However by being involved in the community you learn what is and isn’t working and can use that knowledge to influence decisions being taken nationally. There are many volunteer support groups that exist which compliment Government support to the most vulnerable: over the last week I met three of them.
Volunteers in a Billingshurst “pop-up shop” were advertising the services of the West Sussex Credit Union. The WSCU provides ethical, community banking services at a fraction of the cost of doorstep lenders. Their savings and emergency lending schemes make them a valuable service to many.
No one wants to think a Food Bank is needed in Horsham, no one wants to have to use it, but its services, as I learned, are a vital help to those in desperate need. The same day I met with the Ark. I am a huge admirer of their work. It would be a tragedy to loose a service that means so much to those it helps: as I write I know talks are ongoing with HDC and other potential local partners.
Working on the ground and understanding the many varied local initiatives, I believe can help deliver better results in Westminster. One positive reform currently being introduced nationally is “Universal Credit”. It reduces what was huge complexity in the benefits system and should make easier the path from benefits into work. I hope it will prove effective and popular. However if there are initial problems with the system locally I know I will hear direct very swiftly from those effected but I trust that by having relationships with many of the excellent groups in Horsham working with the vulnerable, I will be pick up on any similar issues from multiple sources: ensuring on a practical level that the Government and Parliament know how policy is actually working on the ground. I believe this is a critical way an MP can help deliver for constituents.