What do our MP's do for us?
 

In another thread I was going to ask the question but deceide it should be in its own thread.

What do MP's actually do for their constituents and their constituency's or what we expect them to do?

What has Greg Pope done for us?

To be honest I am not sure what we expect our MP's to do for us. I am still thinking about it (yes I know it could take some time :p)

Maybe you lot could make some suggestions.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Politicians do for us what makes them think they will look like they are doing something for us, when they aim to get away with the bare minimum!

;)

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

There are lots of threads on here which suggest what mp's should/could be doing for us, several are about parking for example, the condition of the roads, the town centre, and on, and on, havnt seen much in the way of change in any particular area though, maybe someone will correct me if I am wrong!

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MP's make us make stupid threads on accyweb about them....thats what they do :D

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MPs do not do what their community - the people that voted them in, want them to do. They only follow the Perty Whip who dictates what the party want - Representation of the People? - I don't think so.

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Actually when you think about it there are no improvements that spring to mind when you ask what Greg Pope has done for us. We have lost a hell of a lot of factory jobs due to closure whilst he has been in office. And we can't say the state of the towns in the borough has seen any improvement really. All in all can't find much to write home about myself.
On the other hand he did help my son get a problem sorted very quickly. But is getting niggling problems for constituents sorted really enough?

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I was just thinking that Bernie, I dont recall asking for anything from an MP personally, so is that the problem? we dont personally request enough from them! I did assume that they would naturally want to look after thier constituents though! errrrrm ASS/U/ME!

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

I've always been lucky with my MPs, when I've needed to contact them.

Ken Hargreaves helped me get back some money Derek Hatton's loony left Liverpool Council owed me in the '80s.

George Galloway helped me fight Glasgow City Council's reluctance to embrace an equality issue, earlier this decade.

Recently Greg Pope helped retrieve money from a cowboy parking firm. He also let me tell him my thoughts before a free vote on embryoinic stem cell research, and offered to discuss the matter further, and informed me why he'd voted why he had.

The sixteen years I lived in London I had no need to contact my MP.

So for me my MP is someone to add their weight when fighting for something, when you've not got anywhere by yourself.

They are also someone who you can lobby, to give them your view before a vote which might become law.

Like I say, I've always felt I've received first class service from them.

I hope I can still say the same thing in the future, when we get a new MP representing Hyndburn.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

If you make a complaint to an MP he/she will have one of his assistants pass that complaint - with an accompanying letter to the relevant Ministerial Office from where it will be passed to the relevant department/agency. They do not follow the wishes of their constituents, only Party policies.

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Well three times that hasn't happened to me, with three different MPs, from two different parties.

Perhaps I just ask for help more effectively.;)

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Your examples are all good and well G but how as a borough have we progressed whilst Greg has been our MP? Not only have we lost a hell of a lot of manufacturing jobs but shops are closing left, right and centre and the nightlife in Accrington has all but gone now. Could Greg not have done anything to avoid the deterioration of the borough? Maybe by implementing lower business rates?
It appears to me that not a lot has been done at grass roots level!!

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

It's in MP's interest to fight for their constituents, especially when it comes to jobs, but their power is somewhat limited when you're talking about vast multi-national companies.

Twice the help I received was for a small fry personal problem, but when George Galloway's help was sought to fight a legal issue, he gave us his full support and help, and we ultimately won.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

I have never needed to ask for help from the very many MPs that have represented me - probably over 15 different ones around the country.
I do not argue politics - told some 50 years ago or so by my Father, 3 things never to argue about, Religion - we are all entitled to our own beliefs, Politics - Democracy is freedom of choice and expression for all, and Football - if they don't support Man Utd they don't know anything about football.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

I think I sort of answered part of your question, at the same time as I posted.:p

Their power is somewhat limited when it comes to saving jobs, or attracting new ones to their constituiencies.

You can't really blame one MP for the loss of manufacturing jobs. That's a much more historic, and global problem. Mainly fuelled by our own desires for cheaper and cheaper products ourselves.

On that score I feel the local council has more of an active role to play, in ensuring attractive business rates, good town planning, affodable homes, and a qualified workforce etc.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

This is what's known on Accy Web as a political thread.;)

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

They have done the opposite Garinda, expensive business rates, poor town planning and though actually affordable, poor housing in a lot of cases.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Hyndburn has changed in the last thirty odd years.

It might no longer be seen as a industrial/manufacturing area, though unemployment in Hyndburn is less than it was in the late seventies.

Those in work are ensured of a minimum wage, something that didn't happen in the past.

Also those not in work certainly have a higher standard of living than thirty years ago.

State of the art televisions, telephones, washing machines etc., are now seen as a nesessity now, not the luxury items they were thirty years ago.

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That's down to successive borough councils, and isn't really anything to do with a Member of Parliament though.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

derek is that not down to local politics?
OK, I know that government allocate monies, and we may feel that we do not get enough of those monies, but then however much was given we would still spend it.
I think that the local council has made some poor decisions when it comes to spending money to improve the town centre.......you only have to look at the farce that is Broadway to realise that....all that money on a substandard project that has lasted no time at all.........it is breaking up all over the place.

The Roads and the state of them is down to LCC.....and I suppose that our MP has little control over what they do with their allocated money.

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I would have thought they could be heard in the right places to change things though, and should make lots of noise imo.

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You're totally right.

Governments dicate policy, but is borough/city councils who make all the important local issues, and some of the decisions we're living with here in Hyndburn have been howlingly bad.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Sadly a MP has no say at all about moving the market, and 'revamping' Broadway, at a cost of nearly a million pounds, or the waste of a £700,000 grant from central government, for the now defunct community website, or the decision to allow a town centre Tesco, which many traders will be the death knell for their businesses.

All those decisions are down to local councillors.

Bless 'em.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

My thoughts exactly, to me it is a cop out to say he couldn't influence things if he really wanted to:rolleyes:

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...and it was the local council who decided to sell off all the social housing in the borough. A decission nothing a MP can do anything about.

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Seems to me we pay them for not a lot, I wasn't aware they had no influence (or say in things) locally, that is I think, very sad, and needs to change, mainly because it appears that councillors either get things very wrong, very often, or they themselves actually dont have much clout/make enough noise.

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Give an example of where he could have lobbied locally?

For example as far as I know Hilden's no longer manufacture at Ossy Mills, which they have for decades, if not centuries. How could an MP fight to prevent the loss of textile jobs, when as a company they are facing competition from abroad, because of our desire for cheaper goods?

The company will make the best decision for themselves, which in this case is to carry on locally, but in Blackburn.

(I'm sure the birthday girl will correct me, if the major details are incorrect.):D

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

You have a point.

I think we expect a more greater degree of professionalism of MPs...hopefully, than we do of our councillors.

They decide our laws, and if we are going to go off an fight a war etc, but locally our councils have much more impact on our day to day lives, now and in the future, yet many people don't really care if we have a bunch of numskulls in charge of a massive multi-million budget...raised from our council taxes.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Come to think of it, what did those Romans ever do for us?

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Many of us, myself included, are guilty of the same thing then, apathy and ignorance, dont suppose it will change anytime soon either, thank you for clearing a couple of things up Garinda. :D

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So at the moment it looks like the only use for an MP is to help us out with personal problems.

If they don't do anything for us then why do we need them?

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You mention Hildens G but what about Rist Wires, TML(as was), the brick yard, Joseph Arnolds to name but a few. Surely we could have competed with wherever they have relocated on business rates and then maybe just maybe we could have saved some of the jobs. I don't know a lot about politics but surely some of these jobs could have been kept in the borough. And with the loss of all those jobs are we being told that unemployment is not as high as in the seventies? I find that very hard to believe

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I think we have to expect more from our local councillors on the local issues.......and G is right about the big mistakes made with our money....that have brought in absolutely no benefits.
MP's are elected with some hope that they will influence local issues, but in reality that isn't going to happen because their hands are tied....and making a noise about unemployment would not have helped at all.......the large companies who employ people will not stay open just to employ local people if it isn't a viable financial situation...they are in business to make a profit, not as a philanthropic venture....and if the work force is cheaper elsewhere then they are going to move to where costs are cheaper.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Take a look at this website

It shows what Greg has voted for in the past, committees that he sits on and which early day motions he has tabled.

Greg Pope MP, Hyndburn (TheyWorkForYou.com)

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Bernie, the business rates are set by local government...so if they were one of the factors in these places closing down then it is due to local politics rather than national politics.

There has been a shrinking of the building industry.....fewer houses being built, so if fewer houses are built,then fewer bricks are sold.........

Rists(TML) were dependent on the manufacture of cars, and that market has been shrinking for a while......I'm thinking that a lot of their business was lost with the demise of Rover....and it has really got a lot worse recently........the governemnt could subsidise motor manufacturing using the tax payers money......but then if cars are not selling, what would be the point?
There has to be a chance to recoup the money.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Admittedly we do have a strange political voting system in this country.

In a General Election how do you decide who to vote for?

Personality or party, or like most of us a mixture of the two, and vote for who you think is the more able candidate, and a party whose manifesto you most agree with.

Personally I think there's a strong argument for proportional representation.

Scrap having local MPs, we already have enough local politicans at borough and county level, and purely vote for the party you'd like to see form the next government.

Highly unlikely to happen of course, even though it works perfectly well in many other parts of the world, because our two main political parties fear their power would become diluted.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Again I think you're right.

I'm sure both MPs with Vauxhall plants in their areas are doing everything they can to hopefully ensure that each factory remains open, but ultimately that decision will be a matter of global economic concerns, and will lay in the hands of the new Canadian owners, and not with two local MPs.

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I can only find actual historical unemployment figures for Hyndburn in census years.

In 1981 there was 3,694 people of working age in the borough unemployed.

In 2001, the last year we had a census, the figure had fallen to 1,432.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

You can bet the number has risen quite dramatically since 2001. I would be very surprised if it hasn't.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Have a look at this http://www.hyndburnbc.gov.uk/downloa...arch_09_1_.pdf

As suspected the worse area for unemployment is Church

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

I'm not saying it's good, but at a current figure of 1,753 it's still a lot less than when unemployment peaked in 1979, when Hyndburn still had many of the traditional manufacturing industries.

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Found this reported by Hansard in 1984.

Ken Hargreaves fighting for Accy Vic, and losing.

'When I said in July that the hospital was under attack, I did not expect the enemy to advance so quickly. We have had, after all, written guarantees from the Minister for Health, confirmed on 21 November by the Under-Secretary of State, that there would be no fundamental changes at Accrington Victoria without reference to Ministers. Guarantees were given that, while it was proposed to remove the 15 paediatric beds from the hospital to Queen's Park hospital, Blackburn, that would happen only when phase 1 at Queen's Park hospital was commissioned, and even then only after full local consultation had taken place. Imagine our surprise and dismay, therefore, when, only two months after the last letter was sent, the children's ward at Accrington Victoria was closed without any consultation with the community health council, the unions or the members of the district health authority. In comparison with that latest letter, setting out the assurances that the services at Victoria would remain, Neville Chamberlain's piece of paper seems positively meaningful'

Accrington Victoria Hospital (Hansard, 2 March 1984)

Sometimes no matter how hard a fight a MP puts up, their actual power is ultimately limited.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

The more I think about it the more proportional representation seems fairer, and more democratic, than the first past the post system we currently have.

Of course the two main parties who form our governments, and who would be able to change the system, won't, because they'd likely lose seats.

I'm sure many more people would vote if they knew their vote counted, rather than the current system, were votes cast for the party who didn't win a costituency count for nothing.

I'm sure both major parties would lose out to the Lib Dems, as well as other parties across the political spectrum, who many people think have attractive ideas and policies, but don't vote for them because they feel it is a waste in many cases, because they don't have a chance of winning a constituent seat.

My conclusion.

Scrap constituency MPs, who lets face it have very little actual local power, and have proportional representation, and whilst we're at it scrap the House of Brown nosing toadies, and have an elected second chamber.

Job's a good un.:)

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Sorry G but I just can't get my head round the figures being so low when we have lost most of the big companies. The population alone has increased dramatically since then so things just don't add up IMHO.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

It does seem strange when you think of all the traditional companies we've lost that employed hundreds, but although the figures can be massaged for political advantage, such as on long term sickness benefit, rather than employed etc, this also happened in the late seventies/eighties, with all the job 'training' schemes to hide the true unemployment figure.

You can't argue with the facts, no matter how hard they are to swallow.

Although much of the traditional textile/engineerring firms have gone, just think how many more industrial parks there are now locally, compared wqith thirty years ago.

That might be one answer, plus the fact a lot more people commute outside the borough to work.

Either that or there are thousands and thousands working in the Globe Centre, flogging hols on the blower.:D

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These figures don't surprise me in the least, it just makes me very suspicious of the figures Garinda quoted. Obviously there are different angles of looking at things but with all the major employers that have left the area I know which figures make more sense to me. Suppose it is just how the figures are wrapped up.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Basic information unemployment graph, in census years.
Hyndburn Lancashire through time | Work and Poverty Statistics | Census Unemployment by Sex

Male unemployment graph 1931 - 2001, although that doesn't show the many traditional textile jobs done by women in the area.
Hyndburn Lancashire through time | Historical Statistics on Work and Poverty for the District/Unitary Authority | Rate: Male Unemployment

Decline in manufacturing jobs 1841 - 2001.
Hyndburn Lancashire through time | Historical Statistics on Industry for the District/Unitary Authority | Rate: Manufacturing

Rise in service industry jobs in the area, for the same period. Note the massive rise from the mid seventies until present day.
Hyndburn Lancashire through time | Historical Statistics on Industry for the District/Unitary Authority | Rate: Services

Some historical information is hard to come by, as the borough in it's present form, with changed boundaries, didn't come into existence until 1974.

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

Therefore, according to all the facts and figures, Hyndburn has less unemployment now than we did in the last two recessions of the late seventies/eighties, and the one in 1992/3.

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This is a very interesting thread, there are two types of MP there is a constituency MP and here is a Government MP Greg has been a constituency MP save the time he spent in the whips office early on. Ken Hargreaves was always a constituency MP because he only had an interest in working for the people of Hyndburn.

An MP can do very little, if say a firm like Rist's want to close a factory, they can talk to the management but at the end of the day it is they who make the final decision.

I don't have much idea how Greg worked for the community, I can only say that over his stint at Westminster I have contacted him on quite a few occasions and always received a full detailed reply, which is what I would expect from my MP.

I had more of an insight into the work carried out by Ken as I was involved. I often smile when I hear critics attacking the long holidays that MPs get, they may not be in Parliament, but they sure as hell ain't st on a beach soaking up the rays either. Ken had just the normal 2 weeks like everybody else, but the rest of the time he was working in the community as I'm sure Greg has done too. although Ken was in a different position than Greg,(he was single) Ken also worked every weekend as well often meeting people at his own home, or if need be making home visits. I would say that unless you have actually had the need of help from your representative at Westminster you are very unlikely to appreciate just what their contribution is to the local community

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

That's an excellent post Jaysay and conveys exactly what I was thinking. Obviously, I don't know Ken but I am aware of his standing in the community and the respect that people of all parties still have for him. I don't know Greg an awful lot better but I have seen him in action and I am able to pop in for a chat if I want.

I've always said that Greg is a local MP rather than a career MP which is basically what you've said. He'd rather work on individual issues for local people than be someone who is in politics just to get as much power as possible. Unfortunately, some people see this as a negative and like their MPs to be more high profile.

I was told the other day that Greg can't have done much for Hyndburn because his face isn't in the paper very often!!!! This came from a fairly staunch labour voter who is considering changing his vote at the next election. I tried to explain all that an MP does and why there's no need to have the glory of having every single success in the paper but it didn't wash. So it would appear that to be doing something you actually have to be seen to be doing something!!!

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If all the person you mentioned wants from a M.P. is someone who constantly photographed in the newspapers, and is happier promoting themselves locally, rather than the area's interests at Wesminster, perhaps that person should change who they vote at the next election for after all.

He, or she, sounds like the dense electorate any party would be glad to attract.

They sound almost as foolish as the person who I used to work with, who never read any of the candidates policies, but decided who to vote for based on who had the nicest face.

Pity he wasn't voting in St. Andrew's ward the other year.:D

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That's the only problem these days Gayle, its not what you do, but what your seen to have done, I have often said, that irrespective of political allegiance any one being prepared to give up their time to work for the community they live in, deserve a big thank you form everybody, because working for the general public is one of the most thankless jobs you could have. The trouble is you can't satisfy all of the people all of the time, your damned if you do and damned if you don't. People never hear of phone calls at 7am on a Sunday Morning or 11pm on a Friday night and believe me it does happen on a regular basis

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Personally, I would prefer an MP to be doing the work of the constituents, rather that giving self publicising interviews and photo calls to the newspapers.
I have never had the need to contact our MP, so I can only go by what other people have told me....and it all seems to have been positive stuff.

Good post by the way Jaysay!

Re: What do our MP's do for us?
 

good post jaysay, i never used Ken or Greg personally as i never had the need, but aware of quite a few who have, ALL have had nowt but praise fer both of em when they called em, so that was the basis i said i did not despise Ken, was hard but i do call as i see.:D;) both men gave of their best fer the community when asked simple as.