MP Phillips: I will never stop seeing my constituents
Labour politician adamant after Amess murder
I am unhelpable in this situation. I am not willing, nor will I ever be willing, to not be amongst the people who I represent Jess Phillips MP
BIRMINGHAM MP Jess Phillips says she will never stop meeting constituents despite concerns over MPs’ safety, following the death of Sir David Amess.
She said: “I don’t want to live in a world where a kid who has been raped can’t come in and say, ‘Jess, I need your help’. And for me to put my arms around her, and help her.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson led tributes in the House of Commons to the Essex MP, who was stabbed to death as he held a regular public event for constituents to come to him with their problems, known as a surgery.
Ms Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, revealed police had advised her to change her routine, to avoid threats to her safety. But she says there is no chance that she will ever stop holding surgeries where members of the public can find her.
She said: “I am unhelpable in this situation. I am not willing, nor will I ever be willing, to not be amongst the people who I represent. It is not an option. It is not one that would allow me to do my job. They could give me every risk assessment in the world.”
She said: “I represent people from all over the world, people who live in very difficult constitutional situations. A lot of my my Afghan constituents could not believe that they could come and just sit in my office and talk to me, because they are used to their representatives driving past them in black SUVs or not ever asking to vote for them.”
She said that surgeries ensured there was always a connection between the people making decisions and the public as a whole, pointing out that even prime ministers had to deal with their constituents’ problems.
“Democracy in our country is gold standard for the connection between the person and the representative.
“I mean, I can’t say this for the current incumbent of number 10. But I could certainly say it with confidence when Theresa May was the Prime Minister, that the
Prime Minister of our country on a Friday night sits in a draughty church hall and listens to people talking about crumbling walls and paving slabs.”
Ms Phillips says police have advised her to change her schedule to reduce her personal risk.
“The police once told me to act less predictably. And I said, ‘you know, like, my children go to school at nine o’clock’. Should I just say, ‘Do you mind if I dropped them off at 6am?’”
Meanwhile, Edgbaston MP Preet Kaur Gill has revealed she has feared for her life after receiving threats.
She says police have been called to her surgery on two occasions.
Ms Gill (Lab) said: “I felt quite fearful because in my constituency alone I’ve had two occasions when
I’ve had to get the police to turn up to my surgeries, because of threats.
“And whilst nothing came out of that, you do have a sense of genuine fear.”
However, she says she does not want to stop holding surgeries.
“I don’t think any of us as MPs want to restrict our duties with our constituents. I think part of having surgeries and being able to see constituents face to face, building those relationships, is really important. It’s important for our democracy, it’s important to build trust in our democracy.”
She sayes there are concerns some police forces are better at responding to threats than others. And she says it is important for police across the country to share information about potential threats.