Animal lover & hard worker
DAVID Amess served his Essex constituents for 38 years, first as MP for Basildon from 1983 to 1997 and then as MP for Southend West.
Sir David was a popular backbencher, well-liked across the political spectrum and forging successful campaigning alliances with MPs from other parties.
Not aspiring to the ministerial ranks, he pursued a parliamentary career as a champion for his constituency and constituents, focusing on a handful of issues important to him.
He was knighted in the 2015 New Year Honours for political and public service, and won a cult following after repeatedly speaking about his mother at Prime Minister’s Questions.
He once demonstrated his much-loved sense of humour by dressing up as a knight in a suit of armour astride a horse for celebrations at a school in his constituency organised by the Knights of Middle England. A committed Brexiteer, devout Catholic and great animal lover, he fought for “pro-life” and animal welfare issues. He was responsible for introducing the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act in 1988.
He also campaigned to stop the testing of domestic products on animals, tackled the illegal wildlife trade and fought for an end to puppy farming, according to his website.
He opposed the culling of badgers and was one of the few Tory MPs in favour of a fox-hunting ban.
In his most recent Commons intervention, on September 23, he called for a debate on “animal welfare generally, cruelty to animals and the welfare of farmyard animals” to mark World Animal Day on October 4.
He was a patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation and won the Dods Animal Welfare and Environment Award in 2011 for his work on the issue.
Channel 4’s Countdown mathematician Rachel Riley said Sir David had supported her mother Celia’s work with the Essex Horse and Pony Protection Society.
The charity said it was shocked and saddened by the loss of the “local MP and animal advocate”.
Last month Sir David told how he was putting his three-year-old French bulldog Vivienne up for the annual Westminster Dog of the Year Show.
Another issue close to the MP’s heart was the continuing campaign for his beloved Southend to be granted city status.
In 2019 he told the Commons: “We have got it from the Prime Minister that Southend is going to become a city – and it will become a city.”