‘Thank you for allowing me to share your highs and lows’

MAY I, through the pages of the Loughborough Echo, thank all your reader for the opportunity to represent the Loughborough constituency in the House of Commons since May 2010. Being Loughborough’s MP has been the greatest privilege of my life.

It is with sadness that I have decided not to stand here for election again. But for personal reasons it is the right time for me to move on and to spend more time with my very understanding family.

I believe that with the help of my brilliant staff we have been able to help thousands of constituents over the years and answer tens of thousands of queries about national government policy. I know that not everyone will agree with my views and, indeed, many of your readers will not have voted for me. But I hope if they did ask for my help or meet me at the many local events I attended, they felt I listened to them.

I have loved meeting so many thousands of local residents – at Christmas Tree festivals, through local organisations, charities and businesses, in my surgeries and in Loughborough market, to name just a few places. Thank you for allowing me to share in your highs and lows.

Unfortunately, I can’t attend this year’s Remembrance Service in Queen’s Park because I have to be on duty at the Cenotaph in London, but I shall be thinking of you all and that magical moment when the poppies start to fall.

I shall be staying in Loughborough and look forward to seeing many of you in the weeks to come. And I wish whoever is my successor the greatest enjoyment in this fabulous role.

With best wishes