Southend mourns MP who fought for his people
Hundreds of residents gather along route as Sir David Amess is laid to rest in his Essex constituency
The windows of the Blue Boar pub in Prittlewell, Southend, were decorated with flowers and a sign that read: “Sir David Amess, we wouldn’t be here without you.”
For 18 months, the owners of the pub were being so overcharged for business rates that they were running into debt and facing the risk of closure. They contacted their MP of almost a quarter of a century – Sir David.
“Two days later my husband got a letter from the House of Commons, and within a week it was resolved, and we got the rates reduced,” the pub’s landlady said. “Without him, I doubt we would have survived.”
Just across the street from the Blue Boar is St Mary’s Church, where yesterday the much-loved MP was laid to rest. After a private service, hundreds of people turned up to pay their final respects with a procession that went past several significant places in his Essex constituency.
Sir David had held the seat of Southend West since 1997, and it seemed everyone lining the streets had their own story about how he had directly helped them.
“Everyone has a photo with Sir David Amess,” Syd Moore, 51, said, wiping a tear from his eye as he stood with mourners. “We don’t realise how visible he was. Everyone knew who he was and he really cared for the community, and he reached out to individuals in trouble and took the time to write personal letters.”
Graham Ross, a retired engineer, 70, contacted Sir David after being denied a rabies vaccination by his chemist.
“David said that was ridiculous and got the ball moving for me,” he said.
The MP placed a few calls, and managed to get Mr Ross a letter confirming he was eligible. Within a day, he had the medication he needed.
Mr Ross waited outside the church to see the coffin carried out, draped in a Union flag and carried by pall bearers from Southend Fire Service.
As it was placed into the horsedrawn hearse, the crowd broke into a round of applause. A cortège followed the hearse along roads closed for the occasion, stopping at the town’s Civic Centre, where flags flew at at halfmast. Drivers got out of their cars to watch and pay their respects. The
‘Everyone has a photo with Sir David. We don’t realise how visible he was’
carriage driver stepped down for a moment and addressed the crowd gathered there.
“On behalf of the family of David Amess, thank you very much,” he said. People either clapped or cried. Inside the church, Mark Francois delivered a eulogy, praising the man he branded the “original Essex cheeky chappy”. The Tory MP said: “Our electors employ us to represent them in a contract renewable every few years. We work for them and not the other way around, and no one was ever more conscious of that than David Amess.”
The former Tory MP Ann Widdecombe, a friend of Sir David’s, read a statement on behalf of the Amess family. “Our hearts are shattered,” it read. “However, there was still so much David wanted to do – this we know from the events of the last few days. So, this is not the end of
Sir David Amess MP. It is the next chapter and, as a family, we ask everyone to support the many charities he worked with.”
The procession went on to Iveagh Hall, Leigh-on-sea, where Sir David had had his constituency office. Here the crowds lined both sides of the street for a hundred yards or so.
Among them was Rachel Lichtenstein, 51, whose family came to the MP last year. Her son has a child with an American woman, and with the border closed, it became impossible for her son to go and visit. “My son was in real trouble,” she said. “David went so above and beyond for us and wrote us this beautiful letter and really helped us as a family.”
Inside Iveagh Hall, which also houses the local Conservative club, is a portrait of Sir David painted by a local artist. Tragically, it was due to be delivered to the MP on Oct 15, the day he was killed at his constituency surgery. It portrays him looking serious.
John Lamb, the chair of the Conservative Association here, said: “[David’s wife told me] that that’s his face when she tells him she’s done the shopping at Waitrose instead of Lidl.”
Speaking to constituents, it seemed as though the late MP had only one flaw. “He always arrived 10 minutes late for everything,” said Roger Wever, a former councillor, adding that he was late “because he tried to pack so much into his day and never said no to anyone”.