Surgeries are a very important yet lesser known part of the lives of Members of Parliament. Surgeries are face to face meetings between an MP and his or her constituents in which a wide range of subjects can be discussed. They are one of several ways in which constituents can directly relay their thoughts and concerns to their MP.
My surgeries are an opportunity to talk to constituents who may have particularly complex cases for which they are seeking assistance. I always do my best to help every constituent I can and although it is almost always faster to process the many cases I am asked to help with through email or by letter, I do hold regular surgeries, usually fortnightly, for constituents who wish to speak to me directly. I have 65,000 constituents so demand is quite high but we have developed a system that seems to work efficiently for the majority of residents.
I was ranked 1st in 2014/2015 for MPs replying to their constituents and I was the only MP who had a 100% reply rate of those surveyed in that year. My record continues in the top tier of assiduous repliers.
I also use my surgeries to discuss and learn more about my constituent’s views regarding matters of national importance. Over the last year I have listened and responded to the concerns of many of my constituents on issues of government policy ranging from students relaying their concerns about Education policy to a number of constituents giving me their thoughts about Brexit.