When I was elected as the Member of Parliament for this wonderful constituency in May 2015, I thought I knew that the next General Election would be on Thursday 7th May 2020. Things looked pretty stable - the Government had a good working majority and although the EU referendum loomed, there didn't appear to be any reason why a General Election would follow.
Just over four years later, I'm two years into my second term as your MP and I'm again preparing for re-election. I don't particularly want there to be an election - I think the Great British public are pretty damn bored of politics and don't really want to be thrown into a month of febrile politicking - but Parliament is now utterly dysfunctional and we simply cannot go on with things as they are.
It may be that I lose my seat, it may be that I do not. However, a General Election is not about the job security of individual MPs, it is about choosing a Government that is going to get stuff done. It's clear to me that the national interest is now best served by asking the public whether Parliament is accurately representing their views.
The opposition parties have been calling for a General Election for years but no longer seem to want one. I hope they reconsider. Our country needs to move forward and that means getting Brexit done and then focussing on more important things like our schools and colleges, housing, keeping you safe, our NHS and improving our national infrastructure.
Parliament cannot continue to gaze endlessly at its navel. The British public need their say on who they want as their MPs and then, whatever the result, we must move on.
