AN MP WITH BROADSTONE CONNECTIONS!

I do enjoy sharing my experiences with constituents and so I was very pleased to meet up with a large group from Broadstone Evening Townswomen Guild in Parliament during the recent recess. It is quite amazing how many people have never visited our own Parliamentary buildings and as it is totally free it really is good value for money! Seriously, I think generally people are unaware just how easy it is to book up a trip via an MP, although many Broadstone residents have met me in the House in the last few years. The tour round usually takes about an hour and fifteen minutes and everybody seems to find it a fascinating experience, from the grandeur of the House of Lords to the small scale of the House of Commons. On this occasion a combination of many questions and very good guides meant that lunch was greatly delayed! I rather enjoy joining tours as I always learn something new. I have only discovered in the last few months that as an MP I can take guests down to the crypt and it was there that we learned a story about Emily Davidson, the suffragette. The members of the Townswomen Guild found this particularly interesting for obvious reasons. Emily hid illegally in a broom cupboard in 1911 on the night of the census. Her census entry therefore recorded her address as 'House of Commons' and she hoped to claim the right to vote on this basis. She wasn't successful and her life ended following her final protest when she ran onto the Derby racecourse and fell beneath the horses' hooves. There is a memorial plaque in the broom cupboard which the Broadstone ladies managed to track down. It was quite difficult to find; poor Emily wasn't to be honoured in a more obvious way in the House! In addition to this interesting experience I think everybody was overwhelmed by the beauty of the crypt, hidden beneath Westminster Hall.

When we look at the turnouts at recent elections it is difficult to imagine the passion of the suffragettes. Whenever I visit local schools I point out to young people that less than 40% of 18 to 25 year olds voted in the last General Election and that if they do not participate they will let older people determine their future. It is quite a challenge to engage people in the political process these days. I make many visits to schools in the constituency and also have enjoyed meeting up with groups from schools including the Grammar Schools and Corfe Hills in Parliament.

Another way in which I am able to share my work and experiences is by giving talks to various groups. For example, I have joined the 'Go Ahead Ladies' twice in the last year at their meetings in St John's Church Hall and spoken on life in Westminster and my 6 day visit to Ghana. It is a great privilege being an MP but an even greater privilege to be able to tell people about life in the Commons and my very varied life.

As a Broadstone resident for 27 years it is very convenient for me that Broadstone is so very central in terms of the constituency's population. It is perhaps not surprising that my office is so busy and that queues often develop at my surgeries in Broadstone library. If you see me around please do come and say hello, the very best part of my job is talking and listening to people.

Annette Brooke MP

Archive Winter 2004 | next

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