ANNA FIRTH MP FOR SOUTHEND WEST Monthly Westminster and Constituency Updates
A note from Anna:
Hello all,
I'd like to start by wishing you all a very happy Easter!
Easter, the holiest of weeks for Christians, is traditionally a time for growth, rebirth and renewal for all. It's a time when we find joy in watching nature come back to life and we can begin to appreciate the days becoming longer once more.
March has been busy so here are some of my highlights.
I was honoured to travel with Lady Amess to the foundry which has cast the statue of Sir David. It was an incredibly moving visit where we met the talented sculptor and the foundry team. The statue is impressive and a very fitting tribute. I hope that many of you will be able to attend the unveiling in mid-April.
Trying to get better NHS dentistry provision in Southend is like pulling teeth - painful! I called on Dame Andrea Leadsom, Minister for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, to meet with me, local pharmacist Mohamed Fayyaz Haji - known locally as Fizz - and the local Integrated Care Board (ICB), to deliver a new NHS dental practice in Belfairs. Fizz has recently acquired further premises so that he can expand into even greater levels of primary and community care such as phlebotomy, dermatology and now, hopefully, dentistry.
International Women's Day gave me the opportunity to speak about something that has been bothering me. Southend Hospital has begun using in its maternity literature the term 'birthing people' instead of women. I contacted the hospital to tell them that it's nonsensical and demeaning to women. Only women give birth. Language matters and biology matters.
I held my fifth Super Surgery and enjoyed meeting nearly 40 constituents who came to my 'one-stop-shop' to receive help and advice from me and my team, and the array of experts that we had gathered in the hall. I was particularly pleased that Frances and Debbie my local WASPI women came along and I was able to ask a question on their behalf in the Commons.
I was really honoured to be invited to join Unity Iftar at Southend Mosque. Unity Iftar is the shared evening meal during the month of Ramadan which marks the end of the fasting day for Muslims. The concept is simple yet very effective and allows people from all walks of life and backgrounds to engage with their Muslim neighbours to break down barriers and foster strong relations.
As part of Sir David’s legacy, I’d like to reassure you that I continue with my pledge to make Southend safer, healthier and wealthier.
Best wishes,
Anna
Safer
Healthier
Wealthier
Other
SAFER
We're serious about tackling serious crime
I was able to meet with two Police and Crime Commissioners when they came to Parliament to talk about tackling the scourge of serious crime and violence.
Simon Foster (on the left) from the West Midlands, and Steve Turner (right) from Cleveland told me about a new campaign aimed at nine and ten year olds which tells youngsters what to do if they see someone carrying a knife.
Called the 'bystander programme' it gives young children - who are all too often swept along in the mistaken belief that carrying a knife somehow protects them from being attacked - the right language to be able to alert adults if they see one of their peers with an offensive weapon.
Southend to host the Knife Angel statue
I am delighted that for the month of July, Southend will host the Knife Angel, a 27-foot-high sculpture crafted from over 100,000 confiscated or surrendered weapons.
It’s a symbol against violence and aggression, particularly knife crime, and it aims to educate young people on the harmful and long-lasting effects that violent behaviour can have on communities, families, and victims.
Hosting the sculpture was a plan I hatched with our Police and Crime Commissioner, Roger Hirst some months ago after a CCTV van outing together. Roger suggested that I advocate for Southend City Council to apply to host the Knife Angel and that he would support it financially.
Following my work in Parliament to outlaw all forms of zombie knives, I wholeheartedly support this initiative. Knives are a serious issue, and carrying them, even as a defensive measure, can have very serious consequences.
HEALTHIER
Raising awareness of ovarian cancer
I attended a meeting in Parliament to raise awareness about ovarian cancer symptoms and treatments. The meeting was hosted by the APPG on ovarian cancer and comes in the first week of ovarian cancer awareness month. Over 4,000 women a year die of ovarian cancer, and over 7,000 are diagnosed with the disease.
Cervical screening cannot detect ovarian cancer. In Southend only 32% of women are diagnosed at an early stage (1 or 2) leaving 68% being diagnosed at stage 3 or later. 24% of women diagnosed receive no surgery or treatment. 67% of women diagnosed tend to survive one year after diagnosis, and 37% five years after diagnosis
It is so important that we get the message out about how to catch ovarian cancer early. Too many women are not recognising symptoms of this disease and are being diagnosed at a late stage. If we recognise symptoms such as persistent bloating, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and needing to use the bathroom frequently, we can catch this disease early and improve women’s health outcomes.
Pushing for better NHS dentistry in Southend
On Tuesday 5th March, I called on Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, Minister for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, to meet with me, local pharmacist Mohamed Fayyaz Haji and the local Integrated Care Board (ICB), to deliver a new NHS dental practice in Belfairs.
Mohamed Fayyaz Haji, known locally as Fizz, runs Belfairs pharmacy which provides a great range of services, including cholesterol and blood pressure checks, health advice and prescribing. He has recently acquired further premises so that he can expand into even greater levels of primary and community care such as phlebotomy, dermatology and now, hopefully, dentistry.
The Belfairs area at present does not have an NHS dentist available and the proposals from Fizz have the potential to provide around 7000 units of dental activity. However, the ICB is required to commission this new dental practice which has not yet happened.
I called on the Minister to meet with us all to see the brilliant work being done at Belfairs pharmacy and to find a way through the current commissioning impasse. The Minister agreed to meet with me and I intend to follow up and push the commissioning of this new dental service through as a matter of urgency.
The provision of NHS dentistry is of great concern to Southend residents, and I am determined to do all I can to increase provision across our city. Fizz is already doing fantastic work for our city and his proposals for a new NHS dental practice in Belfairs are fantastic news, I will continue to do all I can to ensure this new practice is commissioned as soon as possible. You can watch the video below:
Celebrating World Book Day
For World Book Day I joined children at my local bookshop Read on Sea for a storytime session. The shop’s motto is ‘sit sip read’ and it’s my favourite kind of bookshop, full of fabulous books with delicious food and drink on the side. I joined the children, who were wearing costumes of their favourite book characters, on the floor to read out loud to them from the ‘Stick Man’ book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.
World Book Day aims to change children’s lives through a love of books and reading. It was created by UNESCO in 1995 as a worldwide celebration of books and reading and is now marked each year in more than 100 countries around the globe. Last year alone the organisation provided 50 million £1 book tokens to children in the UK.
I'm a lifelong champion of children’s literacy and it's quite sad to hear that according to World Book Day research, a staggering one in seven pupils stated that the book they purchased with their token was the first book they ever bought. For those receiving free school meals that figure climbs to one in five pupils.
I'm proud of the Conservative Government’s commitment to improving children’s literacy. The most recent OECD programme for international student assessment international literacy tables saw the UK climb from 25th in 2009 to 13th in the 2022 rankings.
Taking time every day to read to children at home is one of the most important and enriching things we can do as parents.
Supporting Chill Southend Cold Water Swimmers
I was delighted to attend the launch of Chill Southend, a club which offers cold water swim therapy for improved health & well-being.
Chill Southend has just teamed up with Southend breast cancer support group, Bosom Pals, to give women diagnosed with breast cancer the opportunity to safely experience cold water swimming.
Chill Southend organiser, Simone Dodge, first approached me in Summer 2023, and I was delighted to write her a letter of support for her initiative. I'm a long-time believer in the health benefits of cold water swimming which include reducing anxiety, depression and inflammation and boosting immunity and general well-being. It's firmly in my sights as a positive part of my campaign to make Southend healthier.
Chill Southend relies on grants and donations to operate and it offers funded sea swimming courses from Joscelyns beach in Leigh.
If you'd like to donate please visit: https://chilluk.org/hubs/england/essex/chill-southend/
WEALTHIER
Why the Budget is good for Southend
I welcomed the Chancellor’s Budget last week. Southend is a city of entrepreneurs, so reforming the VAT threshold for small businesses is a BIG WIN for Southend.
The freeze on alcohol duty will support the over 7,000 venues in the East of England. This is undoubtedly another BIG WIN for our tourism and hospitality sector across Southend.
The vast majority of residents in Southend and Leigh-on-Sea work hard and own their own home, they deserve to keep as much of their own money as possible and I welcome cutting taxes again for 27 million working people.
From April the main rate of National Insurance will fall by a further two percent. The average person in my constituency earning £36,500 will see a tax cut amounting to approximately £960. A hard-working family in Southend with two earners on the average income will be £1920 better off. A senior nurse at Southend Hospital will be better off by £1202. The average Teacher in one of Southend’s schools will be better off by £1270. And the average police officer in Southend will also be better off by £1270, this is on top of already cutting crime rates in our city.
Motorists are helped by the Chancellor continuing to freeze fuel duty and maintaining the 5p reduction introduced last year.
This budget will benefit almost half a million families. It’s unfair that two parents earning £49,000 a year previously received full Child Benefit, but a household with a single earner on just £50,000 starts losing their Child Benefit. I am delighted that we will end this unfairness by April 2026.
A two-child family with a higher earner income of £55,000, will gain around £1,109.
A two-child family with a higher earner income of £65,000, will gain around £1,664.
A two-child family with a higher earner income of £75,000, will gain around £555.
To me, Southend is already the City of Culture 2029, the title is merely pending. I want the world to enjoy our beautiful city and beaches. The Chancellor’s Budget is good for Southend and good for the country. It will be key in helping to ensure Southend becomes, healthier, safer and wealthier for all of its citizens.
Leigh-on-Sea should receive its own banking hub
This month I called on the Government to ensure that Leigh-on-Sea gets a banking hub. It’s crazy that despite Leigh-on-Sea having a significant population and there being 250 retailers in a 1km radius, there are no banks. There is the Nationwide Building Society on Leigh Broadway but it doesn’t cater for the needs of business.
Many elderly folk live in my constituency and it’s unreasonable to expect them to travel to Southend high street to access the banking facilities there and it's also highly impractical for local businesses too.
LINK – the cash machine operators – are now responsible for assessing a community’s access to cash needs. LINK can recommend a banking hub or a similar scheme for a particular area. However, current FCA rules mean LINK are unable to recommend a banking hub until the last bank in town closes and in this case they are counting the Nationwide as a bank.
I want to change these rules and on 2nd February 2024 I signed a joint letter calling on the FCA ‘to grant LINK the ability to operate on a case-by-case basis’. It is essential that people have access to face-to-face banking services and the banking hub model is a very good one, but none of the banks will provide such a hub if there is a building society that provides face-to-face services; one should not exclude the other.
I have been campaigning for nearly two years to secure a banking hub in Leigh-on-Sea so that my constituents and businesses can have access to the services they require and will continue to push for these services to be delivered as soon as possible.
Celebrating International Women's Day
For International Women's Day, women all over the world are recognised and celebrated. The official IWD website invites us to 'imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated'.
Fine words and a fine sentiment. After all language is important, especially when women are at their most vulnerable, when they're giving birth, for example. We know that giving birth is something that only women can do so I was very disappointed that our local hospital in Southend is using the term 'birthing people' in its maternity services literature.
I wrote to Southend Hospital to query this term and I raised it in the House of Commons. It's a fact that only women can give birth so to use the term 'birthing people' is not only confusing, it's dehumanising and demeaning to women.
On this International Women's Day I want to remind people that language matters and women matter. You can watch the video below:
Southend leading the way with my Super Surgeries
On Friday 15th March, I welcomed over 35 constituents to my fifth ‘Super Surgery’, in St Margaret’s Church Hall in Southend. During a normal Friday or Monday surgery, I would normally see up to seven constituents who had pre-booked an appointment with me in advance.
I like to think of a Super Surgery as a one-stop-shop for my constituents who have questions or problems, a place where they can turn up, speak to a member of my team and then be directed immediately to whichever agency, authority or charity can help them best, without having to wait for an appointment.
In St Margaret's Church Hall, we had teams from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, Welcome to the UK, Essex Police, Southend City Council Housing Services, the local council, and there was free legal advice courtesy of Paul Robinson Solicitors. All of these external agencies and charities are those that I would normally write or refer constituents on to.
Of course I and my brilliant constituency team were also on hand to meet privately with constituents and offer further help and advice on the more complex issues. I was delighted that Frances Neil and Debbie Dalton from the WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign group came along for a private meeting on next steps to ensure that more women aren’t left behind by changes to the state pension.
Twenty-seven people were booked in for face-to-face help with issues regarding benefits and pensions, asylum & deportation, child health and special needs education, parking, housing, trading standards, blocked drains, drug dealers and dog fouling. In the end, more than 35 constituents attended to receive immediate help and advice.
I am the only MP in Parliament to hold regular Super Surgeries and was pleased by the success of this, my fifth session. Plans are in progress for Super Surgery number six so please keep an eye on my website (annafirth.org.uk) and social media if you'd like to book in.
Supporting the WASPI Women of Southend
Among the constituents who booked in to see me privately at my recent Super Surgery were two local WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaigners Frances Neil and Deborah Dalton.
Frances and Debbie are part of the large cohort of women born between 6 April 1950 – 5th April 1960 for whom the date on which they can draw their state pension was moved back. The WASPI women claim that they were not informed adequately of the changes or how it would affect them financially.
They are asking for redress and compensation. A number of WASPI women – over a quarter of a million - have since died before receiving anything from the Government.
I was so glad that Frances and Debbie took the time to come and see me and shortly afterwards I raised their plight, and that of all the WASPI Women in the Commons. I'm delighted that the Pensions Minister has offered to meet me to discuss this important matter further.
With the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman having concluded its investigation and the final report issued today, I stand by my call for a Government statement to enable MPs to debate the issue.
If you want to understand the problem in a nutshell, watch my short video below:
The Orpheus Singers' Spring Concert
Music really is food for the soul, so on Saturday 16th March, I was delighted to attend the Spring Concert of the Orpheus Singers at St Saviour’s Church, Westcliff.
The concert performed by the wonderful south-east Essex ladies choir, was in support of the Mayor’s Charities, the Music Man Project and Havens Hospices.
Featuring a range of music from across the centuries from musicals and theatre, to hymns and choral arrangements, the concert was graced by guest soloist Hilary Pell. Hilary is an alumni of Guildhall School of Music and a former Young Singer of the Year.
I'm so grateful that the Orpheus Singers will be singing at the unveiling of the statue of Sir David Amess on Thursday, 11th April. Their wonderful voices will add hugely to the sense of solemnity and remembrance on the day.
The Orpheus Singers are next performing in concert on Saturday 11th May at 7.30pm at the Festival of Female Voices, the Plaza Centre in Southchurch Road, Southend.
World Day of Prayer
For World Day of Prayer 2024, I was honoured to attend a wonderful service with the Mayor and Children from St Helen’s Primary School at Avenue Baptist Church. I was invited to speak on the importance of finding time during the week to reflect on peace, and, in particular, the plight of women.
I then repeated what I said in the Chamber about the thousands of Palestinian women who are pregnant and will be justifiably incredibly worried about giving birth, and the need to get humanitarian aid to them as quickly as possible.
The service was prepared by an ecumenical group of Christian women from Palestine and beautiful jasmine and poppy flowers from Palestine adorned the altar.
The theme this year was “I beg you, bear with one another in love”. Bookmarks were exchanged as a token of peace and I was deeply moved by the feeling of warmth, love and understanding in the room.
Celebrating Unity Iftar at Southend Mosque
Unity Iftar at Southend Mosque was a lovely event and I was welcomed warmly by the Imam and all the elders. After interesting talks and prayers on Ramadan by children and elders we were treated to an absolute feast. It was nice to see Cllr David Garston there as well as Labour councillors.
Supporting the Protection of Historic Southend Wreck
On Thursday 7th March I attended an event to raise awareness of the wreck of the London, a 17th century warship, situated at the bottom of the Thames Estuary in Southend.
The event marked the anniversary of the sinking of the London when on 7th March 1665 the ship blew up in the Thames killing over 300 people who were on board before the ship went to war. The London was on Historic England’s top ten archaeological discoveries of the last decade.
The London is a significant historic asset from the 17th century, with direct connections to Cromwell, Charles II, James II and Samuel Pepys. But despite that it is one of only four protected shipwrecks on the “Heritage At Risk” register and the one that is most impacted by human action, and not just by natural seabed changes.
Over 350 years since disaster struck the ship, the tragedy continues as the wreck site of the London washes away with every passing ship and tide. This event was held to raise awareness of the issues facing the London wreck site and was hosted by the Nautical Archaeological Society in conjunction with the Port of London Authority and DP World.
The event also saw Southend Museums bring some of the amazing collection from the protected wreck for people to see and to bring the story of the London to life. I spoke at the event alongside Robin Mortimer, CEO of the Port of London Authority, Andrew Bowen, COO of DP World and Tim Loughton MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Archaeology Group.
I was delighted to be invited to make the keynote speech at this event to raise awareness of the London wreck. This is a truly incredible piece of history and it is imperative we preserve it as best we can. It has now been 16 years since the London was protected. But we should not just protect, we should invest and develop the UK’s heritage asset. Saving the London has to be viewed as a regeneration project to increase the cultural offering for the region - to help Southend’s 2050 vision, to become the first-choice coastal tourism destination and increase prosperity and job opportunities in our new city.
Bringing back respect in schools
This article was commissioned by GB News on 8th March 2024.
Respect is an overused word nowadays, it’s often bandied around in terms of people keen on asserting their ‘rights’ while neglecting their responsibilities. The dictionary definition of respect is ‘to have due regard for the feelings, wishes or rights of others’ or to ‘have a deep admiration for someone or something’. Most people working in education might feel a distinct lack of due regard or admiration towards them and that respect is sorely missing in many aspects of their jobs, but how to bring it back?
We have to start by addressing bad pupil behaviour in the classroom. It seems almost too obvious to say it out loud, but if children are messing about, they will not be learning effectively.
Mobile phones bring us many benefits but I think that they should be totally banned for all pupils whilst on school premises. I recently visited the Eastwood Academy Trust in my constituency of Southend West and was impressed that they have successfully implemented a no-phones policy since 2010.
The teaching staff told me how behaviour has improved along with educational outcomes. For the time spent at school, the pupils are free from distractions, free from any online bullying and are not tempted to use phones for nefarious purposes such as sending inappropriate pictures or messages. I’d like to see all schools operate on this basis.
If children are not learning, then they won’t be hitting educational targets or preparing well for their adult lives as working, productive members of society. If they’re not working adults, supporting themselves and paying taxes, they could become a drain on society.
Another thing I’d like to see is parents routinely giving their backing to teachers in terms of disciplining their children. Too often children behave badly in the classroom but when teachers apply the few tools at their disposal to exert chastisements or punishments they come up against parents who instead of joining forces with the school to rein in their child’s behaviour, effectively gang up with their child against the school.
This is not right. Children are not daft and if they see an opportunity to ‘get one over’ on their teacher they will probably take it. This leads to undesirable outcomes and can mean a teacher having a child focusing more on his or her ‘rights’ rather than behaving well and learning.
Along with praise, care, understanding and kindness, children also need to have clear boundaries, firm rules and dare I say it, a little bit of fear of facing the consequences of bad behaviour, to keep them in line. Gradually over the past 30 years or so teachers have incrementally lost most of the (albeit crude) forms of keeping pupils in line such as corporal punishment or expulsion.
As a Conservative I believe firmly in a good education being the key to a good future. Children born into unfortunate circumstances can be lifted up and out of poverty by receiving an education that enables them to fulfil their potential in whichever field their particular talents lie. If a child grows up, gains good qualifications and goes into a job that makes them happy, then they’re likely to be healthier too and not take up precious NHS resources. What parent would not want that for their child?
While I’m not advocating bringing back the cane or the slipper, teachers do need to possess methods that are more effective at rapidly bringing unruly pupils back into line for the benefit of all the pupils in that class. An unruly child not only jeopardises their own education but disrupts the learning opportunities of every other child in that class if the teacher is having to focus on ‘crowd control’ rather than teaching.
Rise of the far-left in Britain - should we be worried?
This article was commissioned by GB News on 22 March 2024.
Far-left politics in the United Kingdom have existed since at least the 1840s, with at least one historian has identified the existence of a 'far left' in England as early as the 1640s. But is the far left on the rise in Britain?
No. The far left remains as irrelevant as they always have been, but what has changed is that they are becoming increasingly vocal and increasingly aggressive. It started with groups like Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Black Lives Matter, who attempt to mask their more sinister intentions with a cloak of social justice, are becoming more vocal and more prolific. But they are still on the fringe of politics in Britain and show no signs of changing.
We have all seen the acts of these groups, XR activists have created all kinds of public disruption, including blocking road access for ambulances in the heart of London, and disrupting commuter journeys in the capital. Greenpeace have scaled the Prime Ministers house, and Just Stop Oil are obsessed with destroying art. The anti-democratic behaviour and disrespect for the rule of law, displayed by these groups has a huge part to play in undermining important social causes such as environmental protection.
But with the current situation in Gaza there is now a dangerous and volatile alliance between fringe far left and Islamist groups at pro-Palestine marches across the UK, creating a melting pot of extremism. The Government’s own independent adviser on political violence and disruption, Lord Walney, has called on ministers to tackle this growing threat because they truly do threaten our democracy.
And what is done at these protests to prevent the extremists? Nothing. While the debate went on in Parliament on the SNPs ceasefire motion, protesters gathered outside chanting From the River to the Sea and even projecting those words onto the walls of Parliament. Those words have been described by the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism as “genocidal language” and while they chanted it unrepentantly, they were watched on by dozens of police officers who stood by and let it happen.
But what is also clear is that the far left has no real electoral ambitions. Yes, George Galloway has won election to Parliament under “shock” circumstances three times now, but the reality is that the man is not far left, he is an out and out populist, promising the voters what they want to hear and when he fails to deliver and gets voted out, he will drift off back into the ether. The real far left have no desire to maintain our democratic institutions, they are more than willing to break the law, intimidate MPs and hijack legitimate protests in order to get their way.
But do they really need to aim for elected office when the “soft left” Labour Party are more than willing to serve as their whipping boys? A number of their elected representatives seem perfectly happy to condone or even endorse the actions of these groups emboldening them and giving them political cover to continue. You just have to look at Starmer’s decision to restore the whip to Andy McDonald to see that the party has not changed under his leadership.
Time and time again they will side with the far left for fear of being accused of turning their backs on social justice, but that is simply not a sustainable position. These groups should be isolated, denied the chance to gain political respectability and prevented from infiltrating legitimate causes for their own ends. The Prime Minister made this clear in his speech on the steps of Downing Street, and it is only by keeping him in Downing Street that we will stop Starmer letting the far left take residence through the back door.
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