'My job is to listen to you and that your voice is heard' says Shrewsbury's MP on visit to club
Shrewsbury's new MP Julia Buckley joined members and guests of Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club for a photograph on the occasion of her special visit - just six weeks after her election.
She navigated her audience through her first days in Parliament, describing meeting new colleagues, getting lost in the labyrinth of corridors and then finding time to immerse herself in what she described as the ‘beautiful Houses of Parliament’.
“How beautiful the Houses of Parliament are and it is my pleasure to represent you there,” she said, adding that she would arrange a visit for any Rotarian wishing to visit and to meet her on the Terrace. She recently arranged for her husband and two teenage children to visit and listen to Prime Minister’s Questions.
She said she had already likened herself to the Vicar of Dibley – “having to eat three dinners a day!”
Julia announced that she is currently looking for a home in the constituency and is hoping to move in the new year.
The MP told her audience that she worked six days a week, spending Sunday with her family, and although Parliament was currently in recess, she was available each day via contact through her local office.
She said an office manager for Shrewsbury had been appointed and that she was ‘up and running’ with a ‘good team of people’.
“It is important for me to meet as many of you as possible and listen to what is important to you. It is also important that you talk to me and raise things with me. My job is to listen to you and that your voice is heard.”
She explained that she had joined the Labour Party through her admiration of John Smith, Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack in May 1994. He had the respect of all sides of the House.
Julia, who attended The University of Edinburgh, was a Selby, Yorkshire girl and 1997 was the first campaign she worked on as Selby got its first Labour MP. She revealed this was her own third attempt to get into Parliament and that the late Jo Cox MP was her inspiration.
Julia concluded by thanking Shrewsbury Severn Rotary Club for all the ‘valuable work’ they did for vulnerable people, mentioning the food bank, and the many other charities they supported. She told members to never under-estimate the positive impact they have on the local communities they serve.
“Don’t ever underestimate the impact you have on people.”
Julia was introduced by Shrewsbury Severn Rotary’s president David Morris who said she had broken a record in becoming Shrewsbury’s first female MP. He told members and guests: “It is a great privilege and an honour for us to have her to visit.”
By Peter Love - Contributor
