Caroline Voaden: New beginnings... and a plea for tolerance

The first fortnightly Torbay Weekly column from newly-elected South Devon and Brixham MP Caroline Voaden

Reporter:

Caroline Voaden

18 Aug 2024 5:33 PM

Summer recess is upon us, which means I have four weeks in Devon without the need to be in parliament. And it feels like a good opportunity to take stock of what has happened over the last crazy month!

The election count seems a distant memory now, but let me just start by saying thank you to everyone who voted for me. We were quite stunned by the result and absolutely thrilled too – I’m sure that goes without saying…

I am deeply honoured to be the Member of Parliament and it is a huge privilege to represent South Devon. I will do my level best to support anyone in the constituency who needs my help, regardless of who they voted for.My team have already had a couple of successes resolving long-running, tedious issues and disputes for residents, so do contact me if you think we can help.

It’s fair to say that becoming a new Member of Parliament is a strange experience. There are so many things to understand and get used to. Not least that there are NO rules. There isn’t a contract, there is no job description. There are 100 different answers to every question depending on who you ask.

Every MP sets up their office differently, and every MP makes choices about what they spend their time doing, whether they respond to every email, how much timethey spend in the constituency etc. It’s probably fair to say that there is at least one new MP who might not be the most assiduous constituency MP his patch has had…

And getting going does take a little while. Parliament sits from the Tuesday after the election, so you’re learning the ropes up there – and trying not to get lost – but you also have to recruit staff and set up a constituency office back home… Suffice to say if you’re waiting for an email reply from me it will come, but there is still a bit of a backlog to clear!

One of the first things we’ve had to deal with as MPs is the awful situation with riots across the country. We’ve been extremely lucky in South Devon and Torbay that we haven’t been affected by the thuggery and looting that have scarred so many other towns and cities. Many of my new colleagues live in areas where people have been genuinely scared about what will happen in their own neighbourhoods.

I firmly believe that those committing violence and threatening behaviour towards asylum seekers do not represent this country, or our compassionate and open society. And it has been heartening to see communities out on the street together, facing down the rioters and clearing up afterwards.

A tiny minority has exploited the grief of a community and the families of those three young girls who were so brutally murdered in Southport. They should be utterly ashamed.As should the far-right commentators and social media accounts who have whipped up anger with lies and distortions in an attempt to tear at the social fabric of our nation and advance their divisive politics.

I’m pleased to see that some of the people who have been promoting violence on social media have already been jailed – and I hope that we will get the chance to look again at the Online Safety Act in this parliament. It will always be difficult to regulate social media platforms, but we have to find ways to ensure that they are not a law free zone, especially when it comes to inciting racism and violence.

It is also incumbent on all community leaders and politicians to work harder to promote tolerance, community and understanding rather than stoke division, mistrust and hatred. The language used around immigration by many in the previous government has been insidious and dangerous – I hope this new parliament will do better and we will see much less of that in our public discourse.

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