I can’t believe that a year has passed already! In the early hours of May 6th last year in the Sports Centre at Hemel I heard the words “I hereby declare that Michael Penning is elected to serve as Member of Parliament for the Hemel Hempstead constituency.” I couldn’t have imagined the rollercoaster ride that I was about to embark upon. Now, one year on, I get the chance to look back at some of the highlights and activities of the previous 12 months: Within hours of being elected, I was at the House of Commons sorting out admin arrangements and starting the hunt for an office. On the 7th July I, like the rest of the country, was shocked, saddened and angered by events in London. It is numbing when terrorism strikes so close to home. On a personal note, I was appointed to the influential Health Select Committee a position I was particularly keen to accept as I see it as one of the best chances I have to air my concerns about the downgrading of Hemel’s Hospital. In August, together with South West Herts MP, David Gauke, I delivered 1,400 letters inviting Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt to visit Hemel and Watford hospitals. She should see for herself, the effect closure of Hemel will have on local patients. Needless to say she didn’t take up the offer then and apparently has no plans to do so still. At the beginning of December I visited Hemel Hospital little knowing that it would soon play a part in a national drama. On Sunday 11th, we were all woken very early by the explosion at Buncefield Oil Depot. The destruction and devastation caused has had repercussions far wider than we could have envisaged at the time. Some families have still not yet returned to their homes. Many companies have had to relocate. The environmental damage may not be apparent for some time to come. I spent the whole day visiting Buncefield and the rest centres set up by various organisations, so I was in an excellent position to be able to witness first hand the hard work, dedication and commitment put in by the emergency services, local councils, voluntary organisations and others. We were so lucky that the explosion occurred at 6am on a Sunday morning. It is nothing short of a miracle that no one was killed. I was highly honoure1d in the New Year to be elected by my fellow back-bench Conservative MPs to the Executive of the 1922 Committee. It is very rare that a newcomer MP is elected to the executive of this highly influential committee. Jubilation didn’t last long, however, as within a couple of days I was locked up in jail. Not headline news though, myself and others spent a night in HMP The Mount to raise money for my ‘Charity of the year’, The Hospice of St Francis. I brought newly-elected Conservative leader, David Cameron, to visit the site of the Buncefield explosion. He supported my call for a public enquiry rather than one held behind closed doors as is now taking place. More recently I have been fighting for the mental health services that are under threat at St Julians - a specialist psychiatric ward in St Albans which is threatened with closure. This is despite the fact that it is the only place that local patients in need of hospitalisation can go to. It provides much needed care and respite for families and carers. All year through I have tried to spend as much time as possible here in the constituency. I have held a surgery for constituents on most Fridays of the year. I have visited or attended many local schools, charities, coffee mornings, fetes, Hospital protests, Care and Residential Homes and local businesses. I have met with local representatives from the Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Health Trust, Hospital Trust, local GP’s, Borough Council, County Council, Primary Care Trust, and others. On the lighter side it has also been my pleasure to play rugby with a nurse’s side in a charity match, judge a dog show, lose at golf, lose at every quiz night I attended, meet many young school children, sponsor and judge a school painting competition, address sixth formers on politics, attend speech days, open a charity shop. Time spent in the constituency has given me the most pleasure. It has been such fun and a privilege to meet and talk with so many local people, in the street, at the shops, at social events, in pubs, shops and in restaurants. This is a lovely place in which to live and work. |
