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Josh Dean MP column: ‘I will work with local councils for the benefit of our community, regardless of political affiliation’




I’m delighted to introduce my first fortnightly column in the Bishop’s Stortford Independent. It’s the honour of my life to be the new Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford, and I’m grateful for this opportunity to share news of my work at Westminster and in our community directly with you.

It’s been an incredibly busy few months since my election and I’ve been getting to know our community even better. It’s been a pleasure to meet with so many residents, businesses, charities and voluntary organisations, including the Bishop’s Stortford BID (Business Improvement District), Holy Trinity Night Shelter and Thirst Youth Café in Bishop’s Stortford.

I’ve also had the opportunity to meet with all our local councils. My message to them has been simple: I will work with them for the benefit of our community, regardless of political affiliation. I know that’s what our residents expect of us. I’m very grateful to councillors and officers for making the time to meet me, and I’m looking forward to collaborating with them to make Hertford and Stortford an even better place to live, work and learn.

Josh Dean with Dale Reeve, head of The Bishop's Stortford High School
Josh Dean with Dale Reeve, head of The Bishop's Stortford High School

Most recently, I met with Rhys Jones at Avanti Grange Secondary School and Dale Reeve at The Bishop’s Stortford High School (TBSHS). I know that students, parents and staff will be concerned following construction company ISG’s collapse into administration, and I’m pleased to have had the opportunity to offer each of the schools affected my full support. I’m grateful also to Hertfordshire County Council for briefing me on the situation and they will be keeping me up to date as it develops.

During my visit to TBSHS, Mr Reeve and I discussed our shared concerns around the proposal for a McDonald’s drive-thru in the St James’ Park development, a stone’s throw from the school’s new site. Residents have contacted me, worried about the potential impact on the health and wellbeing of young people in our community and the potential traffic issues a drive-thru could bring to the new development. My team and I are discussing next steps and I will keep residents up to date on this and any action taken to support each of the schools following ISG’s collapse.

With Parliament in recess towards the end of September, I had the opportunity to attend my party’s annual conference in Liverpool, my first as MP. There, I met a number of important businesses and organisations to discuss how we can maintain and improve services for residents in Hertford and Stortford. I met with representatives from Stansted Airport to discuss their skills offer for young people in our community, Greater Anglia to talk about how we can provide high-quality train services for our residents, and Sovereign Network Group to discuss their local provision.

Josh with councillors and staff at Bishop's Stortford Town Council
Josh with councillors and staff at Bishop's Stortford Town Council

Before Parliament went into recess, we took the difficult decision to means-test winter fuel payments. While those pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit will continue to receive the payments, I appreciate why some residents in our community were concerned about this decision. I published a letter at the time explaining my reasons for voting with the Government because I believe MPs should be open and honest about their decisions.

But I don’t believe the work of an MP should end there and I’d like to set out some of the work I’m undertaking to ensure that pensioners in our community are supported. In partnership with Citizens Advice East Herts, I’m holding benefits advice surgeries for pensioners in Hertford and Stortford to ensure that they’re in receipt of everything they’re entitled to and to help them make claims if they’re not. I plan to continue these surgeries into the autumn and will publicise dates of further surgeries in due course.

I’m continuing to hold regular advice surgeries for constituents, and I’ve now held a surgery in every major town in our constituency. My ambition is to continue to move my surgeries around the constituency, ensuring that they’re as accessible as possible, and this will include holding surgeries in villages. Dates for upcoming surgeries will always be published at the bottom of this column.

Josh with Bishop's Stortford BID joint managers Karen Burton, left, and Madeleine Lees
Josh with Bishop's Stortford BID joint managers Karen Burton, left, and Madeleine Lees

I’m delighted to confirm that we’ve begun the process of moving into my shop-front constituency office in Bishop’s Stortford this month. This was an important promise of my General Election campaign and, although there’s still some work to do before we’re officially set up, I’m moving quickly to ensure that it is delivered. I look forward to updating residents as we move forward and look to hold an official opening in the autumn.

Finally, I want to thank our residents for their good faith as I’ve gone through the process of recruiting my team and setting up my office. It’s a process not without challenges and I’m conscious that it will, at times, have been frustrating for residents waiting for me to complete it. I’m pleased to confirm that I’ve now finished recruiting my office staff and they’ll be coming on board over the next few weeks. I’m immensely grateful to people in our community for their patience and understanding as I’ve gone through this process.

Upcoming surgeries – Fri Oct 11, 9.45am-12.45pm, Hertford; Sat Oct 19, 11.30am-1.30pm, Hertingfordbury.

To book your appointment, please email josh.dean.mp@parliament.uk with your full name, address, contact details and as much detail about your case as possible.



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