It’s certainly been a busy and emotional week with the recent vote on Assisted Dying which has left me and many others with a lot of very mixed emotions.
I want to greatly thank all who work both in our vital healthcare and important local hospice sector. Having experienced the reality of caring for my parents and seeing them both die, and my mother being there for my father with his acquired brain injury, I greatly know conversations about illness, suffering, dignity, and the end of someone’s life are never simply political arguments.
When you have sat beside someone you love through difficult times, like many of us have, you understand just how complicated these questions are.
For me, not being able to support this Private Members Bill has always been about balancing competing challenges but always listening to the wide-ranging views of my constituents.
Protecting the most vulnerable, ensuring that nobody ever feels their life has become a burden, or that choosing death is somehow made the easier or more acceptable option because high palliative care and pain relief is unattainable.
The vote was very close, 286 MPs voted against the bill and 270 voted in favour, which shows just how finely balanced and complicated this issue remains but overall making good, safe law is vital and above all prioritising improved palliative care and support for families.
Please find my full statement here - https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/news/mims-davies-mp-presents-heartfelt-speech-assisted-dying-debate-parliament
Locally, I’ve also been working hard to upgrade the Uckfield Line and submitting Written Parliamentary Questions to Ministers. Until this happens and it is electrified it will be very difficult to achieve better services as our constituency relies on the limited number of Class 171 diesel fleet. There is no capacity for more services, there is less flexibility, and less resilience on this crucial line. We need improvements now and even more so in the coming years. Uckfield deserves better.
I have been pushing the Minister for Rail for improvements behind the scenes, and I am also pushing for a face-to-face meeting on your behalf. Please do share your opinions with me - https://www.mimsdavies.org.uk/nationalisation-rail-survey
I’m thrilled to be hosting our 1st ever East Grinstead, Uckfield, and the villages’ MP Jobs Fair on Thursday 24th September, 10am – 2pm in central Uckfield.
Whether you're looking for your first job, considering a career change, returning to work, looking for seasonal work, or exploring training opportunities, this event is a great chance to meet employers face-to-face, discover current vacancies, and receive advice to support your next career move.
Register for free tickets if you are a constituent here - https://Mims-Davies-Jobs-Fair.eventbrite.co.uk
And if you’re a business looking for a stall to promote your business – we have a couple left so please do email me [email protected]
Finally, was a fantastic weekend I had so many events local this weekend including the wonderful 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Luxford Centre the fifty-five plus club which is a thriving in the town.
East Grinstead held the annual Classic Motor Show on the high street on Sunday the previous day was Her Move live at the Eg Sports club - showcasing all the clubs and activities for women and girls to get involved with and in Chailey, it was the brilliant harvest festival coupled with live music at the Five Bells pub.
What busy area we live in, and I love getting to all the events I can in our villages and towns. It’s certainly a buzzing September as the Sussex Bonfire and procession season has commenced too.
