There’s a demonstration outside parliament as Helena Dollimore talks to Rye News. The noise interrupting the conversation is just another example of how life for the new MP for Hastings and Rye is full on, with people constantly vying for her attention. “There’s a lot of juggling. A lot of squeezing as much as possible into the time available.” The long to-do list also now includes writing a monthly column for Rye News, which will begin soon.
Ten thousand requests for help have come into the MP’s offices since her election last year. “It’s a reflection of how our public services are on their knees after fourteen years of the last government, I’m in the lucky position that I get things looked into, but there are a lot of vulnerable people not getting the support they need.”
Her new team, based at Westminster and in the constituency, are kept busy with complicated cases. “Families who desperately need help from the housing department. People waiting for too long for cancer treatment. Pensioners not receiving their pensions – we helped one man get a £75,000 back payment after not getting his pension for years. People trapped overseas. It's a huge responsibility but it's also a huge honour to help people and to represent Hastings and Rye.”
The challenges also include getting to grips with how government works. “The House of Commons chamber is a lot smaller than it looks on TV and with the number of new Labour MPs it's absolutely packed. Something I didn’t expect was how long it can take to get to speak in the chamber. You’re constantly bobbing up and down trying to get attention. I’m also very conscious you've only got ten to fifteen seconds before the speaker will interrupt you and cut you off. You must be really concise.”
There are a lot of traditions and customs to understand as a new MP. “There’s so much to get your head around but I’ve raised a lot of issues in parliament and directly with government ministers. I also got elected to the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs select committee which has focusses a lot on the issues that are very relevant to our community, like fishing, farming, the water companies, the resilience of our rural communities in places like Rye.”
Another challenge is the constituency itself. How does she balance the needs of tens of thousands of people in Hastings and just a few thousand in Rye? “Ever since I've been here I have referred to myself as the MP for Hastings, Rye and the villages. That's very deliberate because I want to make sure that no corner of the constituency is ever forgotten. There’s a lot more in common across the constituency than people think – for examples access to the NHS.”
After the landslide election, poll ratings for the Labour government have collapsed. She is unfazed by criticism the government’s national agenda on farming inheritance tax, pensioners heating allowances and national insurance increases disproportionately affects a rural town like Rye with a significantly older population. “There were specific measures in the budget to protect small businesses. If you employ four or five people on the national living wage full time you pay less National Insurance because we've raised the employment allowance from £5,000 to £10,000. We are reforming business rates to make it a fairer balance between our brilliant high street, often independent, businesses in Rye and those huge online giants like Amazon who don't pay business rates in the same way. It’s really important that we rebalance that and make that a level playing field.
“Obviously, none of us came into politics to take the decision that we did on the winter fuel allowance. It was a decision we were forced to make because of the dire inheritance the conservatives left us but also to make sure we were investing the money that our NHS so desperately needs. I've run cost of living events in Rye and in Hastings to help people understand the support that is available to them. It’s the same with the farm inheritance tax. I’ve talked to local farmers and I fully support them but again it comes down to the worst inheritance of any government coming into office."
Helena Dollimore holds regular surgeries in Rye and in the next few weeks will be starting a regular column in Rye News. "I'm really looking forward to keeping in touch with the readers on the issues that I'm working on in parliament at a national level. I'll also be putting local issues into the spotlight that might not be getting the attention that they need."
Rye News will be approaching representatives from the other political parties locally for comments and opinion pieces.
