Coronavirus: Peterborough MP working day and night to get key legislation passed

Speaking from his office at the House of Commons while awaiting the announcement from Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday night, Mr Vara said: “I am currently on what’s known as a three-line whip, which means I’m required to remain in the Commons in case of any votes.

“The three-line whip applies to Conservative members for the next three days, during which time the Government urgently want to pass an important bill which will help defeat the coronavirus – something unprecedented in our time.

“But in order to get that bill passed it must of course be debated in the House (of Commons), and the order paper says that it could be debated for several hours per sitting and several sittings may be needed.

“Conservative members are required to be in the House until the debate is concluded so that there will a government majority to pass the legislation.

“We’re currently in uncharted waters, and my staff and I are determined to support local communities that I represent as much as is possible.

“As a local MP I’m determined to do my very best for the people who have put their trust in me – that means the people of North West Cambridgeshire who I’ve been privileged to represent for nearly fifteen years.

“The coronavirus crisis has meant making some changes of course – I no longer hold any face-to-face meetings and my parliamentary staff work remotely from home.

“I can’t hold regular surgeries any more, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be contacted or speak with people – I continue to do so by phone, rather than being in the same room.

“People can contact me, my email is answered always, and we try to reply as quickly as possible to questions and correspondence that we receive.

“In the present circumstances MPs are required to come to Westminster only if absolutely necessary and I have chosen to drive in my car to my office, rather than take public transport as I might otherwise do if the circumstances were different.

“In any given day my office receives all manner of questions and requests, but at present there is obviously a huge amount of correspondence because of the coronavirus situation.

“This includes requests for help from British citizens abroad. We have people currently in Peru and Morocco, as well as in other countries, and I’m liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to see what can be done to support them.

“While the Government has taken the step of releasing £330 billion of coronavirus funding many people have asked me for clarity as to how they can access those funds.

“In times of crisis like this people look for direction from their government, especially when it affects them personally and financially.

“Individuals and businesses in North West Cambridgeshire are worried about their future, their staff and the possibility of losing their companies.

“It is my role, as their MP, to speak up on their behalf to the Government and also point them in the right direction as much as possible.

“A lot of people have asked me how they can help out through volunteering and I’m sending them in the direction of the Coordination Hub that has been set up by Cambridgeshire County Council, working with Peterborough City Council.

“I work very closely, day-to-day, with the people at Peterborough City Council, especially leader of the council Cllr John Holdich and chief executive Gillian Beasley.

“My parliamentary office team and I have been working all weekend and we will continue to do all we can to help the many people who have been in contact.”

Talking about the ways the Government have instructed us to alter the way in which we lead our lives during the crisis, Mr Vara added: “We are still behind some European countries in terms of the spread of coronavirus.

“This is not the way we like to live; but these are extraordinary times that require extraordinary measures to defeat this awful disease.

“To do that we are – all of us – going to have to change some of the ways that we do things, and things that we take for granted will no longer be available to us for the duration of the coronavirus emergency.

“We must observe the rules for social distancing – everybody now has a responsibility to do the right thing for themselves and their families; but some people must also stop being utterly irresponsible and start to think of the effects their actions could potentially have on others in the community.

“Being responsible means working from home wherever possible and not going out unless absolutely necessary – this requires huge self-discipline, but it’s the only way we’re going to keep the numbers of fatalities to a minimum.

“I’m pleased to say MPs across the political divide are working together to defeat this disease – and we will win in the end, of that I have no doubt.

Mr Vara’s message to his constituents in North West Cambridgeshire is simple: “My staff and I will continue to do all we can to help and support people in this time of unprecedented crisis.

“And, as we work together to defeat the coronavirus, let us be mindful of the vulnerable and elderly in our communities, doing all that we can to help them in these difficult and challenging times.

Shailesh Vara has been the Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire since May 2005.

You can contact him at his Westminster address: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

. By phone: 0207 219 6050

. By email: [email protected].

Robert Alexander, Local Democracy Reporting Service