Amber's first week in her own words
You voted, and the result, much predicted but still extraordinary was a hung Parliament.
As I recovered on Friday May 7th the results from the rest of the country were pointing towards uncertainty and potentially, a second election this year.
For my own part, my first activity as your MP was to go to the Hastings Old Town Residents' Association on the evening of Friday May 7th. As a resident of the Old Town I am naturally a member, but I am told that I am now President – a heady title for a newly elected politician!
It was packed and full of interesting views and a presentation on local art, and then on the Jerwood and the opportunities for the community that will come with the new gallery.
The following week I was one of many new MPs trying not to get lost in the House of Commons. I gather it is always confusing for new MPs but that week had an extra complexity – nobody knew who would be in charge. Clearly, no single party had "won".
The voters had delivered no overall majority and we were in the hands of the negotiators and party leaders as to who would form a Government. The corridors, wide, grand and dramatic, were full of rumours and whispers as we wondered what the outcome would be.
Nobody knew how long the uncertainty would last – other European countries take an average of 40 days to work out coalitions but it was clear that it could not last more than a week.
The final result, a formal coalition between the Conservatives and the Lib Dems is a platform for a strong, decisive Government and I welcome it.
There will be compromises – that is what you get in a coalition. But it will be worth it for the certainty of a Government with a strong plan and a clear mandate. The trouble with General Elections is that they effectively paralyse Governments while they run their campaigns.
We cannot afford that. I do not want our country to be run for politics rather than for the good of the country. There are important decisions and changes to be made. And now we have the leadership to deliver that.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for St Leonards-on-Sea
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: 1 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
