Our constituency
Our constituency is Stevenage in Hertfordshire, 30 miles north of London.
Advice surgeries
I hold regular advice surgeries in Stevenage and the surrounding villages for people who want to talk to me. If you would to make an appointment please telephone (01438) 222800 or use the
Advice and Surgeries
page.
Policy Forums
I have a large postbag every week from local people who raise matters which concern them. As a result I hold regular forums and meetings in Stevenage. Those who take part break up into groups to discuss issues they want to raise. At the end we all come together and agree on a report which I send to the Minister concerned. It is important that the views of ordinary people go right to the top.
So far, I have held meetings on education, crime, travellers, women's health and welfare reform.
If there are particular issues that you would like to be consulted about please
contact me. If you live in my constituency and would like to take part in future meetings please send your name and address to me, by e-mail or by writing to me at the House of Commons.
About Stevenage
The Stevenage constituency is made up of the town of Stevenage (pop. 76,000) and the surrounding villages of Aston, Benington, Walkern, Codicote, Datchworth and Knebworth. Thirty miles north of London, the old town of Stevenage was the first staging post for coach travel on the Great North Road.
Stevenage became a New Town after the Second World War to house people from London's East End who had been bombed out. It still has one of the highest proportions of council tenants in the country with about 11,000 council dwellings. The town is home to a number of high-tech industries, including
Astrium,
BAe Systems, computer giant
Fujitsu
and
GlaxoSmithKline
pharmaceuticals.
The council has been Labour-controlled for about 30 years. The MP in the 70s was Shirley Williams (now Baroness Williams) who joined the SDP during her term of office. The seat was gained by the Conservatives in 1979 who held it until 1997, when I won the seat for Labour with a majority of 11,582. I was re-elected in 2001 with a majority of 8,566, or 20.18 per cent, and again in 2005 with a majority of 3,139 or 7,5%.
Stevenage has excellent rail links to London and the North. The road network has always been far in advance of its time with well-planned dual carriageways and separate cycle paths, and it is renowned for having only two sets of traffic lights! The town's football team achieved fame in recent years by drawing with one of the top ranked premier league teams – Newcastle United – in the FA Cup.
Local links
Hertfordshire County Councillors and their contact details
Stevenage Labour Party
Stevenage Borough Council
East Herts District Council
Hertfordshire County Council
North Herts District Council
Labour East regional office
