Friday 4th July marks exactly one year since the 2024 General Election where I was elected to Parliament as the first non-Conservative MP in West Dorset’s 138-year history as a constituency.
I cannot believe it has been a whole year … and yet at the same time it feels longer.
It has been a whirlwind.
The initial shock soon gave way to a realisation of the enormity of the task ahead … that first day being shown around the Palace and wondering how I would ever learn how the navigate the warren of corridors and narrow staircases. Even now I am still discovering new shortcuts and cut-throughs, hidden toilets, committee rooms I’ve never been in before – and recently a whole office block I didn’t know existed!
Then there was getting to grips with the complex and arcane procedure of the House, most of which you have to learn by osmosis. Bobbing: the act of standing and sitting to indicate to the Speaker you wish to ask a question. The Gallant Member is the correct way to refer to an MP who previously served in the Armed Forces. I’m not alone in still occasionally committing the cardinal sin of using ‘you’, which refers to the Speaker of the House, and not the person you are referring to. The list goes on.
There was also the urgent need to find a constituency office and hire staff. I still haven’t hired a communications person: so if you ever question the quality of my columns in this magazine it is because they are written by me personally (usually 10 minutes before the deadline!).
I sit on two Select Committees – Foreign Affairs and National Security. Both give me an opportunity to work on important issues of the defence and promotion of the realm.
I have, I hope, also become competent at the important work of being a constituency MP. We have closed just over 2,500 pieces of casework, helping residents on everything from getting back from Israel after the outbreak of the war with Iran to securing numerous Education, Health and Care Plans for children with additional needs, and a thousand other issues, small, medium and big. I’ve spoken in the Chamber 84 times, and sent 820 written questions to ministers.
This is the most amazing – and difficult – job I have ever done, and I am hugely grateful to the residents of West Dorset for giving me the opportunity. So, on this one-year anniversary, I just wanted to say thank you again.
Edward Morello
MP for West Dorset
