COLUMN: '˜Not an issue under the sun where I can pass the buck' says MP Matt Warman

Parliament sits in Westminster from Monday to Thursday and on the occasional Friday: the summer recess is a chance to catch up with all the events that happen earlier in the week, and to go to the wealth of things that cater to tourists both local and from further afield. So whether it's a village show or a concert, I'm looking forward to a summer that is a chance to talk informally to constituents about the host of issues that are top of their minds. Past experience tells me there will be a host of issues raised, of course from Europe to the situation in the Middle East. But it is the local ones that come up most often: the time it takes to get an appointment at a doctor's surgery, broadband, the state of the roads and local parking charges. All of these are topics that I've talked about at length to the local councillors whose direct responsibility they are, but what strikes me every time is that this is a great strength of our parliamentary democracy. All of those issues might be administered locally, but each is ultimately funded by general taxation that is overseen by Parliament. So in a sense there is not an issue under the sun where I can pass the buck. It makes every fete or concert as varied as it is possible to imagine '“ I look forward to seeing you there.