I was disappointed and irritated by our new MP’s account of his maiden speech (Bridport News February 6).

He seems to be inhabiting a different west Dorset to the one I have lived in since 1980.

In my West Dorset, the infrastructure is in meltdown; transport, health, education and other vital services are in ever deepening crisis because of governmental cuts. Housing provision for local people is appalling and any planning ignores the need for real affordability, increased services and infrastructure. Increasing numbers of vulnerable families live for whole decades under the constant threat of eviction and homelessness. Village life is becoming impossible for native citizens because of bus service cuts and the swift purchase of houses for unaffordable buy-to-rent purposes. The reliance on food banks is ever growing.

One could say a lot more about the desperate situation we find ourselves in but my point here is that our MP says nothing about it (except for a vague passing reference to “difficulties and issues”). He prefers, instead, to use precious parliamentary time to share puerile Dorset Knob jokes with his colleagues. I am sure he was gratified by the “ripple of amusement” he got, but we are paying him a substantial salary to tackle the massive problems faced by ordinary Dorset citizens – they are not a laughing matter.

The self-congratulatory reference to the new Agricultural Bill lacked both detail and substance.

There is little indication that he has any grasp of the grim reality of the task he has undertaken.

Time to stop clowning and start work Chris. We have enough clowns in parliament already.

JOHN HAYLOCK
Bridport