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Fuller's Forum: Your questions help make democracy work
Bedford and Kempston MP Richard Fuller on how a question by your MP can enrich democracy
Pressuring the government to end child labour in developing countries, requesting information about the impact of slot machines on gambling addiction, and lobbying to stop excessive bank charges, are three topics that local residents recently asked me to raise in Parliament.
Asking questions in Parliament is a way for MPs to hold the government bureaucracy to account, or to raise an issue that might otherwise be forgotten.
Although an MP will not necessarily submit every question, this can be a useful service for local residents and community groups. Let me give you a couple of recent examples.
I received letters written by students at Daubeney Middle School who had been reading a book, 'Iqbal', by Francesco D'Adamo. Iqbal tells the story of 13-year-old Iqbal Masih who was forced in to labour in a carpet factory, escaped and began campaigning to help others still trapped in workhouses.
Iqbal was, unfortunately, killed in 1995, but was heralded by many human rights organisations.
After reading the book as a class, the students were inspired to action, asking me to raise their concerns in Parliament. I am proud to have done so on their behalf, and proud of them, and their teachers, for engaging so positively on this issue.
While eating at one of the many fine Indian restaurants in our town, I engaged in a conversation about gambling and having slot machines in betting shops.
I enjoy a flutter at slot machines but know from personal experience how addictive they can be, so I was happy to ask in Parliament whether the government planned any changes. They do not, but I will continue to lobby for change.
Local residents asking Parliamentary questions which are drawn from their own local experiences - rather than prompted by a lobbying group – is part of what makes our democracy vital.
I hope, over the weeks and months ahead, that when you encounter that moment of frustration, of outrage, of enquiry, you will consider whether a question in Parliament is appropriate. If so, reach out to your MP.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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