Despite MP David Amess's murder, any increase in politicians' security cannot make it harder for constituents to seek their help – Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP

I once met a man who hadn’t slept properly for nearly 30 years. It turned out there was a loose drain cover on the road beside his house and it rattled every time a vehicle passed over it.

Conservative MP David Amess, who was murdered on Friday, pictured with his dogs, Lily and Boat, at the Westminster Dog of the Year competition (Picture: Geoff Caddick/PA)

The council didn’t seem to take him seriously and so he came to see me as the final thing he could think of to do about it. We got it fixed and I like to think he’s enjoying more peaceful nights these days.

It’s a story that I tell school kids when I’m describing my job. I explain that casework may seem mundane when you first encounter it in your constituency advice surgery, but you need to understand that it is probably the most important thing in the world to the person who has brought it to you and, for that half hour or so, you need to make it the most important thing in your world too. Hands down it is the most important part of my job as an MSP.

The brutal murder of Sir David Amess in his advice surgery on Friday has shaken the foundations of British politics. Its effects are chilling to elected representatives at every level of government in this country.

Questions about safety and ease of access to parliamentarians are understandably once again being debated on every news outlet, as they were after the devastating murder of Jo Cox. But some of the solutions being discussed jar up against a fundamental principle of representative democracy: we shouldn’t make it harder for people to meet with us.

I never know exactly what is coming through my door when I hold my surgery. Constituents don’t always give any detail when they book an appointment and, in many cases, the first ten minutes can be spent unpacking the real reason for their visit.

In the vast majority of cases, people are at their wit’s end. They have tried literally everything else and a visit to their MP or MSP represents their last role of the dice. It might be a problem with housing, a neighbour dispute or a clash with some public body.

In some cases, particularly during Covid, it can be a matter of life and death. In a lot of cases I can help, in others I can’t, but they just need to know they’ve tried everything.

I’ve helped over 10,000 constituents in my time as an MSP. I have wept with them, laughed with them, had them get angry with me. But I’ve never been anxious about my safety or that of my staff.

I’m almost always supported at my surgery by my amazing casework manager, and we try to make sure there is someone next door within earshot. The only times I’ve ever had cause to contact the authorities about a constituent is when they suggested they may be an immediate danger to themselves.

Sir David’s killing will rightly force a necessary tightening of arrangements and protocols about how elected representatives meet with the public, but it should not prevent such meetings. We will always need to be able to offer those who seek help, our time, our undivided attention and the privacy they need to open up about what’s keeping them awake at night.

Alex Cole-Hamilton is Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh Western

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.