Joy Morrissey MP
Joy Morrissey is the Conservative MP for Beaconsfield, and has been an MP continuously since 12 December 2019.
Contact the Member at their Westminster address.
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
Phone: 0207 219 3000
Email: joy.morrissey.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency Office
01494 977505
Update from Joy Morrissey MP: 19th December 2022
joy.morrissey.mp@parliament.uk
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After the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, I think many of us were hoping that 2022 would be our first normal year for a long time. I was certainly looking forward to being able to get out and about, championing the issues that I know matter most to my constituents.
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While the opportunities have increased the volume of correspondence has certainly not abated. There was some received wisdom in Parliament that the pandemic had led to a large and temporary spike in people writing to their MP, 2022 has shown this is not quite true. I have received 24,160 emails from constituents this year, which have generated 10,423 cases that we have closed in the last 12 months, leading to 20,469 pieces of correspondence being sent from my office to constituents. On top of this I have written letters to 17,080 constituents keeping them updated on projects I have been working on in their area. Quite the postbag I’m sure you will agree.
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I run a number of action groups throughout the constituency, as a way to maintain regular contact with communities on particular issues of concern in an area. These represent some of the most intensive, detail focussed work that I undertake. This year the most active have been the Iver Action Group and the Thames Water Action Group. The dominant issue in Iver is planning and pressure on green spaces, something I have made my top priority since my election in 2019. The three big challenges we are facing are Pinewood expansion, a proposed new Motorway Service Area and a slew of speculative applications for data centres on Green Belt land in the area. One of the important breakthroughs we made was to secure, in writing, advice from the Housing Minister that data centres were not considered appropriate development in Green Belt by the Government, the opposite of what was being claimed by applicants. This has seen not a single application being granted permission, including the Link Park site, which has just been denied by the Planning Inspectorate on appeal as well.
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Thames Water serve much of my constituency but can be the source of significant problems. Certain areas of Farnham Common have been suffering from issues with flooding and sewage backing up into homes for more than a decade. In that time no firm and funded solution had been found, a totally unacceptable situation, that I was shocked to learn about and determined to fix. Work started with the formation of the action group, bringing together local residents, Councillors and a team from Thames Water to try and find a solution. Just a few weeks ago we had the fantastic news that we had secured a commitment for a £12 million project to build a new sewer line to take pressure off the area. I am beyond delighted that we can finally lift this terrible burden and I will be working hard to ensure this project is delivered.
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Last year I started a campaign to get more face to face GP appointments made available for local residents, with a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament. This is been something that has been raised with me consistently since my election. During the pandemic there was a sharp decline in the number of available face to face appointments, and when we managed to get out of lockdown, there was such a spike in demand that even though more appointments were available, they still felt hard for individuals to get hold of. As part of my follow up on this issue I have been visiting surgeries and talking to GPs about how they can best make the most appointments available to their patients, including Burnham Health Centre, which looks after a particularly high number of people.
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By far my greatest efforts this year have been devoted to campaigning to protect our Green Belt. I know this is the number one issue for the people of Beaconsfield constituency and I have been pursuing every avenue to secure additional protections. I have been actively opposing large and inappropriate developments like Pinewood expansion, the Marlow Film Studio and the Beeches Park development in Beaconsfield. I have also been pushing hard for much of South Bucks to be included in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which is coming up for review shortly. Meetings with the head of the Chiltern Conservation Board, Natural England and Ministers at DEFRA will hopefully pave the way for large areas of the constituency to receive this additional protection. The problem of top down housing targets is one I have been raising since a few months after I was elected. I have badgered Ministers in the Governments of three Prime Ministers about this issue and thankfully Michael Gove has now announced they are being dropped. This should take a lot of development pressure off our green spaces!
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One of the problems that I have spent a lot of time addressing in 2022 is crime and antisocial behaviour. This is an issue that crosses communities and manifests in a number of different ways. Whether it is vandalism in Flackwell Heath, burglary in Gerrards Cross or vehicular antisocial behaviour in The Ivers, I have been working closely with Thames Valley Police to improve responses. Coordinating with Superintendent Emma Burroughs, Inspector James Ellis and Local Sergeants like Dan Ryder, I have been trying to bring residents, police and other local service providers, like Buckinghamshire Council, together to help fight these threats.
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This is the first Christmas in several years that we can enjoy without the shadow of Covid restrictions. It has been fantastic to see the joy and eagerness with which everyone has thrown themselves back into the festivities. Having attended events from Gerrards Cross to Marlow and Iver to Bourne End it has been delightful to meet with and chat to so many of you.
I would like to send my heartfelt well wishes to all of my constituents, it is the honour of my life to represent you. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.
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Joy Morrissey MP
Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield
Assistant Government Whip
House of Commons | London | SW1A 0AA | 020 7219 6453
Disraeli House | 12 Aylesbury End | Beaconsfield | Buckinghamshire | HP9 1LW | 01494 977505
www.joymorrissey.uk | @JoyMorrissey | fb.com/joy4beaconsfield
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