New Waveney Valley MP, Adrian Ramsay, gets down to constituency business

Fresh from making history, the East of England’s first Green MP has faced a busy baptism – going into his third week of his new role.

Adrian Ramsay was elected as the MP for the new Waveney Valley constituency earlier this month – the first time the Green Party has been able to make inroads in the region, as it capitalised on a torrid night for the Conservatives.

Since the start of his new job, Mr Ramsay has already faced his first problem in Parliament – finding his way around the vast corridors.

He said he had not let that stop him, however, and has been focusing on getting the constituency side of his role on track as quickly as possible.

To that end, he held his first surgery in Diss, giving the Green Party co-leader the chance to learn more about the issues affecting day-to-day life in the constituency.

“I met people from the Hoxne Post Office group, who want to take over the site, and someone from the indoor market in Diss on how we could better promote our high streets,” he said.

“Wider subjects, such as improving bus and cycling routes, also came up and I will be pursuing these with local councils and the Government.”

Mr Ramsay, who joined the Green Party at the age of 16, also visited Diss High School and Fressingfield Primary School.

“It was great to get tours of both schools and to see their allotment projects, which are being used for students’ wellbeing,” he said.

“At Fressingfield, we talked about encouraging children to engage with politicians and others to express their views.

“With Diss High School, we are looking at arranging for students to visit Parliament in the future.”

Finally, the MP met Matt Scade and Gina Cole at Waveney Foodbank in Eye – a cause he is keen to support during his time in office.

“They do such an amazing job and we discussed where the Government can introduce policies that will really support people on the lowest incomes,” he said.