City status granted to Southend in honour of Sir David.

I went to Southend Technical College in the 60’s and got married at Southend Registry Office. A fitting tribute.

Sounded like a lovely man and will be much missed and mourned. Of course it's a fitting tribute to him to grant city status to Southend, not too soon at all.

The murder of Sir David is a threat to democracy regardless of which party you support or how they were voted in. When our MP’s can no longer meet their constituents face to face it is a sad day. The murder suspect apparently had three MP’s in his sights and Sir David was the unfortunate one. Sir David was warned previously about the dangers in holding face to face meetings with his constituents but he felt he could not help them properly without being available to meet them. He was a brave man who stood up for his convictions.

Agree lemongrove.

So when the Queen dies, perhaps we need to brace ourselves on GN for the minority to air anti monarchy views?

The News and Politics thread really needs splitting in two in my opinion.

Unfortunately Lemongrove & Anniebach The Conservatives and anyone who voted for them are considered fair game on GN

I find it deplorable that posters are intent in marring what could have been a respectful and uplifting thread dedicated to the memory of Sir David and all the good work he has achieved and supported over 38 years as a MP.

Agree lemon , a kind, caring man has been murdered but his
death seems a chance for a minority to air political views .

To the last two posters varian and keffie can you imagine if your sort of comments had been applied to a thread at the time about the murder of Jo Cox MP ?!
Wouldn’t have happened would it? The reason being it seems that only Conservative MP’s and voters are considered ‘fair game’ by some on the forum.
Grumbles about Amess supporting ‘extreme right wing policies’ and the hobby horse of FPTP voting and ‘glad to hear there are a few decent people’ etc are simply out of order at this time and this thread.

I loathe everything this Tory government stand for. However I was sad anf shocked to hear about David's death, as anyone would be

I was glad to hear, though I wish it hadn't been through his death, that there are a few decent genuine people left in the Tory party

RIP David

I was also pleased to hear Keir contacted Jo Cox family on Friday too, who was murdered just before the referendum in 2016.

It would have bought back awful memories for them too

Not at all insulting to Sir David Amess. He was a well liked MP. No-one who has heard the heartfelt tributes to him could possible dispute that,.

But he was a member of a party which has benefitted from a totally undemocratic voting system called First Past The Post.

If the UK had ever been a democratic country where the numbers of MPs was in proportion to the number of votes, I think it would have been very likely that such a popular candidate as David Amess would have found himself near the top of the list of Tory candidates and would have been elected.

But not this appalling Tory government.

varian

A gesture. Hardly anyone could possibly object to this memorial to Southend's popular MP.

Does it not make us reflect on the nonsense of First Past The Post?

People in Southend liked Sir David Amess.

His likeability was more important to many voters than the fact that he supported some quite extreme right wing policies. So they elected him. And so these right wing policies were enacted.

Would it not be better if we became a democracy, in which the majority elected a government, not a minority of voters who happened to like their local candidate.?

Wrong time, wrong place and quiet frankly insulting to all of us who new him.

GrannyBeek

Bluecat

David Amess was evidently well known by the people of Southend. I wouldn't recognise my MP if I fell over him. I think most people in this constituency would say the same.

Making a town into a city because someone has been murdered seems a bit odd, but I suppose it is as good a memorial as any.

As a memorial, no-one suggested that Batley should become a city.

Sir David Amess has been forefront of the campaign to award Southend-on-Sea city status for many many years.

Was Batley & Spen campaigning for city status before the dreadful murder of Jo Cox? If not then there is no comparison.

A gesture. Hardly anyone could possibly object to this memorial to Southend's popular MP.

Does it not make us reflect on the nonsense of First Past The Post?

People in Southend liked Sir David Amess.

His likeability was more important to many voters than the fact that he supported some quite extreme right wing policies. So they elected him. And so these right wing policies were enacted.

Would it not be better if we became a democracy, in which the majority elected a government, not a minority of voters who happened to like their local candidate.?

Bluecat

David Amess was evidently well known by the people of Southend. I wouldn't recognise my MP if I fell over him. I think most people in this constituency would say the same.

Making a town into a city because someone has been murdered seems a bit odd, but I suppose it is as good a memorial as any.

As a memorial, no-one suggested that Batley should become a city.

Southend United, their current name, is very appropriate I would have thought.

JdotJ

A fitting tribute for a wonderful man

I agree, and if more MP's were in the same mould as he, then none of us would be so complaining about politicians.
I wonder if the football team will become Southend City now?

Franbern We noticed this too!

He certainly seemed a very good MP in that he appears to have worked hard for the constituency and I am pleased for Southend that his tragic passing will be marked by something permanent.

David Amess was evidently well known by the people of Southend. I wouldn't recognise my MP if I fell over him. I think most people in this constituency would say the same.

Making a town into a city because someone has been murdered seems a bit odd, but I suppose it is as good a memorial as any.

I think its a wonderful thing to be done, and a true tribute to a very popular MP who is no longer with us.Well done PM.

I did wonder about it when I first heard, but after I discovered that the MP had been actively campaigning for it since the previous Essex city was created, I though what a very sensible and apt action to reflect the obvious devotion of a constituency MP to “his”
Local People. Just a terrible irony that he can never know about it.

A fitting tribute for a wonderful man

Lizzie44

Agree - Boris is the antithesis of "cuddly". My 70-year-old teddy bear is cuddly and he is altogether too nice to be compared to Boris.

Could probably do a better job though !!

But Mark François' was full of anger and hate- and I think he has forgotten how he said that anti-Brexiters were signing their own death warrants. He made me feel very uncomfortable .I agree, everyone, irrespective of political party made suitable and appropriate tribute to Sir David Amess, praising his every day work with constituents, but Francois's red faced vitriol was inappropriate and rather weird to be honest. Such a discordant note in an unusually respectful house.

I think city status is a fitting tribute to Sir David Amess. He wasn’t my MP, so can’t speak from experience, but he came across as a thoroughly decent man - very well liked and respected among his constituents, and very committed to his work. What happened was an outrage and a tragedy. May he rest in peace.

Cossy
Have you not seen the plans for the Queensway regeneration program?

www.google.co.uk/search?q=The+Queensway+regeneration+programme+%2B+southend+on+sea&client=safari&hl=en-gb&sxsrf=AOaemvJAKUhl_wn8Pxw6pZN2jg-rdB9h1Q:1634647381094&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=Fb5POFEJqW2j4M%252CaUZShDcnO9Y2MM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQ-1HhYd8nGmqGBTj2OWr41pU6kTg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtou6DwNbzAhUiAmMBHUWpBgwQ9QF6BAgLEAE&biw=1121&bih=800&dpr=2#imgrc=Fb5POFEJqW2j4M