Members of Parliament are elected to the House of Commons to represent the interests and concerns of all the people who live in their constituency, whether they voted for them at the General Election or not. They are only able to deal with issues raised by people who live in their constituency, called constituents.
To check if you are one of my constituents, please enter your postcode on the Parliament website.
MPs consider and vote on legislation and use their position to ask government ministers questions about current issues.
As Deputy Speaker, I don't walk through the division lobby to cast a vote. I am effectively "paired" with Mr Speaker, who was elected as a Labour MP.
I am always delighted to welcome people who live in the Epping Forest constituency to meet me at my regular surgeries in my local office or you can email or write to me.
When a constituent writes to me, I will write to the Minister involved. Most problems are solved in this way and I always aim to respond very quickly, although sometimes more complex cases may take slightly longer.
What I cannot do, however, is have any jurisdiction over local Council decisions. I can write to on your behalf to the council and ask them to look into a problem or to reconsider an issue. In the first instance though, constituents should contact their local council or councillor directly.