I worked with you when you first won Basildon in 1983 and attended your celebration party. You were a friendly 'people' person from day 1 and made everyone feel welcome. It was disappointing from a Basildon point of view when you moved to Southend but you never changed in your hard work for your constituents and for Great Britain. Thank you for everything you have done, you will be sadly missed. You are certainly a one-off and Parliament will be a worse place without your care for the Nation and sense in working for the best option rather than following the party line if you disagreed with the potential result being bad for your constituency and, ultimately, the Nation as a whole. You stood by your beliefs and loved meeting people and were prepared to listen to them irrespective of their opinions even if they were not yours. God bless you and welcome you to his heart. You were a human, human being. May God be with your family and help them to understand why.
Posted by Michael Byrne
