Last week’s attack on Westminster was an appalling assault on our democracy, and a reminder of the value of the men and women who keep us safe.
PC Keith Palmer gave his life defending the home of our democracy from a man who had just killed three people and maimed many more. He was unarmed, but didn’t think twice about putting himself between a knife-wielding murderer and the public.
When you’ve been in Parliament a couple of years you get used to all the security. The police and security officers are so friendly and professional that they very quickly become a normal part of life, even when toting a machine gun.
So we can forget, sometimes, what an extraordinary job they do. When the worst happens they put their lives on the line, running towards danger to keep the rest of us safe. We owe them, and the men and women of the security services who prevent so many other attacks getting through, an extraordinary debt of gratitude.
I’m very proud that so many people have responded to Khalid Masood’s brutality in the best possible way: by raising money for PC Palmer, and other wounded police officers – and by carrying on with our lives.
One of the things I’m proudest of is that we’ve not let him shut down our democracy. Parliament met on Thursday as usual, and I like so many of my colleagues have done my best to keep my commitments with my constituents.
On Friday, for example, I held a surgery for local head teachers. We discussed both the proposed National Funding Formula and other pressures on their budgets. I’ve created a head teachers’ survey and will have more meetings next week too – I’ve very grateful that they took the time to give me valuable feedback to take back to Westminster.
I want to make sure that I’m up to date with the concerns of Solihull schools. The fight for a fairer funding deal has been one of my top priorities since I was elected – I’ve had meetings several ministers and spoken in the House of Commons about how our teachers and pupils were getting short-changed by Labour’s unfair system.
Working with constituents to tackle this sort of challenge is the part of the job I love. I know so many of my Parliamentary colleagues feel the same – and no terrorist is ever going to change that.