Forum Topic

Angie Bray too busy for her constituents?

How disappointing that having written a letter (old fashioned I know) and a follow up email about a serious issue effecting a local business, my MP hasn't responded in anyway after 3 weeks. My friend emailed his MP Stephen Pound about the same thing and received response within a few days. mmmm How should I vote when it comes to it?

Ollie Raphael ● 4474d26 Comments

Highly unusual, in my experience.Phone her office.

Rosco White ● 4474d

I can only presume she has better things to do. I thought a letter, and then when I didn't get a reply, an email would do the trick. I didn't think I'd have to chase her down. Interesting that Stephen Pound jumped straight on this and had the decency not to just reply but to take time to help.

Ollie Raphael ● 4474d

All I can say I have said, highly unusual.Give up and don't vote for her, or phone her office.Third time, via a third avenue of communication, ...... lucky?

Rosco White ● 4474d

I hear you Rosco but just feel a bit annoyed about the whole thing. I've never called directly on my MP's help before as I guess I have always thought they would be 'too busy' to help me. Saddened that this has been my experience up until now.

Ollie Raphael ● 4474d

A little story.I had two landlines into the house (one BT and the other Virgin cable) so that in the event of one having a problem at least I'd have the other as a backup.About 2 years ago, down goes the BT line, and the Virgin line followed too the next day.Moral of the story?Unlikely and improbable as it is, both your letter and your email may have fallen through the "cracks in the floor".

Rosco White ● 4474d

Well, as Steve doesn't represent Ealing Acton that choice is made somewhat easier.

Nigel Brooks ● 4474d

I'm very aware he isn't in my area but the point is he bothered to reply to one of 'his' constituents. My question on who to vote for was party wide rather than MP specific.

Ollie Raphael ● 4474d

Ollie, I am very surprised to hear that you have not had a response from Angie Bray, she is normally very quick to get back to her constituents.Do give her office a call and I am sure you will be hearing from her in the near future.Angie does care for her constituents.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4473d

Seems odd...Of all the MPs we have had since I moved to Acton, Angie has been by far the quickest to respond to constituents.

Sara Nathan ● 4473d

Well she seems popular on here. I wonder if she reads this forum.

Ollie Raphael ● 4473d

Popular? That's just her local fan club replying to you.

Pete Grist ● 4473d

come on then, let's get some balance on here!

Ollie Raphael ● 4473d

Well I would never vote for her, but every time I have written or signed an online petition, I've had a prompt personal response (I tweak them to make sure they are personal so I know they aren't stock answers).  Instead of carping on about her, why don't you take the advice to contact her office again and see what happens?

Anne Brown ● 4473d

Hardly 'carping on about her' Anne. Just enjoying the reaction.  I think that young people feel that MPs are not very approachable and some might feel that Tory MPs in particular appear 'superior' so I thought the best thing to was to try to make contact. It seems a little strange that both my letters have 'slipped through'. I included my email address and as you know it only takes a second to acknowledge someone.I'm sure she's just extremely busy.

Ollie Raphael ● 4473d

I'm not in any 'fan club' but have found her responsive when I have got in touch.Did you call her office? That's an effective route.

Sara Nathan ● 4473d

I am not in any 'fan club' either but credit where credit is due, Angie has been very responsive and helpful when I have been in contact with her.Perhaps if you contact her office as advised by others you may well have any issues sorted out.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4472d

You must include your full address and post code and telephone  number. Failure will result in non reply. There are strict rules. An MP cannot interven in another's MPs constutional affairs. Are you sure you have the correct MP.Could this be some Labour mixing gaining support for the Huq?

Nikki Howard ● 4472d

It seems that Ollies post comes straight out of the Big Red Book on malicious electioneering. Doesn't matter whether it's accurate, someone will believe it. The day before the recent election, I bumped into to an otherwise delightful woman delivering a leaflet on my road which began 'Lying local Tories' As I am the local Tory and the leaflet was the lie, I asked her to explain. Embarrassed, she ran away and hasn't spoken to me since. This is upsetting for me and for her. If Ollie really wanted help from Angie, he'd ring the office and not have time to start the rumour in the first place. A word of advice Ollie, Many people in Acton have no response from their elected Councillors whether they write or call. What if all those people took to the forum to highlight the terrible service they receive? Anne could start.

Maire Lowe ● 4472d

Gracious, I am truly shocked. I am sorry to disappoint the conspiracy theorists but I'm simply a local businessman living and working in Acton who simply chose to highlight an experience with a local forum to gauge opinion.I've been a member of this forum for many years discussing crime, safety and the community, which I care about greatly.My business partner and I both chose to write to our MPs. He lives in Perivale and thus wrote to Steve Pound and I live in West Acton which is why I wrote to Angie Bray. I have never said that I wouldn't or even haven't called Angie Bray's office since posting the original message but the paranoia that this post seems to have created amoung the local community is baffling. Forums are exactly for this kind of thing. No one is calling anyone a 'liar', no one is starting 'rumours'.Just raising a local issue for discussion with local people.

Ollie Raphael ● 4472d

Well there's brave! Calling Anne Brown, Sara Nathan, Jean Fernandez, Nicky, Rosco, all paranoid. Good luck with that kind of thinking.

Maire Lowe ● 4472d

Well said Marie.Presumably Ollie will by now have taken the advice of forum members and telephoned Angie's office which in turn will hopefully end the accusation that our MP is unresponsive.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4472d

Ollie has written a letter and not got a reply. Why should he have to telephone as well? It's a simple point he is making to which you all seem very sensitive and a bit defensive.She has always replied to me, but other people have said they had no reply.

Pete Grist ● 4472d

I deliberately chose not to mention anyone by name because clearly not everyone has responded in the same way. I have received some helpful advice and excellent insight. Everyone has and can speak for themselves Marie. Last time I had a comment like this thrown to me was in a school playground. Why do I need good luck? Is something going to happen to me Marie? I think that only two people suggested that I was doing some sort of 'electioneering' (which of course is untrue and not helpful) The rest of the responses were giving personal experiences and helpful advice which I am grateful for.

Ollie Raphael ● 4472d

Seriously?  Someone asks if it's reasonable to expect a reply from his MP and suddenly he's a Labour activist engaged in "malicious electioneering"?Regardless of ones political persuasion and whether you voted for them or not, an MP is your representative and you deserve to be represented.  An MPs ability to do so has no bearing on their party's policies.Why does everything on this forum end up with political arguments?

Ben Smith ● 4472d

This thread is marvellous.  I am chortling over my coffee. Go on, Ollie, have you actually chased the letter up?  Have you? All the time you've spent responding to our comments which, let's face it, you invite by posting on the forum, could have been spent in seeing whether your letter was ever received and, if so, whether you are going to get a reply. I for one am waiting on tenterhooks.....  This is more thrilling than back to back Wallander.

Anne Brown ● 4472d

Amidst all the 'who replied to what when' we're still none the wiser as to the substance of the issue at hand. Can we be told? Odd that so much opinion is expressed about... what precisely? Give us a clue at least.

Vlod Barchuk ● 4472d