Being elected to Parliament for the first time, as happened to me five years ago, is quite something but being thrust into a new Government - and a coalition Government at that – is an experience I will never forget.
Speaking at dozens of local events in recent years, I’ve said how fortunate I feel to represent this historic constituency and there’s not a day that goes by when I don’t pinch myself as I get off the train at Winchester.
There have been too many highlights to mention but my first PMQ (hard to explain but even as you stand up you're not 100% sure you won't faint) stands out, that and just the sheer enormity of the Palace of Westminster. I’ve hosted hundreds of constituents in the House and some ask why I don’t show them round. As the recent BBC documentary showed, getting to know it is something you never manage even after 30 years so you’re better off with the guides believe me.
My work on the influential Justice Select Committee was a brilliant chance to learn the craft of being a backbencher. I had always been interested in the criminal justice system, and how we could better work with offenders to change behaviour instead of just banging them up, but working on this cross-party committee chaired by the veteran Liberal MP Sir Alan Beith gave me a chance to actually affect change.
What’s more, it allowed me to combine some of my work locally at HMP Winchester, with our Police & Crime Commissioner, various local charities such as Home-Start and the Troubled Families Programme at Hampshire County Council with national policy outcomes.
My votes against a 3-line whip were (I like to think) character forming but they soon taught me you have to be able to look yourself in the eye in this job and if that means putting something else ahead of personal ambition, so be it.
In 2013 I joined the Government as a ministerial aide at the Department for Work and Pensions – and subsequently the Home Office – which has proved many things to me; not least that Yes Minister (and latterly ‘The Thick of it’) was spot on in almost every regard. Working alongside truly reforming Ministers such as Iain Duncan Smith and Theresa May teaches you so much.
Locally I have been fortunate with a constituency that is engaged and (almost) always courteous to its local MP. I estimate I've corresponded with over 50% of my constituency in five years and handled personal casework on behalf of some 5,000 residents. We may not have always agreed but I hope my constituents have had a good service.
All of the experience I now have as a constituency MP allowed me to run a myriad of local campaigns and success around the resurfacing of the M3, new primary school places and major investment secured for new transport infrastructure are things I am proud to have had a hand in.
You can find out about more my work - locally and in Westminster - and get in touch via 01962 791110 or www.stevebrine.com There are no MPs during the dissolution of Parliament (30 March to 7 May) but my caseworker can still handle urgent inquiries if required.
Steve Brine
MP for Winchester & Chandler’s Ford
