MPs should listen to their electorates. Individuals should be more involved in the way political decisions get made.
I have been very encouraged by the response to my constituency-wide survey of opinion. For the second year running between 6,500 and 7,000 of you have given me your views on local and national issues. From next week I shall be publishing the results on my website and in local media.
But I want to take this a step further. So to do my bit to engage with my electorate and reduce apathy towards politics locally, I am establishing Philip's Panel, an on-line opinion panel.
The aim is to allow a politically balanced group of interested constituents to let me know what they are thinking about issues of the day.
This will start as a quarterly Opinion Survey, covering topical local and national issues. In order to track changes in opinion I shall be looking for volunteers willing to devote a few minutes every three months to complete my survey. Everyone who takes part will get feedback to show results and each quarter I shall make a donation to a charity of local interest chosen by participants.
Membership of the panel is not just open to Conservative supporters. However you voted last time, you are free to join provided you live in the Ludlow constituency and have access to email.
So why not make a New Year's resolution to join in? It is easy to do, just visit www.tellphilip.com and complete the simple registration online.
