EMMA LEWELL-BUCK MP: Good public servants who have the honour of being elected should always be available to you

But we aren’t all the same. Individual MPs and Councillors aren’t all the same. That is why at election time it is important to use your vote carefully. Our democracy is precious, for some people casting their vote is the only time they feel able to exercise their views.

It shouldn’t be this way though. Good public servants, those who have the honour of being elected to office, should always be available to you – whether you voted for them or not. They should be available for you to speak with, to share your views with, to debate with and to help you.

Good public servants should regularly come to you, knock on your door, and ask for your views. It is their job to seek you out – not the other way round.

Those who want your vote should be able to articulate clearly why they want to represent you and what they hope to achieve if successful.

If for re-election, they should be able to stand on their record of delivery and explain exactly what they have done for you in the time they have spent as your representative.

Because accountability and transparency in politics matters, they go hand in hand. Voters should always be treated with respect and decency.

Turnout is normally low in local elections, but please make your voice heard; make your views known. People say nothing changes, but if you don’t vote it really doesn’t change.

Every single day I am proud to represent South Shields and this week I am humbled to have been your MP for 10 years. It has been the honour of my life and I am happy to stand on my record of delivery, accountability and transparency and will continue to for as long as I have the honour of doing so.

But please remember – we aren’t all the same. And if you don’t vote then things really don’t ever change.