Did you contact your MP demanding Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s top aide, to be sacked?

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has reportedly called for Mr Cummings to resign or be sacked saying he broke the guidelines- the Stray Ferret cannot remember a time when Mr Jones went against the government whip like this. Was he reacting to the demands of his constituents and his inbox bombarded?

There has been no word from Ripon and Skipton MP, Julian Smith. He was appointed Chief Whip in Theresa May’s government from 2017 to July 2019.

Mr Cummings is the centre of a political storm after it was revealed that he travelled from London to Durham with his wife and four year old child during lockdown, when his wife had covid symptoms. One report alleges a witness saw Mr Cummings in Barnard Castle, more than 25 miles from Durham on 12 April.

The prime minister said yesterday at the 5pm coronavirus briefing that he held “extensive” discussions on Sunday with Mr Cummings, who he said “followed the instincts of every father and every parent – and I do not mark him down for that”.

But despite Boris Johnson’s briefing and senior cabinet members publicly supporting Mr Cummings – a number of backbench MPs have started to call for him to resign. A reflection perhaps of the public mood in their constituencies.

After the first four weeks of lockdown, The Stray Ferret reported on the activity of our two MPs and what role they were playing in tackling coronavirus. We had struggled to establish exactly what they’d been doing.

It’s now eight weeks since lockdown, the country has faced its biggest ever public health emergency, and we have asked them to tell us more about their activity during this time. Again, we did not receive an answer, so here is what we know based on information publicly available.

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough.

In Harrogate- here is what we found on Mr Jones:

• He posted one news story on his website in the last four weeks. It urged businesses to plan for when lockdown eases.
• Mr Jones tweeted three times in the last four weeks. None informed his followers of what work he was doing in Harrogate.
• He has no Facebook page to update his constituents on his community work.
• He chaired the first virtual meeting of the European Statutory Instruments Committee on April 21 and chaired another meeting on May 5.
• Last week, he said publicly that people should not get complacent because lockdown is being eased.
• Mr Jones offered to deliver leaflets and food on behalf of the Harrogate Easier Living Project. The charity confirmed that he did that last week.

Julian Smith, MP for Ripon and Skipton.

In Ripon- here is what we found on Mr Smith:

• Mr Smith has posted no news stories on his personal website about his work during lockdown. His last post was in January.
• He does include links to government guidance as part of an advice section on his site.
• On Twitter, two of his 62 tweets since April 20 have been about his constituency – one about Ripon barracks and another on a hardship fund for farmers from the Department for Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
• Mr Smith posted five times on his Facebook page in the past four weeks to promote the government’s coronavirus bounce back loans. The others were the same Ripon and DEFRA related posts that he made on Twitter.
• He asked a question at Prime Ministers Questions on May 13 where he called on the government to bring an end to rough sleeping in the UK.
• Mr Smith has held telephone surgeries for his constituents throughout lockdown.

What would you like your MP to being focusing on as we ease out of lockdown? Here’s what a number of people from both constituencies asked.  Have you been in touch with your MP? Have they been helpful? Get in touch with us and tell us how.

The Stray Ferret asked people in both Harrogate and Ripon constituencies what questions they had for their local MPs.

In Harrogate, the questions centred on how the town centre is going to bounce back after restrictions are lifted and what support is going to be in place for both people and businesses.

Here is what people in the town had to ask Andrew Jones MP.

Phil Argent, CEO of Tenancy Stream, said:                                          “Businesses are going to have to try and start again and are not going to have the footfall that they once did. How exactly is Harrogate going to bounce back from lockdown?”

Jan Bathurst, team leader at Harrogate District Food Bank, said:               “Once lockdown is lifted, what support is going to be in place for vulnerable people both in terms of financially and food?”

Kimberley Wilson, owner of The Camberley Hotel and chair of Accommodation Harrogate, said: “I would like to know when we are going to have the Harrogate Convention Centre back and what is going to happen with events going forward?

In Ripon, the questions hit a different tone. There was an anxiety over how vulnerable people will cope and what the government is going to do to address rural poverty which some fear will be worse after lockdown.

This is what the people of Ripon wanted to ask Mr Smith:

Dave Robinson, chair of Henry Jenkins Community Pub Ltd: “The coronavirus crisis has served to emphasise the need for rural communities to come together and make best use of their facilities for local residents. As previously indicated by you, once the crisis is over, can we count on your support in our campaign to save the historic Henry Jenkins Inn in Kirkby Malzeard, reestablishing the Asset of Community Value over the whole site and protecting its status as a community amenity for the three villages in our expanding parish?”

Phil Marley, owner of Marley’s Butchers, Ripon: “The worrying scale of rural poverty in Ripon and surrounding areas, has become even clearer with the coronavirus crisis. We are doing our bit as a business to help families and individuals in dire need, but people cannot rely on charity forever. As I see it, the financial situation can only get worse, particularly as unemployment is likely to rise when small businesses go bust because of the money they have lost. What do you think the government can do to assist places like Ripon in keeping businesses open and helping the poorest in our society?”

Alison Hope, No 12 Greengrocers, Masham:                                                  “Local farmers are working around the clock in the crucial role of keeping us all fed. Many are working in difficult circumstances, with concerns for their future. What have you been doing to support our local farming community during the crisis?”

All of these questions were submitted to Andrew Jones and Julian Smith at the end of last week. We are still waiting to hear back from both MPs.

The Stray Ferret has tried to establish what role locally the district’s two MPs have played in the weeks since lockdown began – with little success.   

The House of Commons has been in recess since March 25th and is due to resume tomorrow, so neither has been required to be in Westminster.

A month ago at the start of lockdown the Harrogate and Knaresborough Conservative MP, Andrew Jones, announced he was launching a scheme to match people who were self-isolating with someone who could help them. He sent out 9,000 emails to constituents asking them if they needed support or if they could provide help – saying his team would help match them.  

Andrew Jones MP

Mr Jones has since kept a low profile about this work– with no detail on how his scheme is progressing or how he is supporting his constituency. Last week the Stray Ferret reported on how care homes are crying out for support from their local MPs to help them source PPE. We asked Mr Jones at the time if he wished to make a comment but he declined.  

In the absence of information, The Stray Ferret today contacted a number of the local volunteer networks and business organisations.  They told us Mr Jones has had no involvement in their work which some said had disappointed them. 

It’s a similar picture in Ripon:

Julian Smith MP

Julian Smith, conservative MP for Ripon and Skipton too has remained silent about his work locally. The Stray Ferret has tried to contact him on the telephone and has sent four emails to his office since March 18th, in which  we have sought his views on issues affecting his largely rural community.  Mr Smith has not responded. We have contacted coronavirus volunteer groups in the area and they said he has not been in touch. 

The Stray Ferret has looked into the work of other conservative MPs in Yorkshire by way of a comparison- a number have communicated more often and appear to be more openly involved in the issues their constituents are facing.

The Stray Ferret asked the district’s MPs these questions again earlier today:  

To Mr Jones:

• How has your volunteer scheme progressed?  How many isolated vulnerable people has your team connected with support?  
• What role have you played or support have you offered in the creation of the Nightingale Hospital at the HCC?

To both MPs:

• What role have you played in helping care homes and other medical facilities source PPE?  
• How many constituents have been in touch with you concerned about how they are going to financially survive the crisis and what have you been able to do for them?  
• How can you support local businesses as an economic recession looms?

Neither MP has responded to our questions.

When the Nightingale Hospital opens tomorrow at the HCC, it’s likely Mr Jones will be present to thank those involved. What’s less clear is what work our elected MPs have done to support their constituents in the past month.