South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy on Downham Market special school, Liz Truss and King’s Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital
“People have seen a difference between what I have done as a local constituency-focused MP compared to my predecessor.”
Those are the words of South West Norfolk MP Terry Jermy, who has now been in his role for more than 450 days.
He is comparing himself to former MP and Prime Minister Liz Truss, who lost out on keeping her long-held seat by around 600 votes back in July last year.
Mr Jermy says his main goal is to “deliver and improve residents’ lives”, and describes the enormous change to his life after the vote results were announced at Lynnsport 16 months ago.
We caught up with him at Reeds Cafe in Downham on a rainy morning to discuss how he has found transitioning from a councillor to an MP…
“The first six months were incredibly difficult,” Mr Jermy says.
“I think for those candidates who weren’t expecting to win, you have a difficult start. You have to set up an office in the constituency and London.
“You have to recruit staff and sort out IT services. 310 MPs were going through the same situation.”
Taking on the new role involved leaving old ones behind, with Mr Jermy citing having to leave councils and committees to prioritise being a good MP.
“I already had a life before being an MP,” he says.
“I spent the first few months resigning from different council responsibilities and charities I was involved in.
“I was spending a lot of time looking after my mum. I was her carer before being an MP. Making all of those new arrangements was really tough for the first few months.”
Getting used to the way parliament operates was also an adjustment for the newly elected South West Norfolk MP.
“It is a big place. I had only been twice before being elected,” he adds.
“Just finding your way around is not easy.
“Now, having been there a year, you work out who you need to speak to in order to get something done.”
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO GET DONE?
Just like North West Norfolk MP James Wild, Mr Jermy said getting Lynn’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital rebuilt remains his priority.
The hospital has recently been ranked as the worst in the country, and Mr Jermy did not shy away from this fact.
“The biggest achievement for me was obtaining funding from the QEH,” he said.
“For me, one of the single most important issues that I need to make sure we deliver as an MP is getting a new hospital.
“Health and social care generally was my number one issue when I stood as a candidate. I think it clearly still is.”
In his role as an MP, Mr Jermy said it is important to continue to press the Government to act faster to make sure we get a new hospital before the 2032 deadline.
“Nobody wants to be regarded as the worst hospital in the country. We’ve also got the worst ambulance trust in the country, and almost the worst mental health trust,” he said.
“My point to Wes Streeting and the health team is that all of these services are regularly failing.
“We need special attention, and the Government needs to recognise that.”
‘POOR TRAINS, POOR MOBILE PHONE SIGNALS, POOR BROADBAND’
Mr Jermy has said that South West Norfolk has “growth opportunities” when it comes to rural businesses.
“We are held back by poor train services, poor mobile phone signals and poor broadband. Connectivity is a huge issue,” he says.
“We can grow rural economies. It is estimated that there is £20million worth of growth opportunities just in rural areas.
“I think that is a big opportunity to see some growth.”
Securing a special educational needs (SEND) school in Downham is also a priority for Mr Jermy.
He has been hosting round-table events with concerned parents whose children are in a “failing system”.
He tells the Lynn News that many parents have approached him, citing long journeys for youngsters which end with them feeling “overwhelmed” by the time they arrive at school.
“I was really pressing on the education minister the other day to make changes to SEND in Downham. There are huge gaps in the provision,” he says.
In May, it was reported that there had been Government delays in releasing funding for the special school, which would be located on the former Downham Sixth Form Site at Ryston End.
“Parents are telling me that they are travelling nearly an hour away just to get to school. That is not good for any child.”
‘IT IS EASY TO FORGET WHAT WE INHERITED BACK LAST JULY’
Changing Britain for the better certainly will not be an overnight fix, Mr Jermy admits.
“I think people are easy to forget what we inherited last July,” he says.
“There have been multiple challenges. Where do you start first? Do you start with health, education, transport, or immigration?
“I think the Government struggled for the first, sort of, six to eight months.
“Some of the people who became ministers weren't even MPs. The Labour Party was quite a small party going into the general election.
“I think that organisation has improved. It's certainly better now compared to a year ago.
“I can understand why people are frustrated. I really can. They voted for change, and they want to see change, and they're frustrated that it's not happened yet.
“Some things we've spent months debating in Parliament still haven't become law. It takes a lot more to change the law in this country.
“I think the general direction of what the Government is doing is right.
“We've got to invest in infrastructure. We've got to make long-term decisions, not just short-term gimmicks and some of the policies imposed by the previous Government were very short-term.”
ARE YOU CONFIDENT YOU ARE KEEPING YOUR SEAT IN THE NEXT ELECTION?
In an “unpredictable” time in politics, Mr Jermy shifted the focus to this question to his aim to deliver change for people in South West Norfolk.
With a surge in Reform supporters up and down the country, the next election results may look different entirely.
“I won with 26% of the vote, and nobody expected I would win,” Mr Jermy said.
“Who knows what will happen next time? I tend not to worry too much about the next election. I focus on actually doing a good job now.
“I think if you look at America, for example, the second the election is over, everybody's talking about the next election. Nobody focuses on actually doing the job.
“I think my fear is, in this country, we're sort of going in that direction as well. We don't focus on governing. We focus on campaigning.”
Mr Jermy believes residents have seen an increased presence of their MP in South West Norfolk.
“People will vote on national feelings. But people have seen a difference between what I have done as a local constituency-focused MP compared to my predecessor.
“I'd like to think I'm more visible and active in the constituency than she (Liz Truss) was.”
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS: HOW WELL DO WE KNOW TERRY JERMY?
• Dream job if you were not an MP? - I had originally intended to become a Geography teacher, so I’d probably do that.
• Favourite football team? - England Lionesses – such amazing success in the last few years.
• Drink of choice? - Tea! Preferably English breakfast tea.
• Favourite pub/restaurant in South West Norfolk? - The Old White Bell in Southery – great food and friendly welcome.
• Bucket list concert? - Last Night Of The Proms.
• Celebrity crush? - Having got engaged just a few months ago, I am going to dodge this one!
• Ideal Christmas gift? - Socks - it’s a Christmas must!
• An item to bring on a desert island? - Sun cream – I’m very practical.
• Favourite film? - Lord Of The Rings, and Fellowship of the Ring specifically.
• A meal to eat for eternity? - Spaghetti Bolognese.