Observational Essay; A typical British day for Andrew Rosindell

Unfortunatly MPs in my area were unavailiable, so I observed Andrew Rosindell, the Romford Conservative MP.

Spending Saint George’s day in Romford market has become a tradition for the locals. The patriotic stall holders fly hundreds of flags and blast out the National Anthem, Three Lions on the Shirt and Rule Britannia from their boom boxes. The busy shoppers scurry past with their Primark bargains and M&S bags for life with a spring in their step as they listen to the music. An elderly gentleman declared to all around him that it is a sight to be proud of.

In the distance there is a commotion. A mega horn is heard faintly in the distance, and as the crowd parts a black Land Rover slowly appears embellished with Saint George's crosses and the Conservative party logo. The parting crowd turned in curiosity at the sight of the car, with the hope they could put forward their questions to their Mp.

Andrew Rosindell, the Romford MP, is inside the car on the mega horn, wishing everyone a happy Saint George's day and encouraging them to vote conservative. The main message was that he, and the Conservatives, believe that Saint George's day should be a public holiday for everyone in England to enjoy. The car gets a lot of attention as shoppers either smile and wave, or grumble about the noise; some supporters even chanted along to the campaign, stating that we should celebrate in style like the Irish do for Saint Patrick’s Day.

The car spent a few hours travelling around Romford Shopping Centre and stopped in the high street in order to talk to the public. Rosindell appeared with his dog Buster, a local celebrity who attracted a lot of attention. There were undertones of gossip regarding Mr. Rosindell’s opinion on fox hunting, as he is, after all, an animal lover, but no one approached the MP himself about the matter.

Mr. Rosindell holds weekly surgeries in Romford so is already well known for his close relationship with the community. Rosindell's support greatly increased after he supported the Romford community campaign to keep their greenbelt land when Cross rail wanted to build on it. He reminded the public of these points, pointing out that he could bring bigger, better changes to the area in the future.

(This picture was taken about 5 years ago, can you spot me?)

A mother approached the MP and complained about the fact that he appeared at a local primary school. Apparently it took her 2 more minutes than normal to get out the school gates, due to other parents blocking the way. Other parents had stopped to talk to Rosindell about his education policies, something which concerned everyone at the school. In all cases Rosindell replied to criticism politely, and the public seemed to love his charismatic charm.

Shop owners and market traders seemed happy with his promise to help rebuild the area, he pledged ‘With a new Conservative government, hopefully taking office on Friday, we will see many new measures to help business and encourage enterprise. Our Conservative Council has also invested millions into the area since taking office. Times are hard after thirteen years of Labour, but hopefully after Thursday there will be a fresh start for our country’.

After talking to the public and handing out leaflets many MP’s would call it a day. The sky was turning dark and the crowds were diminishing. However Mr. Rosindell had plans to attend an important social gathering in which he planned to continue to campaign. He was off to the local for a Saint George’s day pint.

The Golden Lion pub proudly displays a sign outside stating it is known as the best pub in Romford after being taking over by new management in 2009. It is full of families eating, advertises the fact it is the only place in Romford that serves real Ale and has live bands playing every Saturday.

The pub is full of flags, posters and novelty items with the Saint George's day cross on them. The mood is relaxed as punters cheer at the football, whilst the band sets up to play their own covers of Great British songs.

In the pub, Rosindell got the chance to converse with people of all ages and backgrounds. The local punters seemed to enjoy his wit, while families seemed enthusiastic about his plans to improve the local area in countless ways.

One man approached the conservative MP and asked him his views on Gay rights. Many students at the University of Essex and Colchester live in the area and wanted to vote for him -Some even admitted to having his leaflets on their bedroom walls . This sent a flurry of agreement through the crowd, and stood out to be an important value the community held. Mr. Rosindell informed them that he believed ‘that all people should be treated equally and given respect. It is wrong to discriminate against people, whoever they are’. The locals seemed happy with the response, and after handing out yet again more leaflets, an optimistic atmosphere lingered in the pub.

Many of the public announced to the pub that they vote for Andrew Rosindell as ‘he is the most patriotic MP in Britain’. Mr. Rosindell then gave a short speech about the campaigns he has won, and currently still fighting for, including having national holidays for Saint George’s day and the Queens diamond jubilee and to keep Gibraltar British. He then mentioned that he had just won a campaign to have three Union Jacks flying over the Houses of Parliament, which made the pub burst into song with pride.

Andrew’s job is done for the day; he stepped outside into the now empty streets, leaving the locals in the pub in high spirits. Looking down the high street it is now hard to imagine the bustle of the market.