I receive hundreds of emails every day, including campaign emails from constituents concerned about a huge variety of national issues, many of which are identical.

It is important for me to prioritise the casework and personal concerns of my constituents in Castle Point. I have therefore made it a policy not to respond individually to email campaigns. Instead, I post my responses and views of popular topics on this section of my website.

I do not sign Early Day Motions. They are not debated on the floor of the House and tend to detract from the weight of issues which I raise with ministers directly. They also cost the taxpayer a great deal of money (over £1million per year) for no discernible benefit.

There are politicians who sign huge numbers of EDMs which in my opinion achieves very little given they are not binding - and it is easy to say you have signed and EDM and then forget about the issue, which I think risks misleading the public into believing something has been done.

In my opinion EDMs achieves very little as they are not binding, and Ministers do not have the time to scrutinise them.