New MP to prioritise immigration and public safety

Norfolk's only Reform UK MP says he will prioritise immigration and personal safety in his constituency.

Rupert Lowe said immigration was the key issue that won him the Great Yarmouth seat at the general election.

He already secured a question to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs on Wednesday.

Mr Lowe said many residents, particularly women, told him they felt unsafe in parts of Great Yarmouth.

On Thursday, Mr Lowe met members of Great Yarmouth Town Football Club and pledged to donate his first month's pay as MP to the community interest company.

On immigration, Mr Lowe said the issue was "extremely complex".

"A lot of British people would like to do the work but there are various arbitrages with regard to migrant labour - which means those people who farm potatoes or fruit are keener to go for foreign labour than British labour," he said.

"We have to put Britain - and British people - at the top of the agenda, and start rewarding people who work hard, employ people, take risks, pay taxes and contribute to our society."

He said what he does not like is "people who freeload".

At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Mr Lowe asked Sir Keir if he agreed that uncontrolled migration since 1997 had damaged and disrupted the community and undermined public services.

Sir Keir answered: "I do think that it's serious that the previous Government lost control of our borders.

"It's a serious issue that requires a serious answer and that is why we will set up our border security command to take down the serious gangs that are running this vile trade."

Mr Lowe linked immigration to concerns of public safety, which he has raised with Norfolk's Police and Crime Commissioner, Sarah Taylor.

"The biggest concern that was raised in our campaign was from women, particularly in Great Yarmouth, who didn't feel safe," he added.

"I'm not entirely blaming migrants but I think at the end of the day we need to look at why women now don't feel safe going into Great Yarmouth.

"It's a big issue for them and it needs to be resolved."

Reform UK has always seen itself as a disruptor: a party that wants to shake things up, to tell-it-as-it-is and tap into the general disillusionment which many people feel with politics.

It was a tactic that worked. The party polled more votes than the Greens and the Liberal Democrats and now has five seats in parliament.

But its critics have been quick to point out that voters will be looking to their new MPs to deliver: not just on the big issues like immigration which Reform likes to talk about, but also on the really local things which quite often constituents will care more about.

So Mr Lowe and his colleagues are suddenly having to write letters and hold meetings about road schemes, coastal erosion, education and the state of the high street, issues which they might have had very little interest in - until now.

The party's MPs will still talk a lot about immigration, cutting taxes and tackling crime. But they insist they will also be good local MPs. And they know that how they deal with the very local issues will probably determine whether they hold their seats at the next election.

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