Dear Editor,

In an article contained within the on-line version of the Ross Gazette (Friday 4th March) our local MP Mr Jesse Norman notes that he is keeping his own counsel with regard to his position on the In/Out EU referendum decision that we are being asked to make on June 23rd.

He also states that, ’As your MP I will try to pose questions and provide information’. Unfortunately, the information I get from Mr Norman, when I have posed a question - if I receive any answer at all - is usually a web-based link to a government policy document, rather than a personal response. I have also asked, on one occasion, to speak with him at a constituency surgery, but he declined my request to record our conversation.

I’m really concerned, as a constituent, that I have found it so difficult, up to now, to hear what Mr Norman thinks; to receive a personal response to topical matters.

He must surely have personal positions, but all too often he seems very reluctant to share them with his electorate.

For me, it is a sign of the times - politicians seeking your vote but failing to answer questions in any direct fashion, not least when these questions are uncomfortable. Given this context, Mr. Norman’s reticence in respect of identifying his own position on the upcoming EU decision is not surprising at all.

Jim Newcomb

Whitchurch