Alistair Strathern, Labour MP for Mid Bedfordshire, has been nominated for a Constituency MP of the Year award.

The awards, run by Pagefield, aim to celebrate those MPs who have "put their constituents first" in the last year.

Mr Strathern won a hotly-contested by-election in October, overturning a Conservative majority of 24,664 after Nadine Dorries resigned as MP for Mid Beds. He is the first Labour MP in the constituency's 105-year history.

Since becoming MP, he has chaired two Westminster Hall debates, on kinship care and the state of armed services accommodation. RAF Chicksands is located in Mr Strathern's constituency.

He has asked questions in the Commons on topics including the lack of a GP surgery in Wixams, funding for Bedfordshire Police, and a High Street funding bid by Flitwick Town Council.

Mr Strathern also runs regular surgeries and meetings for constituents.

Speaking after his nomination, Mr Strathern said: "It is my great privilege and pleasure every day to serve our towns and villages as our MP and represent our communities as well as I can.

”When I was first elected, I pledged to be the hardest working and most visible MP possible. Every day I will keep giving my all to live up to that promise.

READ MORE

“I'm really pleased to see progress on the issues that dominated the by-election campaign last year, through conversations across the constituency, meetings with businesses and local government and advocacy in Parliament.”

The winner of the award will be announced on April 23. Mr Strathern is up against fellow Labour MPs Florence Eshalomi (Vauxhall), Carolyn Harris (Swansea East) and Jess Phillips (Birmingham Yardley), as well as Conservative MP Sara Britcliffe (Hyndburn).

A panel of leading political journalists, including Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler and LBC political editor Natasha Clark, will decide the winner.

Mr Strathern has already announced that he will be standing for the new Hitchin constituency, rather than Mid Beds, at the upcoming general election - he lives in Shefford, which will move from Mid Beds to Hitchin when boundary changes come into effect.