Anna Firth

Out and about today donating bleed 🩸 control bags to in and also to .






❤️

🎶Just back from an amazing weekend supporting The Music Man Project UK to perform the premier of their famous Music is Magic show in Milan.

🎭The incredible ambassadors performed their alongside a first class Italian orchestra and choir made up of many disabled students AllegroModerato, to a packed 1,500 seat Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber in central Milan.

☀️As always, Music Man completely lit up the stage and had everyone on their feet, dancing and singing along, despite the language barrier, in no time. It was also their first performance on Italian TV! 📺

👏🏻I am so proud to be a Patron of this world-leading project which represents the very best of Britain and of Southend. Led so ably by David Stanley BEM, the are always 100% positive, polite, professional have a unique ability to spread joy and love, through music, around the globe. They are the very embodiment that disability is no barrier to ambition. 💪🏻

🎻The weekend started with some hefty rehearsals on both Saturday and Sunday before culminating in the sell-out concert. My huge thanks and admiration goes as always to David, the ambassadors, their amazing parents and supporters, and also the incredible and for sharing their incredible musical work and facilities with us all and of course to TEAM LEWIS for making it all happen.

⛪️ While the students were rehearsing we visited the Duomo in Milan to light a candle 🕯️ and say a prayer to remember , music man’s greatest champion.

🙏🏻NEXT STOP BROADWAY 🎭 AND A NEW MUSIC MAN HEADQUARTERS IN SOUTHEND 🙏🏻

(So we can return the compliment to our new Italian friends.)

With The Music Man Project UK – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉

Highly disappointed to see that David Burton-Sampson MP and whole of (bar 1 & 53 who did not have courage to turn up) have just voted to take away winter fuel allowance from over 17,000 pensioners in and .

This was David’s first opportunity to represent his residents and he choose to let pensioners down and blindly follow Starmer & Reeves. Our senior citizens, our veterans and all our pensioners, including our centenarians in Southend West and Leigh deserve so much better.

Of course, I did not get everything right but I did stand up for our pensioners in Parliament and even stood up and petitioned the ex-PM directly in No10 to make the triple lock plus a manifesto commitment.

Since I wrote my letter to David Burton-Sampson MP, new analysis has been released showing that 17,257 pensioners in the Southend West and Leigh constituency are set to lose their winter fuel allowance under Labour plans. This is an even bigger number than I expected and I know that if they lose their winter fuel allowance, many of these pensioners will face a large hole in their finances this winter.

I hope our new Labour MP does the right thing and stands up for our pensioners by opposing the Government later today.

Estimates of Winter Fuel Payment losses for old and new constituencies The numbers the government doesn't want to publish

🚨 Protect Our Pensioners: Opposing Labour’s Changes to the Winter Fuel Payment 🚨

Today, I have written to our new Labour MP for Southend West and Leigh, David Burton-Sampson MP, to voice my concerns over his party's proposed changes to the Winter Fuel Payment. These changes could mean thousands of pensioners in Southend West and Leigh lose vital support to keep warm this winter.

With 15,000 elderly residents in our community relying on this crucial lifeline, we must stand together to protect our most vulnerable from rising heating costs and the threat of fuel poverty.

I am obviously not against the principle of means testing but to make the cut-off £11,300 is cruel and vindictive. To then give the money to pay union-backed train drivers who are already paid circa £60,000 a year without overtime is outrageous.

Our seniors have given so much to our society, and it’s our responsibility to ensure they are looked after in their later years. I urge our new MP to reconsider these proposals and join us in safeguarding the support our pensioners deserve. 🙏

💥Absolutely delighted that my private members bill, the 🐶Pet Abduction Act🐈‍⬛, becomes law tomorrow.

👉This means that from tomorrow anyone found guilty of stealing a dog or a cat will face up to 5 years in prison, a fine, or both.

🐶For too long there has been little or no deterrent as our criminal law has treated the theft of a precious pet dog or cat as no different from the theft of a mobile phone or power tool meaning there have been little or no penalties for this cruel crime. For callous pet thieves dog theft, in particular, has been a low risk, high reward crime, evidenced by the rising number of dogs being stolen each year. (Dog thefts rose to a record high this year, up by 6% on last year.)

🙏🏻I would like to say a huge thank you to Pet Theft Reform Therese Coffey Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation Dogs Trust, Cats Protection, Battersea and the amazing for helping me make this law.

⛵️☀️Another fantastic day sailing back from to today. Perfect combination of sun, wind & tides today for sailing, swimming, paddle-boarding & watching the yachts racing. We are so lucky to have the Estuary on our doorstep.

1️⃣st proper sail of the season. Beautiful weather for sailing from to with Linden Kemkaran, Edward & Peter. Found lovely micro pub for dinner & very beautiful shore lights. 😎⛵️🥂⚓️

🎭Thank you Southend Theatres and all the brilliant cast for inviting me to the opening night of the Addams Family - a new musical comedy with The Mayor of Southend-on-Sea

🎶 Absolutely magical 🎶

🔥Do not miss this show - 3 more nights to go Fri 9th, Sat 10th & Sun 11th - some 🎟️ still available.

👏🏻Huge congratulations to the Palace Theatre Summer Youth Project 2024 - such talent on stage.

Palace Theatre Southend

As the former MP for Southend West, I was asked to speak
GB News about the dreadful scenes of thugs running amok with machetes on the seafront and in the High Street last night.

It's absolutely disgraceful.

Families come to Southend to enjoy our beautiful beaches and attractions. They should not have to deal with this abhorrent, unlawful and potentially lethal behaviour going on around them.

Thank you to Essex Police for bringing the situation back under control.

Southend machete thugs 'shouldn't have got ANYWHERE near seafront' - 'Au... https://youtu.be/p7PLzXPLIzM?si=KNJMV82pTOaDP-UW via

Southend machete thugs 'shouldn't have got ANYWHERE near seafront' - 'Authorities NEED to do more' Southend thugs 'shouldn't have got ANYWHERE near the seafront' - 'Authorities NEED to do more' up to date with the latest news a...

PENSIONERS IN SOUTHEND AND LEIGH WILL BE OLD AND COLD THIS WINTER UNDER LABOUR

The new Labour Government has targeted pensioners to pay for inflation-busting pay-rises

Yesterday we heard that the Labour Government is cancelling the £300 fuel payment to pensioners (unless they are on benefits). This, on top of Labour refusing to confirm their pre-election promise that their much-trailed GB Energy company would make us all £300 better off. So, a double whammy by Labour.

I wonder what our two new Labour MPs think about this now and how it affects our vulnerable elderly?

We have a very high level of pensioners in Southend West and Leigh, which is in the top third of constituencies with an elderly population, and I always did my best to stand up for our vulnerable elderly whilst in Parliament.

Now we need our new MPs to stand up for our pensioners and 2 million other pensioners who will really struggle (according to Age UK) and up to 10 million in total according to Martin Lewis and oppose these policies designed by Labour's Metropolitan 20-30 year-old policy advisers.

Age UK are condemning this measure, will they?

Southend West and Leigh deserve so much better then this.

🕯️Lovely to take part in the candlelight vigil this evening with MPs, The Mayor of Southend-on-Sea and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Nigel Folkhard in remembrance of all those who have lost their lives to knife crime including . Very moving.

The news we have been waiting for has finally come. Well done to everyone involved. A huge achievement and I am sure a bright future lies ahead for 👏🏻

BREAKING: Southend United have confirmed the takeover of the club by the consortium led by Justin Rees. https://bbc.in/3YfXlap

🙏🏻Thank you High Sheriff of Essex for an excellent speech and wonderfully uplifting Summer garden party with The Mayor of Southend-on-Sea Boundary, Garon Park in this afternoon.

🎙️Really enjoyed the opportunity to talk to, and celebrate, so many of our amazing volunteers and talk again about the challenge that knife crime represents to our City.

Over the next few weeks, my team and I will be winding down our office, and ensuring that all our ongoing casework is transferred in good order to the new MP for Southend West and Leigh.

I'll be making sure that this process is carried out smoothly, and I will also do my best to ensure that the new MP is properly briefed about ongoing projects that are important to our community, and our City, such as the re-building of Kingsdown & Blenheim Primary Schools, the A & E & Hospital upgrades, the renovation of Old Leigh Port, creation of a new clam fishery, to name but a few.

Best wishes to you all.

🇬🇧🙏🏻 STATEMENT OF THANKS 🙏🏻🇬🇧

I would like to thank everyone in Southend West & Leigh who has contacted me today or supported me over the last two and a half years. It has been a huge privilege to serve our new City in Parliament and to uphold and honour Sir David’s legacy. I would like to congratulate David Burton-Sampson on becoming the next member of Parliament for Southend West & Leigh.

I am proud of what we have achieved together. The work we’ve done will benefit the people of Southend West & Leigh for years to come.

A much-needed, new A&E is under construction at the Hospital along with two new operating theatres, a new endoscopy suite and a new LINAC radiotherapy machine for targeted cancer therapy. Both Kingsdown and Blenheim Primary schools will be substantially up-graded, hugely benefitting children with special educational needs and local families. A new clam fishery will start-up in the Estuary in October providing extra income and opportunities for our fishermen, along with £15 million of improvements to Old Leigh Port.
We’ve also got £104 million of investment coming to reduce storm overflows and clean up our waters.
Finally, our pets will be better protected under my Pet Abduction Act and changing the law to outlaw nitrous oxide and zombie knives will make our sea-front safer.

I am proud to have played my part in delivering these things for our City, as well as always being on hand to help and support Southend United Football Club whenever needed.

However, the people of Southend & Leigh have now clearly chosen to go in a different direction and I wish David Burton-Sampson every success in representing our City in Parliament.

I would like to say an enormous thank you to my family for all their amazing support, particularly my husband Edward, and also to my wonderful team, who have given everything (more then can ever be described) to Southend West & Leigh over the last 2 and a half years. I would also like to thank my agent, Owen Cartey, and my Association for working tirelessly, not just the last 6 weeks, but all the year round.

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all Conservative and non-Conservative voters who took the trouble to go and vote for me yesterday. It is truly humbling and thank you again for the opportunity to serve.

💥💥LAST campaign photo!💥💥
🙏Finishing the day strong hitting the streets of with my magnificent team🙏
💙Thank you so much for all of the support I have received throughout the campaign, I am so grateful💙

⏰Three hours left to vote!!!⏰

🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️A very busy morning visiting EVERY polling station in Southend West and Leigh!! Lovely to see so many friendly faces on my grand poll tour!🗳️🗳️🗳️

Polling stations are open until 10 pm⏰Please remember photo ID!!🪪

And WE’RE OFF 🚀🚀🚀

Thank you to all who got up at an unearthly hour for our 5 am dawn raid in

🙏🏻As tomorrow will be a manic day I just wanted to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has helped me here in Southend West & Leigh, especially my family and incredible team.🌟

😊 It has been a privilege and a pleasure to spend the last 6 weeks knocking on doors, talking to thousands of people right across the constituency and listen to your ideas. Almost everyone is pleased with the work I have done improving our Hospital and tackling knife crime / anti-social behaviour, but clearly there is so much more to do, and I am excited to continue working on these issues.

🗳️ If re-elected tomorrow, I promise to continue to be a vocal, local champion for everyone in Southend West & Leigh. Thank you 🙏🏻

🎉 Congratulations to Clark Dearson, who is the new PM of the Sir David Amess Children’s Parliament, and a huge thank you to Harry Acheampong for all his hard work last year ✅
💙 The Children's Parliament is a fantastic initiative - I know Sir David would be very proud of its success.

Great to meet with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Lord Douglas Miller today to discuss the .

🐕 Excellent steps taken — DEFRA engagement is vital for securing the success of the Bill and achieving the justice needed for victims of pet theft. Looking forward to its second reading next week!