From a day in the life, to the war in Gaza, to his support for Lizz Truss, I was given the privilege to interview Mr Dean Russel, the Conservative MP for Watford. Who did not hold back responding to the Liberal Democrat Mayor of Watford’s comments on Conservative support in Watford, saying that they were “probably not quite accurate”. As well as airing his frustrations out on the Labour Party who “are consistently voting against” the Rwanda immigration policy. As we explored the intricacies of the town's most pressing issues; from local transport, to anti-social behaviour, to special educational needs (SEN) and rough sleeping.

Local Transport
I wasted no time delving into the complex issue of local transport; Mr Russell was quick to point out that he doesn’t really have much control over it. Despite this, he mentioned his “10-minute rule bill” and emphasised that he understands “the pain”, whilst swiftly referring back to his working-class roots. However, he firmly laid the blame on Arriva, whom he has been “infuriated” with, on bus timetables changing at a moment’s notice without the public being informed, this comes as he maintains his stance as being “quite tough on the bus companies”.

Local Anti-social behaviour
Watford out of 95 postcodes has the 13th highest crime rate according to Plumplot. Despite this Mr Russell firmly believes that Watford is “making progress…actually”. He reinforces and reiterates what Peter Taylor, the Mayor of Watford said to me a few months ago about the instalment of a new police station closer to the centre of town. In fact, Mr Russell goes on to state that according to the chief inspector, crime in “Watford… across pretty much every measure…. is down”.

Local SEN provision 
When it came to handling local special educational needs provision, Hertfordshire County Council was found to be among the worst in the UK in a recent Ofsted area report. In a previous article, I interviewed Jennie Witter, the Head of The Collet, a local special school, who hinted at the leadership of Hertfordshire County Council being the source of the issue. However, Mr Russell stressed that “we need to make sure that SEN provision is the best that it can possibly be for both the parents and the pupils” and that “it's something I have done a lot of work on”. He is quick to tell me that “irrelevant politics… can sometimes become a paperwork thing” and get in the way. He also points out the learnings that have been taken from the report, combined with his “meetings with the leader of the council”, while emphasising the positive steps being taken moving forward. Mr Russell goes on to say that one has to “remember that there’s an individual at the heart of this” and concludes that he is doing everything he can to “give them the best possible chance in life”.

Flaws in the system
When asked about his formal power, his relationship with Hertfordshire County Council and how the two get things done. Interestingly, Mr Russell hinted at the flaws in the system’s design “If you were to design the system today you'd probably do it differently”. His responsibilities as an MP include representing residents and sorting through problems. He quickly points out, “I can't promise I'll get the outcome you want, but I'll always promise that I'll try”. He even goes as far as to say that he “doesn’t think it’s right” that it requires an MP for issues to be put to the top of the pile. Taking direct shots at the way the current system is set up he goes on to state, “that every citizen, including MPs, should be treated equally and if there's a real problem with something, it shouldn't rely on an MP to have to do that. But that's the way of the world!”

Response to the Mayor’s comments
In my recent interview with the Liberal Democrat Mayor of Watford, he was quick to point out that Watford has been victim to a “50% real terms cut in funding” and that he has had to resort to not replacing vacancies as well as offering voluntary redundancy. In response, Mr Russell pointed out that, “over £5 million has come into Watford to tackle rough sleeping”, and he helped secure “the levelling up fund” in which he acquired “£16 million for the Watford Colosseum and Town Hall”. Despite being Watford’s parliamentary representative, Mr Russell does point out that an MP has “no direct access to funding”.

The Mayor also shared the results of his most recent canvassing session, in which he told me that I honestly did not find a single person saying they were going to vote Conservative. Mr Russell believes this statement is “probably not quite accurate”, though he does admit that people are “a bit fed up of politics” hinting at the tumultuous tenure of the Conservative government but emphasises “that people aren't necessarily switching their vote “and that “we continue to deliver”.

Mr Russell’s support for Liz Truss
Mr Russell was one of the many MPs who supported Liz Truss’s leadership bid. Lizz Truss being the Prime Minister to be famously outlasted by a lettuce and more significantly lost around £30 billion according to the Resolution Foundation. Whilst he stresses that he doesn’t “really talk about colleagues specifically”, he is quick to point out that “her agenda was about growth” something Rishi Sunak is doing by guiding “the economy through incredibly choppy waters”. While pointing out that inflation is down.

The Rwanda immigration policy and the War in Gaza
The controversial Rwanda immigration policy has made headlines across the UK, recently being rejected in the Lords. However, Mr Russell assured me that the Conservative government are trying to take down the “evil, serious organised crime gangs” and that he is in full support of the bill. I recently interviewed Lord Kinnock (former leader of the Labour Party) at his house in Tufnell Park, his son Stephen Kinnock, the current Shadow Home Secretary, made 3 points which I put to Mr Russell. Firstly the Rwandan government has received half a billion from the taxpayer yet no asylum seekers have been sent there. Secondly, to send the first 300 there would cost the taxpayer another £300 million earning the Rwandan government £500 million for just 1% of the 30,000 asylum seekers that crossed in small boats last year. Thirdly it is a reciprocal agreement, in that Rwanda can send as many refugees back to us as we did them. Mr Russell’s response coincided with Lord Howard’s (former leader of the Conservative Party and former Home Secretary, whom I also recently interviewed) in that he firmly believes that this bill will stop the “very sophisticated, serious, organized crime gangs that will do everything that they can to continue people trafficking”. He goes as far as to add that “the Labour Party are consistently voting against” the Rwanda immigration policy, yet “the opposition genuinely don't seem to have a plan”.

Our interview was unfortunately curtailed slightly due to Mr Russell having to attend a 1922 committee meeting with the Prime Minister. So I was unable to ask him about his views on the war in Gaza. However, his Senior Parliamentary Assistant, Abigail Peirson, stated in an email that Mr Russell, “supports the Government’s amendment to the SNP vote on Gaza calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a….. permanent ceasefire”.

Watford into the future
To conclude, as Watford reveals its complex nature on the national stage, Mr Russell becomes a key figure in determining the direction the town will take. At the heart of what he does, he believes in “helping to support residents in what they're trying to achieve”, which is “a better life and a better future”.

I want to thank the MP for Watford Mr Dean Russell and his office for taking the time to be interviewed and kindly inviting me to the House of Commons in May, later this year, I wish them all the best for the upcoming elections.