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The House of Commons has become a second home for MP Josh Dean, but he still feels most comfortable in his Hertford and Stortford constituency.
As he reflected on his first year in office, the Labour politician shared the highs and lows of life at Westminster and beyond.
He said: I’m finding my way, but I feel the most at home in our community. And that, I think, is where I’m happiest.”
Since the 25-year-old took the supposedly safe Tory seat from Julie Marson on July 4, 2024, he has been on a mission.
He said: “I want our residents to know they have an MP who is visible, who is active, who they will be able to see and speak to at a community event.
“That’s important to me because that’s what I think our residents deserve.”
He has visited 25 schools, 32 businesses and 27 charities and attended 34 community events, often giving up his weekends to show his support.
Key to that participation was making good on his election pledge to set up an office in Bishop’s Stortford and recruit a team of caseworkers. Together, from their base in South Street, they have dealt with more than 7,000 inquiries from constituents.
He said: “There are very few people whose first port of call is writing to their MP.
People come to you as a member of parliament because they’ve been let down by every other public service, every other person that they’ve gone to. And more often than not, you are their last resort.
“I take that responsibility seriously, and so does my team. Because it’s at that point where people are at the worst point of whatever it is they might be going through, and it could be anything from an overgrown hedge to domestic violence.”
The top three issues in his inbox are SEND (special educational needs and disability) provision, housing and social care problems.
He said: “Supporting people on the ground, I really do think that’s one of the most important parts of an MP’s job. And sometimes, you get to have some real positive successes.”
Those include brokering a repayment deal with HMRC to save Bishop’s Stortford Social Club, which was on the brink of closure.
Soon after taking office, he worked with former Conservative East Herts Cllr Peter Ruffles in an attempt to resolve disabled access issues with a new lift at Hertford North station.
Josh said: “Peter was one of the first people I sat down with after I was elected, because this was an issue that I wanted to pick up and support.
“We raised it here in Parliament. We met with the rail minister, we wrote to Network Rail, and finally, a month ago, they confirmed they’ve appointed a contractor and they’re going to start work this year.”
His next task is to lobby for better Jobcentre provision for his constituents, as currently unemployed people in Bishop’s Stortford and Sawbridgeworth have to make their way to the Jobcentre in Hertford. He said: “If you’re in the welfare system, if you are in need, that can be a real challenge.”
Navigating the corridors of power at Westminster has been a steep learning curve. He said: “It is an overwhelming experience…it’s a lot to get to grips with no matter what perspective you come from.”
After looking and learning from more experienced colleagues, he has been ramping up his interventions in the House of Commons to champion issues he feels strongly about – like opportunities for young people and youth mental health issues.
“What drew me into politics was my experience as a young person. So…I have spoken about watching my peers go through mental health services and struggle to access mental health services. I’ve spoken about my experiences leaving school early.
“It’s about taking those focuses in the community and using the leverage that you have here in Parliament to push them forward.”
He has also decided to talk publicly about a deeply personal discovery which has amplified his insight into some of the difficulties his constituents face.
During his first year in office, he has been diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and now takes medication to manage the condition.
He said: “I’ve only really just started talking about it, but I suppose it fits into learning in your first year and things I’ve learned about myself.”
It is a subject that has featured in his mailbag with families raising concerns about support for neurodiverse youngsters.
So what prompted him to get a diagnosis? “Someone pointed it out who has ADHD, and just asked, ‘Have you ever been assessed for it?’
“My mum is a SENCO (special educational needs coordinator), incidentally, so I wasn’t immune to the idea that it was a possibility.
“Where I think I’m getting to now is being more comfortable talking about it openly because, for people with ADHD and young people with ADHD in particular, or neurodiversity generally, I want to be honest and open that you can do whatever it is you might want – including getting involved in politics.”
He is the third youngest MP at Westminster and one of seven Labour politicians under 30 in the House of Commons, and happy to lean into the arguments about intergenerational fairness as a member of Gen Z.
He hopes to be a trailblazer: “It makes a difference that I am a young MP when I go and speak to young people and go to schools and so on, because I suppose it breaks down that kind of invisible barrier.
“I feel strongly that when young people see someone like them doing something, they know that they can do it too. And I feel we need more young people in politics, not just here in Parliament, but on our local councils and involved in our communities as well.
“The message I deliver at every single school I go to is find the issue that you care about and go for it. Campaign. Make a difference. Whether you join a party, whether you start a petition, whatever it is. But we need more young people in politics.
His increasing parliamentary profile has meant conquering any lingering nerves about public speaking and learning to ignore the House of Commons cameras. He said: “What drives me forward is knowing that I’m speaking up for my constituency, my community, the area that I’ve grown up in and where I call home now. And that pushes me forward every single time. So I do get a little nervous sometimes. I’ve learned to push past that.”
As he gains in confidence, the Indie asked if he has considered the prospect of promotion. He said: “It’s something I have genuinely thought carefully about because we have not had an MP purely focused on our community for too long.
“I suppose my answer is never say never. But my absolute priority is Hertford and Stortford. Because I feel there’s a lot of work to do to restore the trust that perhaps my predecessor did not take care of. I’m focused on delivering for our community, being in our community, making sure our residents know they have an MP who is part of that community and on their side. So that’s my focus.”
A Government role would also mean toeing the party line. Mr Dean was among 120 Labour MPs ready to block the Universal Credit Bill until ministers watered down the legislation.
Sir Keir Starmer and the cabinet also made a politically damaging U-turn on winter fuel payments for pensioners.
Mr Dean said: “The Conservatives were in Government for 14 years. Unfortunately, that means there are a lot of things to fix, a lot of trust to rebuild.”
The straightened state of the public finances has made unpopular policies necessary.
He said: “The reality of Government is that you may not have the ideal choices in front of you at any one time, but you do have to choose.
“That’s what the last government didn’t do. I come from a perspective of working collaboratively with the Government because that’s how I believe you get results. That’s why I’ve met with ministers 16 times since I was elected.”
Nevertheless, he was ready to rebel on benefit cuts before concessions were made. He said: “I signed the reasoned amendment to block the Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill, and the Government has made changes. I think what that shows, firstly, is that we were right to call for a change, of course, and secondly, that the Government is listening, which I welcome.”
He admitted: “This is the Government that I worked hard to help elect and fundamentally, I believe, is the right one for this country. So it was a very difficult decision, but I think it was the right one.
“I think the fact that the Government was willing to make changes shows that it was the right one.
“Crucially, it wasn’t rebellion for rebellion’s sake. We effected change, which I don’t think my predecessor would have done, and I hope it shows my residents that I’m engaged, I’m listening, and I’m working hard on their behalf.”
He felt that Labour’s policy wobbles were exacerbated by amplification on social media and said: “I think where we need to get politics back to a place where listening and changing your mind is not seen as a bad thing.”
He said while his basic principles were unchanged, his own beliefs had evolved, especially after careful consideration of thorny issues like the assisted dying legislation, which divided the House of Commons and generated more correspondence to his constituency office than any other subject.
He voted in favour and said: “I hope that my engagement around it, the way I’ve kept residents up to date and engaged with them, is reassurance that I thought about it really, really carefully and take it seriously.
“I would say that my views are more informed by our residents than ever.”
Since he routed the Conservatives at the General Election a year ago, his party’s fortunes in the constituency have dipped. There were no Hertford and Stortford seats for Labour in May’s county council elections, and the Greens took two Hertford Town Council seats from Labour this month.
He accepted that people were “restless for change and rightly so”, but he believed: “Really rewiring the country is going to take time.”
Reform UK has gained ground, but he said he was not threatened by Nigel Farage’s party.
He said: “There’s more to do, but I hope we’re showing that people were right to put their trust in me last year. And where we want to go is forward, not back.”
Issues like the conflict in Gaza and immigration have ramped up pressure on the Government and caused protests across the country.
Mr Dean said: “Fundamentally, I think people in this country believe in a fair but firm system of immigration. It’s really important that we recognise the contribution that people who come to work in this country and live in this country have made. I’m the product of immigrants.”
He said his paternal great-grandfather was Indian, and his mother’s family were, he believed, of Dutch descent.
“It’s not something I’ve spoken about a huge amount before, but it is something I’m very conscious of.”
He added: “The big challenge is around small boats crossing [the Channel]. I recognise why people have concerns. Fundamentally, we’re talking about extremely vulnerable people being exploited by criminal gangs, which we would all agree is wrong. That’s why the priority of this Government is to smash those gangs.
“I think we’re a country that believes in a fair but firm system. There will be people who have no right to be here, and they will be deported.”
He believed the Government was right to proscribe Palestine Action. “Thousands of people protest peacefully and lawfully every week with regards to what’s happening in Gaza and on the West Bank and in Palestine generally. And I will always defend the right of people to campaign peacefully and lawfully, particularly around such an emotive and unimaginably painful issue.
“But in the case of Palestine Action, what we saw was that they infiltrated a major RAF base and attacked millions of pounds worth of critical security infrastructure with spray paint.
“We cannot compromise on security infrastructure when the world is more volatile than it has ever been.”
He was unimpressed by controversial appearances at the Glastonbury music festival by Irish Republican rappers Kneecap and punk rap duo Bob Vylan, who chanted “Death to the IDF”.
Kneecap has been investigated by police for calling for the death of British MPs and shouting “Up Hamas, up Hezbollah.”
Mr Dean said: “There is a reason we have a democratic system, a democratic society, and no one should ever fear for their safety because of the job they do, whether they’re here in the House of Commons, whether they work in our communities. So that kind of language is, to my mind, deeply unacceptable and deeply wrong.”
He said colleagues who served with Labour’s Jo Cox and Conservative David Amess, both murdered on duty in their constituencies, still felt their loss keenly.
Nevertheless, he has been committed to holding regular, in-person surgeries with constituents who want to speak to him.
He summed up: “We have a House of Commons that is more representative of the country that we live in than it has ever been.
“You come in and you have two ideas. The first is what an MP should be, and the second is the kind of MP that you want to be.
“For me, it’s finding a middle ground between the two and trying to be the kind of MP that Hertford Stortford needs. When I came in, I had a very clear idea of the kind of MP Hertford Stortford didn’t need. That’s why I put myself forward at the General Election.
“What we’ve done throughout the year is start to build the sort of MP that our constituency does need – visible, accessible, hard working.”
Quick-fire questions…
What’s your favourite music?
“I’m a big Bob Dylan fan. Joan Baez. But in the last few years, I’ve become a big Ozzy [Osbourne] fan and a big Black Sabbath fan.”
Chinese or Indian takeaway?
Chinese. I like to go for special fried rice. When I get spare time, it’s nice to get a takeaway and just watch some TV and try to tune out. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s nice when it does.”
Beer or wine?
He does not drink alcohol because of his ADHD medication.
Favourite book?
Being Elvis: A Lonely Life by Ray Connolly. “I saw the film Elvis in cinemas about five times because I thought it was great and I loved it. Off the back of that, I bought the book and read it. I read a lot of biographies.”
Who’s your hero, political or otherwise?
“I’m not really sure I believe in political heroes. But if I had to pick a political hero, probably Peter Ruffles. Peter, to my mind, is the ideal kind of local representative.
“If it’s a hero, generally, Mr Patterson. He was my history teacher at school. He set a real example and, in many ways, got me to think about politics through those history lessons.”
Favourite biscuit?
Chocolate Digestive
Next holiday destination?
“My partner is going to Croatia over the summer for her birthday with her family. Hopefully I’m going there for a couple of days. It will be the first time I’ve been on holiday, actually left the country, since I was about 16.”
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