A Labour MP has received formal criticism from a Department of Work and Pensions benefits tribunal for showing too much humanity to a vulnerable constituent she helped through a sanctions battle with the DWP.
Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley, took to Twitter this week to share a letter she had sent to Justice Secretary Michael Gove, in bafflement at the bizarre DWP ruling.
Another e.g of where being a human & an MP is unacceptable. A letter to Michael Gove. pic.twitter.com/CmNUOc975J
— Jess Phillips (@jessphillips) March 30, 2016
In the letter, Phillips explains:
“She needed and deserved kindness, which I showed to her, as I would all of my constituents”
“I do not treat people like numbers, or simply voters. I treat them as I would wish to be treated.”
The DWP tribunal however, felt otherwise, ruling:
“Both the familiarity of the wording, and the fact Ms Phillips places a kiss after her name, indicate a relationship of affection and friendship which goes beyond the parameters of a merely professional relationship.
“In evaluating the contents of her email, we did so on the basis that Ms Phillips was writing as a friend rather than in a professional capacity”.
Only in the selfish society nurtured by the government of David Cameron, could it be seen as a bad thing that an MP showed ‘affection and friendship’ to a constituent desperately in need of both.
Featured Image via YouTube Screengrab
