I was pleased to see that my website and blog has been nominated for a New Statesman New Media Award in the elected representative catergory.

It's nice to see people acknowledging the site as a lot of work goes into expanding and updating it. It is also an effective method of communicating with constituents and informing them of my activities.

With such a vast constituency it is impossible to see as many constituents as I would like but the website and blog attracts over 900 unique visitors a week. There is obviously no substitute for meeting people in person but I am able to communicate with far more people in the region through my website than I possible could only with visits, talks and meetings.

Constituents for their part are also embracing the use of the internet. The past couple of years has seen a considerable rise in email queries, with sites like www.writetothem.com making contacting a politician effortless. The internet has also made it far easier to organise a concerted campaign, with people able to publish a stock letter on their website which others can print off and send to their MEP or MP - though this is sometimes a problem when I get 600 identical emails!

With all the talk about wide spread apathy towards politics it is heartening to see the internet enable so many more people to be involved in democracy.