IT IS now six month since Chris Vince was voted MP for Harlow.

To recap: He won on July 4th with a majority of 2,504.

We can go through all the points that over 58,000 register voters in the constituency didn’t vote for him etc but we are, as they way, where we are.

This piece is one man’s opinion of how he thinks Chris Vince has performed over the last six months.

What really counts is the opinion of all the voters and they can have their say at the next General Election.

When (back in May) the then Harlow Labour leader Chris Vince left the Harlow District Council election count early as it unfolded that the Tories were about to retain the council, it really did look like that may be the last we would see of him.

Even though he said he felt he had let everybody down, it looked like he couldn’t handle the pressure.

But suddenly, a General Election was called and Chris had four weeks in which to try and overturn a 14,000 Tory majority.

But this was a Tory government completely out of gas. Robert Halfon had stood down and first time candidate, Hannah Ellis was standing for the first time.

Chris Vince started his campaign well and his quality of just being dogged seemed like a major asset.

He really grew into the role and we were very impressed with those interviews over the last few weeks, up in Church Langley, Mark Hall and in the town centre, where he really did look like had his eye on the prize.

And when he was declared the winner, there was an impressive humility about Mr Vince. His speech was not triumphalist. He told his colleagues to calm down and told the people of Harlow and the villages that he was here to serve.

The last six months have seen him keep to that promise.

Day in day out, we report “Chris Vince rose on the floor of the House of Commons” He has spoken on a vast array of subjects from health care, the welfare of fire officers to crime and anti-social behaviour”

On most occasions, he is relaying correspondence and campaigns from local constituents. We know they have all been very grateful for his help.

That is not only in Harlow but across the villages of Nazeing, the Hallingburys, Hatfield Broad Oak and Roydon.

From Friday and through the weekend, he is undertaking an exhaustive amount of constituency work. From school visits, charity events, visiting businesses to supporting sports teams across the town.

Nobody is ever going to work harder than Mr Vince.

He has also only been in for six months. Many MPs tell us that it takes a good five years to feel properly settled in.

But like it or not, this Labour government didn’t get much of honeymoon period. Plus for all the mountain of work they have already got through (anti-corruption legislation, care reviews, financial support for hospices, boost for education, planning and housing targets, prison places, swift action on rioting, business growth service), people will focus (and perhaps quite rightly) on matters such as the winter fuel allowance.

This may be a Labour government which should have as one of its core skills at being skilled at politics. It looks like they have it on the “to-do list.”

Likewise, Mr Vince has to play a delicate balancing act between constituency MP and a novice Labour man in the chamber.

But some say that the only thing you get by standing in the middle of the road is, on many occasions, run over.

At some stage, football fan Chris Vince is going to have to go into the chamber and channel his inner Roy Keane. Because………that’s your job.

We felt that when we challenged him on the 9,000 appointments cancelled at Princess Alexandra Hospital in two weeks due to new computer system and asked if he was prepared to bring that up in the House of Commons, that he didn’t commit. However, that is his prerogative.

He said he had spoken to them and felt reassured. He sounded a bit “young Mr Grace” (that’s one for the kids!).

His predecessor Robert Halfon certainly would have. Mr Halfon name checked Persimmon Homes over delays at Gilden Park. He told a brewery in uncertain terms that he would do the same over the state of a pub. That is just two examples off the top of our head in fourteen years.

We should really ask if Mr Vince has been in contact with property developer, Strawberry Star over their planned development in the town centre.

We need someone who, if necessary, is going to be a hold their feet to the fire of all the major players in political arena of Harlow: Harlow Council, Essex Police, PAH, the NHS, Essex County Council, Essex Highways, property developer, to name just a few.

But the hospital could be the legacy albatross that Mr Vince may be remembered by. His election leaflets promised, we repeat, promised, a new hospital for Harlow. No ifs and no buts. No terms and conditions apply. It may still happen but that is no longer where the smart money is.

At our most critical, our concern is that we have swopped a Premier League standard player in Robert Halfon for a dependable League Two midfielder. If you are happy with that, then fine.

But can Harlow, a vastly significant constituency in the heart of a regeneration area afford that? What opportunities might go missing as we didn’t have a big enough hitter/player in the room?

Chris Vince is under no illusion that his 2,500 majority, is a soft majority and he has pledged to work his hardest between now and the next General Election.

He may lose and then go back to his previous career/vocation of working with young carers. He has already been a massive advocate for them in Westminster.

This reporter has interviewed every MP that has represented Harlow going back to Stan Newens. As we said this piece is just one reporters view. We think Mr Vince has done a fantastic job as a constituency MP in a very busy six months. We know plenty of journalists around the country who have said to us that they wish we had our MP. Always busy, always communicative and always positive.

But as we say, this is not a fun run or a charity raffle. There are some big challenges out there and the responsibility of him and his team to step up to the mark.

The following twelve months will be critical for the Labour government as well as Mr Vince. We wish him well.