Does anyone know what our MP Steve Barclay thinks about anything requiring his personal moral judgement?

Letters and e-mails asking him for his views and voting intentions on controversial legislation coming before parliament are simply left ignored and unanswered.

For example, on September 11 Mr Barclay will be voting on the legislation of medically-assisted suicide. This is not a new issue, since parliament has already rejected several attempts to legalise euthanasia in the past decade.

So why does Mr Barclay refuse to even answer letters about it from his constituents?

Waiting to see where influential members of his party stand in the debate, before deciding which way he will vote, is unacceptable.

It is deeply insulting and undemocratic behaviour towards his constituents.

There is indeed a far more urgent matter to discuss in parliament: how to improve care for the terminally ill in our hospitals.

Last month the Care Quality Commission disclosed that almost half of England’s hospitals inspected between 2013 and 2015 were causing harm or unnecessary suffering to dying patients.

One can imagine what is likely to happen in the future if medically-assisted suicide was legalised.

Once the bedrock principle of respect for life is discarded, the weak will be subjected to intense pressure to end their lives.

The true scandal is not that Britons are being denied the ‘right to die’, but that they are denied the care they deserve when they are dying.

Perhaps Mr Barclay will indeed vote to ensure that everyone in Britain receives end-of-life care that is worthy of the name.

VICTORIA GILLICK

Old Market

Wisbech