Southend Given City Status After Death of MP Sir David Amess
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed in Parliament on Monday, October 18, that Queen Elizabeth II would accord “city status” on the town of Southend following the killing of Member of Parliament Sir David Amess on Friday.
Amess was first elected MP for Southend West in 1997, after representing Basildon in the House of Commons for 14 years from 1983. He engaged in a long-running campaign to see the Essex town of Southend become a city, and had raised the issue in Parliament on several occasions in recent years.
Johnson confirmed the decision in the House of Commons on Monday during a speech paying tribute to Amess. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, speaking after Johnson, lauded the news as a “fitting tribute” to the late MP.
Amess in 2020 backed proposals for a “city status competition” to coincide with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, which will mark the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne. He welcomed the competition’s launch in June 2021, tweeting that “Southend would undoubtedly be a fitting recipient of the honour.”
Amess was in attendance as Southend officially launched its bid for city status on September 18, less than a month before he was killed.
Speaking to radio station LBC on Sunday, Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said he felt there was a “certain inevitability” about Southend becoming a city after Amess’s death. “Let me respect the mechanism for deciding it but say that I think it will be a very fitting tribute if it should come to pass,” Raab said.
The definition of a city in the UK is a place that has been granted city status by the monarch, according to the BBC. There are 69 cities in the UK – 51 in England, six in Wales, seven in Scotland, and five in Northern Ireland. The status offers only a sense of pride and has “no official benefits,” the BBC said. Credit: Parliamentlive.tv via Storyful
相關影片推薦
- 1:48美樂透「兆彩」連槓30次 頭獎361億元終開出 創紐澤西紀錄Yahoo奇摩(國際通)70,931 次觀看・18 小時前
- 2:02歐洲最長「超級高鐵」測試軌道開通 34鋼管連結420公尺路線、時速可達700公里Yahoo奇摩(國際通)15,066 次觀看・16 小時前
- 0:45台北橋塞爆! 卡40分鐘 騎士控紅綠燈調配出包東森新聞影音73,280 次觀看・14 小時前
- 9:18番茄這樣做竟然這麼好吃,不用炸不用煎,加1塊豆腐,能讓你多吃兩碗飯,香!.芭樂媽的家 Qistin Wong TV62,441 次觀看・3 天前
- 4:14一分鐘報天氣 / 週五 (03/29) 週四夜至週五鋒面快速掠過 僅北部及東部轉有短暫陣雨Yahoo奇摩新聞(報氣象)1,902 次觀看・12 小時前
- 1:3845歲女醫院櫃檯前突昏倒 甲狀腺亢進引發心肌梗塞民視影音40,161 次觀看・12 小時前
- 1:54終於出面! 寶林老闆黎仿軒進北市府 全程沉默TVBS新聞網影音994 次觀看・8 小時前
- 1:38控吃小林紅麴保健品人生變黑白 降膽固醇變洗腎東森新聞影音2,075 次觀看・8 小時前
- 1:23寶林食安風暴2死者解剖 死者家屬盼司法還公道民視影音5,302 次觀看・16 小時前
- 1:58墨西哥逾10萬人失蹤 家屬尋親發現「祕密墳場」驚現火化爐、無名墳Yahoo奇摩(國際通)23,490 次觀看・18 小時前