'I saw an elderly man fall over in Honiton and everyone rushed to his aid': Richard Foord MP on the importance of community spirit

By Richard Foord, the MP for Honiton and Tiverton

Community spirit – it's a term we hear thrown around a lot. I for one am told that it was more apparent when my parents were young! So what does community spirit mean and is it still relevant today?

I got to witness compassion in action earlier this year in Honiton whilst walking down the high street when I found an older member of the community who had fallen on the pavement near Lace Walk. During the fall they had hit their head and was rather shaken.

Everyone nearby seemed to want to help, myself included. Someone immediately dialled 999 for an ambulance, one of the staff from a nearby coffee shop brought out a blanket, and a parcel delivery driver who was passing removed his jacket for the patient's additional comfort, asking only that the coffee shop return the jacket to him when he passed by later.

To me, this is what community is all about: coming together to look after our own. This is important because in a world where we often can feel isolated and disconnected from each other, we have such power when we come together.

This is true in so many ways, whether it be rallying around when someone is hurt, working together to raise money for local causes, or coming together to stand up for our values and what we believe in.

Last weekend I attended the 'Music for a Summer Night' event at Combe Raleigh. It was a great event which aimed to help raise money to support the Exeter Cathedral Music Foundation Trust and featured a rousing performance from the Honiton Town Band.

We can also see our community pride on display in London, with the Speaker of the House of Commons choosing at the King's Coronation to wear the ceremonial cuffs made from Honiton Lace. This highlights the huge impact rural communities like ours can have.

I was delighted this week to host visitors to Parliament from Honiton Primary School. Once again, members of the School Council posed some really searching questions that got me thinking as hard as I might in any House of Commons debate. Their line of questioning evidenced to me that we don't have to worry so much about community spirit amongst the next generation for some of the youngest people in the town.

Community spirit is something I've long sought to embody and promote – whether it be during my time in the Army helping British soldiers build relationships and understanding with the local communities, during my time working for leading universities building global partnerships, and during my time as a Member of Parliament where I've sought to help volunteers bring other members of our Devon communities together.

Because I believe there is nothing we cannot achieve when we do it together. We need to focus more on what unites us, not what divides us, and come together to act in the best interests of everyone in our part of Devon. Because there is nothing more powerful than when a community stands together.