Days ago Sir David Amess was signing copies of his memoir of life as a backbench MP at the Conservative party conference and appealing for votes at the forthcoming Westminster Dog of the Year Show.

       A father of five, he had been a Conservative MP for nearly 40 years, since his election in 1983. Only Sir Peter Bottomley, Barry Sheerman and Harriet Harman had served in the House of Commons for longer.

       Sir David was above all a constituency politician throwing open his weekly surgeries for his constituents to book an appointment.

       In the House of Commons Sir David never rose up the ministerial greasy pole to pursue a career in Government preferring to get things done on the floor of the House of Commons.

       Two of his most significant achievements were the Protection Against Cruel Tethering Act (1988), and the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act (2000), both of which are on the statute book in his name.

       Sir David himself described his main areas of expertise as “animal welfare and pro-life issues” on his website.

       He supported a ban on fox hunting as well as plans for a prohibition on the import of hunting trophies. He was also a patron of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation.

       His Twitter feed was full of meetings with local people and his varying campaign on animal welfare issues.

       One of the first to pay tribute to him was Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister's wife.

       His campaigning efforts in the House of Commons in recent years are most closely associated with the Essex coastal town and Sir David's interventions were never without humour.

       Ministerial questions in the Commons were punctuated by his long-running campaign to make Southend a city.

       In December 2019, he secured a debate on the floor of the House of Commons specifically on the campaign and he told MPs: “I am not messing around. We have got it from the Prime Minister that Southend is going to become a city – and it will become a city.”

       Sir David also campaigned for a statue to the Queen in his constituency as well as a memorial to Dame Vera Lynn on the White Cliffs of Dover.

       A lingering frustration was that people continued to mock him for being duped in 1997 by Channel 4's Brass Eye about a fake drug called "Cake", a creation of the satirical TV programme developed by comedian Chris Morris.

       Sir David had said attacks on elected politicians had 'spoilt' tradition of meeting public

       Sir David published a memoir late last year, ‘Ayes and Ears: A Survivor’s Guide to Westminster', offering tips to MPs on how to get the best out of serving in the House of Commons.

       In his memoir, Sir David described the murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox outside her own constituency surgery as “totally unexpected”.

       Sir David wrote that MPs had received guidance about security in their own home, were advised never to see people alone, and that he had been advised to be “extra careful” when opening his post or in his office.

       “In short, these increasing attacks have rather spoilt the great British tradition of people only meeting their elected politicians,” he wrote.

       Sir Peter Bottomley, the Father of the House of Commons, said today: "He was dedicated to this constituency, contributed heavily in Parliament. He was on the Speaker's Panel. He is the kind of person who gave Parliament a good name."

       Born in Plaistow in London in 1952, Sir David studied economics and government at the College of Technology in Bournemouth and worked as a teacher and recruitment consultant before he entered politics.

       A devout Christinan, Sir David and his wife Julia Arnold had one son and four daughters, the eldest of which is the actress Kate Amess.

       He was first elected to Parliament when he became MP for Basildon in the Conservatives’ landslide 1983 general election victory.

       A boundary review prior to the 1997 election meant that he became the MP for Southend West.

       He has been a member of the Commons' Panel of Chairs since 2001, which gives him responsibility for chairing Public Bill Committees and debates in Westminster Hall.

       In 2018, conversations with a constituent led him to launch the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Endometriosis which seeks to raise awareness of those suffering from the condition.

       Sir David was a staunch supporter of the Brexit campaign and had described a vote to stay in the European Union as “a huge mistake” after “the loss of Parliamentary sovereignty”.

       On December 30 last year, he posted a photo of a cardboard cut-out of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

       He wrote: “Whilst Margaret didn’t live long enough to see this day, I am sure that she is rejoicing in heaven. At last we ‘got Brexit done’!”