Newbury MP doubles number of Twitter followers

NEWBURY MP Richard Benyon has more than doubled his number of Twitter followers in the past 12 months.
The statistics for MP’s, compiled by UK think tank Parliament Street, shows that Mr Benyon’s followers has leapt from 3,129 in September 2012 to the current total of 6,402, an increase of 3,273.
He joked: “There must be a lot of bored people about if they want to follow me, but of course I’m flattered.
“Twitter and other forms of social networking have provided myself and other MP’s the opportunity to interact with people, which is incredibly important.
“I’ll admit I wasn’t sure about Twitter at first and I didn’t like having to sum up everything in 140 characters, but I am pleased to say I have really warmed to it now and consider myself a Twitter enthusiast.
“In the same way The Newbury Weekly News uses social media to interact with their audience, politicians now have a voice to keep their constituents informed of important issues.
“Now I’m on a roll I’ve set myself a target of doubling my folowers again by this time next year.”
Director of Technology at Parliament Street, Steven George-Hilley, said: “Social media is now a defining feature of modern society, influencing every aspect of life. By using social sites like Twitter, MPs can build trust with the electorate and engage the next generation in the political process.”