Rotary Club honour for former Bognor Regis MP Nick Gibb

At a special ceremonial dinner taking place on September 16, Mr Gibb was presented with the Paul Harris scholarship – the highest honour the club can bestow on a non-member – for his decades of service to Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.

The area’s first ever MP, Mr Gibb served as Minister of State for Education on three separate occasions, and served on six different parliamentary committees from 1997 to 2013, covering a broad range of interests.

Addressing the diners, a spokesperson for The Rotary Club addressed the trials, tribulations and challenges of Mr Gibb’s parliamentary career, but added that he “always took an interest in what makes Bognor and Littlehampton tick and attended many events run by local organisations.”

Speaking to directly to him, the spokesperson said: “you didn’t merely pay lip service to that duty by making fleeting visits but took a real interest in what was going on. The general consensus in this Club is that you always did your best for the constituency and it’s inhabitants, and that this area has never had the benefit of an MP so involved with and committed to the local community.”

Mr Gibb may have retired from political life earlier this year, but he said he has no intention of moving on from West Sussex, as he told The Rotary Club in an acceptance speech: “I love the area, and the people, having lived in Aldwick initially, and now, just outside of the former constituency boundary. It is my intention to remain living in the area and am making plans for my future here”

Some of those plans, he went on to add, involve a writing a book on his greatest passion: “I am currently writing a book reflecting on my interest in education, and have the exciting prospect of helping governments internationally in this field”.

The Rotary Club is not political, and makes clear that the award recognises Mr Gibb’s dedication to the community during his time as MP.