As this is my first blog since the election on July 4th, I want to start by saying an enormous thank you to everyone who voted for me to continue as the Member of Parliament for Stretford and Urmston. I am absolutely delighted to have been re-elected and I look forward to working with our new Labour Government to make life better for people across our constituency.  

I was officially sworn in as an MP last week (see the video here) and I promise to continue to work hard for each resident and to keep representing our great community to the best of my ability. 

It’s fair to say that quite a lot has changed since my last blog!  

The biggest difference is that after 14 years of the Tories, we now have a Labour Government. The country voted decisively for change, for national renewal, and for a return of politics to public service. Labour will work day and night to repay the trust that has been placed in us by the British people. 

Our government has inherited a flatlining economy with public services on their knees. The challenge to rebuild is vast and deep-seated problems won’t be fixed overnight, but I’m hopeful and confident about what this new administration can deliver.  

Already we’ve seen hugely positive steps. Whether this is the serious talks to end the junior doctor’s strike, the scrapping of the nonsensical ban on onshore wind, or the biggest changes to the planning system for 14 years. On this last point, regular readers will know that planning reform to stimulate housebuilding and economic growth has been one of my biggest priorities in Parliament. It’s so encouraging to see that it’s equally as important to our new Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.  

There’s also been some big changes for me personally. Last week, I was asked by our new Prime Minister to serve in his government as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department for Work and Pensions. It is a huge privilege to be given this opportunity and I’ll be working hard to deliver on the government’s priorities of getting people back to work and driving growth in every corner of our country. You can read more about this here. 

My full title is Minister for Transformation and I’ve spent the last week getting to grips with the responsibilities of this role which include overseeing service modernisation, improving customer experience, the role of AI, and tackling fraud, error, and debt within the welfare system. There’s lots to do, but the hard work has started, and I’m excited about what we can achieve.  

My new role will of course place new demands on my time, but I can assure everyone in Stretford and Urmston that I will continue to be a hardworking, visible, constituency MP. In the past week, I’ve written to the Manchester University Foundation Trust about the potential loss of the shuttle bus service between Trafford General and Wythenshawe Hospital. Given the importance of this service for staff as well as patients and their families, I’ve urged the Trust to look again at their proposals and consider whether there are possible alternatives. I’ll update on this issue when I get a response.  

This week we will have the first King’s Speech of the new Labour Government. This will set out our legislative agenda to deliver the change Britain has voted for. I look forward to updating you on this, and my work in Parliament and the constituency, in next week’s blog.  

Thank you for reading.