It is a tremendous honour to have been the elected to serve my home city as the Member of Parliament for Peterborough.

It was a tough campaign, fought against the backdrop of Brexit and the European elections and I would like to thank my campaign team for their hard work and commitment.

I am very grateful to the people who voted for me last Thursday and I want to reassure those who did not support me that I will be your MP too, because I am determined to bring our city back together.

Now my work as your MP begins. I am not a career politician, I’m a local mum who chose to live, work and raise my family here more than 30 years ago. I stood because I love Peterborough, I believe in our people and I want to be a positive influence and improve our city.

We have been badly let down by years of Tory austerity and cuts. We’ve seen school standards fall, crime rise and a litter and fly-tipping epidemic that shames the Tory-run Peterborough City Council. That’s why my priority in Westminster will be to get a better deal for Peterborough. I will campaign for more resources for our schools so that our children have every opportunity to be the best they possibly can be. I will fight for more police on the street so our communities can feel safe again and I will hold the Tory-run city council to account for the appalling state of our streets.

I promised to work tirelessly to make Peterborough a city we can all be proud of again, and I won’t let you down.

First published in the Peterborough Telegraph.