Firstly, thank you. In the early hours of last Friday morning, I was re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Warwick and Leamington.   

It has been the honour and privilege of my life to represent Warwick, Leamington, Whitnash and the surrounding villages the past seven years.

I have so valued the conversations I have had with so many of you and the trust you have placed in me when sharing your issues and concerns with my small team and me. To have been re-elected in what I firmly believe is the best job around is utterly humbling.  

So, thank you to everyone who placed their trust in me for a third time. Whether you voted for me or not, I will work tirelessly to represent you to the best of my ability, as I have always endeavoured to do since 2017.   

A huge thank you is also due to everyone who made this election possible, the council officers, the polling station clerks, the counters, the activists and of course, the voters. Democracy is a precious thing and to see it in action is a privilege.   

I returned to Parliament on Monday and it felt a very different place to the one I left 6 weeks prior. To begin with, the political makeup of Warwickshire looks very different! I am delighted to be joined by three new Labour colleagues from North Warwickshire and Bedworth, Nuneaton and Rugby.   

This Parliament is the most diverse in history, both in terms of gender and race. There are now 263 female MPs, up from 220 in 2019.

There are now 90 MPs from ethnic-minority backgrounds, up from 66 in 2019. This is the closest it has ever been in modern times to reflecting the diversity of the UK.  

The new cabinet is the most comprehensively educated cabinet and has the most female ministers in history.  

Locally, we have seen the first female MPs in Warwickshire elected, in North Warwickshire and Bedworth, Nuneaton and Stratford-upon-Avon. From Warwickshire having no female MPs prior to this election to being represented equally by male and female MPs is some progress!  

So thank you again for giving the opportunity to continue to represent our towns and villages. It has been the privilege of my life to serve these last seven years and I will continue to work tirelessly over the coming years to serve our communities to the best of my ability.