In the months campaigning before the election, I would hear that people ‘weren’t sure about Keir Starmer’; ‘Didn’t think anything would change’ or that we were ‘all the same’. The Prime Minister stood on the steps of Downing Street and said the work of change would begin immediately. And he meant it.

After only six weeks a lot has changed already. This week this government got in the room and sorted out disputes which had been dragging on for two years with working people who had been feeling frustrated, ignored and used as scapegoats by the previous government. Our Employment Rights Bill is on its way and will contain the mechanism for the minimum wage to become a real living wage, stop one-sided zero hours contracts and fire and rehire. As well as a whole host of measures to make work pay, which I know will be invaluable to so many people here.

With these changes, I’m finding that the conversation is beginning to change. There are a lot of things in this country that are broken and need fixing. We all know that. It’s daunting. It will take time and difficult decisions, but we will work constantly and consistently to make those changes.

However, even though things aren’t working, that doesn’t make it ok to resort to the type of violence and criminal disorder that we have seen on our streets around parts of the country recently. Those people don’t speak for our communities. Those who engage in criminal activity will face the strongest possible consequences. Anyone who stokes violence, online or in person, can face jail time. We have already seen individuals charged with racial hatred online, more will follow.

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology has met representatives of X, Google, Meta and TikTok, to make clear their responsibility to work with us to stop the spread of hateful misinformation and incitement. Companies must step up and counter misleading and inflammatory material. They have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their users and should not be waiting for the Online Safety Act to come into force.

The images we’ve seen on our televisions and social media feeds go against everything we are as a nation but when good people start to get up, come out on the streets, tell the people whose behaviour has been tolerated (and even encouraged by certain sectors of social media) that it is not tolerable, then the conversation starts to change.

We know things need to change. Many things are broken. People are understandably angry and frustrated. But we cannot allow the blame for how bad things have got to fall on the weak and the vulnerable. Now, more than ever, is the time for politics as public service. A government committed to making that change. The start of the road back to restoring people’s hope and faith that politics can be a force for good.

Jayne Kirkham

Labour MP for Truro & Falmouth