As the new year begins, with the hard work of establishing our offices and a new government in hand, it's time for a shift in tone and to put our foot on the gas.

I won’t pretend it’s been an easy few months – aside from the immense workload, we've had to make tough decisions and, when you’ve inherited public finances built on sand, it’s of course going to feel, for a time, as if we’re net losers rather than beneficiaries.

Outside of those few of sectors that weren't the net winners in the autumn budget, those I know in the investment world both locally and nationally are much more optimistic about the year ahead and ready to put capital to work. Even one constituent wrote to me over the Christmas break saying much the same.

Inflation's ticked up a notch, but real disposable income is up. For all the doom and gloom from a right-wing press which is increasingly out of touch with reality and a pet project of wealthy, often foreign billionaires – people have more money in their pockets.

When our new Labour government trots off the line that we're fixing the foundations, far from being an empty soundbite, we've had to pull our prison system back from the brink, begin to bring NHS waiting lists down, introduce legislation to crack down on rogue water bosses, and all this balancing the books and reversing the massive dent in the tax base left by the reckless, unnecessary cut to National Insurance last spring which benefitted the highest earners to the tune of a hundred pounds a month, versus barely a tenner for the median earner.

In 2025, I want to use these stronger foundations to build a stronger, more positive, can-do Britain of the kind I spoke about in my Budget Speech, and continue to put Cornwall at the forefront of our mission to provide cheaper, cleaner energy, and create thousands of great jobs in the process.

I’ll also be launching my election pledge to work to fix the Cornish housing crisis. In events in February, I’ll be following on from the success of the launch of my pledge for Jobs and Prosperity, talking about my work both locally and nationally to support much-needed changes to Cornwall’s housing options – ensuring the right homes and infrastructure, for the right people, at the right price.

Finally, in the spring, I look forward to introducing the work I’ve been doing towards improving our towns – though there is much to be done. Supporting the work of the St Austell and Newquay BIDs, I’ll be talking to residents about how we can get the best deals for our town centres, continuing to tackle anti-social behaviour, retail crime, and revitalise our town centre offers.

I relished the peace, reflection, and quiet time with family that Christmas brought. But I also relish the busyness ahead in 2025, ensuring we continue to get a better deal for our communities throughout Mid Cornwall.

Noah Law

Labour MP for St Austell and Newquay