My first two weeks representing the people of St Austell & Newquay in parliament have been a real privilege.

The State Opening of Parliament saw myself and my new colleagues hearing The King’s Speech, which set out Labour’s ambitious programme for government. The priorities read by the King will deliver the fresh start that’s needed both in our constituency and across the country.

With 39 bills outlined in the speech, it is set to be a busy parliamentary session as we hit the ground running, putting in the extra hours in Westminster to get through what’s needed ahead of the summer recess, where I’ll be out and about in the constituency every day.

The bill to set up Great British Energy is especially exciting and will allow us to unlock Cornwall’s potential with investment and development in renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind. My colleague MP Jayne Kirkham used her first question from the green benches to ask Ed Miliband to affirm the government’s commitment to developing the supply chain that’ll support offshore wind in areas with hitherto untapped potential such as Cornwall.

Plans to improve water quality and strengthen the powers of the regulator will be incredibly welcome in our constituency as well, as we look to tackle the issue of sewage in our rivers. In the coming days, I meet with Susan Davy, the CEO of South West Water to discuss their response to our Government’s new requirements, as well as their proposed desalination plant at Par.

The biggest highlight has been the opportunity to work with the three other Labour MPs from Cornwall, Jayne Kirkham (Truro & Falmouth), Perran Moon (Camborne & Redruth) and Anna Gelderd (South East Cornwall). Collaborating with them over the coming weeks, months and years will be crucial in making sure the Cornwall gets the change it needs.

The four of us, and our 407 fellow Labour MPs, packed into the House of Commons for the re-election of the Speaker. The Government benches in the chamber were not designed to seat quite this many MPs, so I was sat in the public gallery to watch Sir Lindsay Hoyle being ceremonially dragged to the chair, as is tradition. The Speaker of the House fulfils an important role – that of ensuring all members, including backbenchers representing too often overlooked parts of the country such as ourselves, get a fair hearing.

I am excited to begin the hard work of delivering on the pledges I made during the campaign: working to bring jobs and prosperity back to the Cornish economy, tackling the housing crisis and revitalising our town centres, public infrastructure and services. And, by the end of the summer recess in August, I hope to have met with the people in need across the constituency I need to finalise my plans for each, which I’ll be sharing with you in due course.

Noah Law

Labour MP for St Austell & Newquay