This week the Cornish MPs have headed back to Westminster after the summer recess. ‘Recess’ is a bit of a misnomer as it implies ‘holiday’.

I’ve learned that it is far from that! Because I had to spend all but about five days of July in London, there was always going to be a backlog of meetings and events to undertake. During August I’ve also run seven sit-down surgeries and five doorstep surgeries across Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, and I will continue to run these weekly on Fridays and Saturdays having got back from Westminster on Thursday evenings, at least until the end of the year.

But during August I’ve had the privilege of meetings with town mayors; town council leaders; police and security chiefs; environmental bosses; campaigners; pressure groups and associations; parish council leaders; sports administrators; health workers; health administrators and GPs; housing associations and developers; students and educators; various charities and voluntary sector organisations; government ministers and even the previous MP, as well as many more local residents!

August has been a huge listening and learning curve for me. Having a ‘finger on the pulse’ of the constituency is, in my book, absolutely essential to be an effective MP.

I have an even more detailed understanding of our current situation in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, as a result of the blizzard of meetings and events I’ve attended during August. And while we know that we have some quite profound challenges with housing, anti-social behaviour, healthcare services and the environment, to name but a few, there are also some wonderful things happening, great organisations, committed people and new initiatives that I am confident will bear fruit very soon.

For my part, I’ve also managed to interview and recruit three more temporary and permanent staff to the parliamentary team and they will start in September. While the world continues to be a challenging place and here in Cornwall, we have some serious issues that we can no longer ignore, I have been heartened by the energy and enthusiasm of the people that I have met over the course of the last five weeks.

I will be working with colleagues from both Westminster political parties representing Cornwall to ensure that the government recognises the challenges we face but also the opportunities and commitment that is clearly abundant in our corner of the UK. I hope to highlight some of those opportunities in my maiden speech in the House of Commons on Thursday, September 5.

As summer ends, my only regret is that I will only be able to spend a very limited amount of time at home to continue to meet, engage and listen to local residents until the next longer break, at Christmas. Please be under no illusions, though: wherever I have to be, whilst I may not be home, I will be fighting the corner for Camborne, Redruth and Hayle.

Perran Moon

Labour MP for Camborne & Redruth