IT’S two years now since the General Election and a moment for some personal reflections.

It seems like a lifetime ago when the four Cornish Labour MPs caught the train to London for the first time. The 10-hour weekly roundtrip train journey from Redruth to Paddington has become a regular feature of the week.

Although it’s one of the longest trips of any MP, it does allow valuable time to think, plan and work on the week ahead. It’s also good to catch up with colleagues who join the train as we travel through their constituencies. Now that we’ve announced that we’re bringing GWR into public ownership later this year, MPs from Cornwall and the South West English peninsula are collectively pushing for an upgrade to train Wi-Fi.

This will be important, not only for those who need to pick up and send emails, but it will also support the tourist industry as visitors will be able to download films and music. If journey time is long, at least we can try and make it as productive as possible.

Arriving in Parliament for the start of the week, it normally begins with a Westminster team meeting to plan ahead. The week is made up of questions to Ministers in the House, debates in Westminster Hall, drop-in events organised by various different organisations and charities - due to time constraints, I normally only attend those that constituents have asked me to attend – and adjournment debates.

These are the very last pieces of business in the House each day. They are not ‘whipped’ and so MPs only attend if the subject is directly relevant and they want to contribute. That’s why there are often many fewer MPs in the Chamber than one might expect. I

n fact, the Chamber is very rarely packed – except for Prime Minister’s Questions, which is whipped for all parties. Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the job for me is that when you work for a company you have one focus and you work within that particular industry.

As an MP, you’re expected to know about an incredibly broad range of topics. In truth, it’s impossible for any MP to have a comprehensive grasp of all aspects of Government. So, we rely heavily on briefings from our Parliamentary Assistants to keep abreast of all aspects we’re expected to cover.

Jumping seamlessly on a typical day in Westminster from meetings about the political situation in Georgia, to the Cornish housing crisis, to UK immigration policy, to the zero emission vehicles mandate, to SEND reforms and then into a drop-in about plastic pollution and then into the Chamber to vote on a series of amendments to a particular Bill all requires a mental agility that I will be the first to admit leaves me fairly frazzled at the end of a 15 hour day!

However, every minute of this job remains the greatest privilege of my life and I never, ever forget from where I’ve come and the people who have put me here.