They say a week is a long time in politics, so it’s hard to believe it’s already been 11 weeks since I had the incredible privilege of being elected as the new Labour Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen.

This is my home constituency, where my family is growing up, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone here who has put their trust in me as their new MP.

Starting a new job is always a daunting and exciting challenge, and that’s especially true when stepping into the Houses of Parliament.

The first weeks were filled with many hours of induction and training before I could even begin setting up an office.

It’s a herculean task to do this from scratch, and with no staff at the start, I’ve spent these initial weeks working my way through emails and recruiting a strong team to support my work in Southampton and Westminster.

I appreciate your patience during this time, as it’s meant I’ve been slower in responding to constituents than I would like. But from here on – as the song goes – things can only get better!

Constituency surgeries are a vital opportunity to meet with people who need advice or support on a range of issues – housing, anti-social behaviour, visa concerns, and of course, sharing their views on upcoming laws that MPs are debating.

I’ve held a few already, and plan to do these at least every fortnight across the constituency and look forward to meeting many of you there.

The new Labour Government has set out a bold agenda to bring change to the UK, stabilise the economy, and improve our public services.

But, of course, no one said governing would be easy, and these first few weeks haven’t all been plain sailing.

The Conservative government left behind a dire economic situation, and as much as they might try to deny the £22 billion black hole in the public finances, the mess is real and needs urgent attention.

So, Labour won’t shy away from the tough decisions because getting the economy back on track to invest in public services and improve living standards for everyone depends on getting this right.

This is an ambitious government with a big task ahead, and as a new MP, I’ve been proud to support legislation that will transform our country.

We’re bringing the railways back into public ownership, which will mean more efficient services and better accountability. We’re setting up Great British Energy to reduce bills and tackle the climate crisis.

We’re introducing free breakfast clubs in every primary school. And we’re cracking down on polluting water companies so we can clean up our rivers – including the River Itchen right here in Southampton. These measures will bring real benefits to our community.

As with any new job, it takes a while to get your feet under the table, but now that my team is in place, I’m excited to get to work and do more to serve the brilliant constituents of Southampton Itchen.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch on darren.paffey.mp@parliament.uk if I can help.

Darren Paffey is MP for Southampton Itchen