IT’S an incredible privilege to represent South East Cornwall as its first Labour MP, under the first Labour government in 14 years. I’m deeply honoured and ready to get to work on your behalf.

I want to extend my sincere thanks to everyone who played a part in making history. Together, we saw the end of 14 years of Conservative chaos and achieved a staggering 21 per cent swing to Labour from the Conservatives - the highest in the South West and one of the highest nationwide. Cornwall now has four Labour MPs, part of the 24 Labour MPs across the South West, all dedicated to delivering for our communities.

As your MP, I’m committed to improving the lives of residents and getting our fair share from the Labour Government. Over recent decades, Cornwall has been left behind; our special corner has been severely underfunded for far too long, impacting everything from our schools to healthcare. I will work hard to deliver a fresh start for you.

On July 10, I was officially sworn in as your MP. I took the parliamentary oath in both Cornish and English because it is important to me that Cornish heritage is championed and celebrated, especially in Westminster. I am proud that all six of the new MPs in Cornwall, including the two Liberal Democrats, took the oath in Cornish, demonstrating strong cross-party support for Cornwall.

During my campaign, I said that I wanted to do politics differently here, and that change has already begun. On my first day, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Transport about Tamar tolls, requesting a meeting to discuss how we can deliver lower tolls for local people. The Tamar Crossings are much more than a bridge and ferry service, they are lifelines for communities here, and I will work closely with the Department for Transport to continue pushing for the best possible outcome for local people.

I have also received a lot of correspondence this week from concerned residents about recent sewage spills in the constituency. It is simply unacceptable that people are having to risk getting ill to swim in UK waters. I have written to South West Water to request a meeting about these incidents and what plans they have to prevent this from happening in the future.

The hard work of change and delivering for people here is my driving focus, and there is much work to do. It will take time, particularly in these first weeks while I work to establish my constituency and parliamentary offices.

I look forward to championing the issues most important to you. You can now contact me at [email protected]. Due to strict parliamentary protocol, I can only take up cases from South East Cornwall residents. If you do not live in my constituency, I urge you to contact your MP who will be able to support you.

Anna Gelderd

Labour MP for South East Cornwall