The process of being sworn in as a Member of Parliament is short. An oath of allegiance to the Queen, a quick chat with the Clerks and a shake of hands with The Speaker. Yet it is also a time to reflect. I am very proud to have been re-elected, by local people to be their representative, and the act of being sworn in reinforces my acute sense of the responsibility of being MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis.
There are many challenges ahead both locally and nationally. Ensuring that we fulfil our manifesto commitment to hold and in/out referendum on our membership of the European Union by the end of 2017 is a top priority. This was something I battled hard for in the last Parliament. The legislation to enable the referendum will the first bill to be debated by MP’s.
As I walked past The Speaker’s Chair I ran my other priorities through my mind. Top of the pile was mental health. Through my Chairmanship of the All Party Group for Mental Health I was able to make huge progress on this in the last Parliament. The government is committed to achieving what is called ‘Parity of Esteem’ between mental and physical health in the NHS and we need to make sure that we build on the progress already made and make this a reality. We need to improve mental health care across the board. There are some examples of quality mental health care locally and I want to showcase this on a national level.
Of course the local economy will continue to be a key part of my work. We made significant advances on jobs and skills in the last five years but I will continue to work hard with local businesses to help shape the future of the Black Country economy.