By the time this goes to print, I am hopeful that as the new MP for Stourbridge I will have delivered my Maiden Speech in the House of Commons.

A speech that describes our constituency as the jewel in the crown and the beating heart of the urban West Midlands. A constituency steeped in its rich history - a market town of residential streets interspersed with green spaces; glass making; the beautiful Mary Stevens Park; and of course not forgetting our fantastic pubs and breweries.

I chose to do my maiden speech during Tuesday’s House of Commons debate on tax. I believe that any Government is a custodian of tax-payers’ hard-earned money, with obligations to spend it as wisely as if the taxpayer was spending the money themselves. After all, the Government’s money is the hard-earned wages paid in tax by the likes of my school dinner lady Nan of whom I talk fondly during my speech.

The speech also outlines the need to fund remediation of brownfield sites across the Dudley Borough to take the pressure off Stourbridge’s beautiful Green Belt. I have long championed the Green Belt and its protection. We must do more to protect our green and open spaces. They are after all the lungs of this great United Kingdom and as we embrace the fight against climate change, we should not be the prophets of doom, but pioneers of change, and start to think differently about how we plan for our future homes.

I speak of regeneration and investment in areas like Cradley and Lye. We should protect the character of these traditional Black Country towns with one eye on the future, to ensure they play their role in the economic renaissance across the West Midlands led magnificently by our Mayor, Andy Street.

I talk of how we can better tackle knife crime. I of course refer to the Justice for Ryan campaign. My thoughts are as always with Ryan’s family and friends.

I touch on education and the importance of education not just being defined by certificates of achievement, but by our engagement and participation in activities such as sport, amateur dramatics and voluntary activity. Education underpins everything we do in our lives and I will work hard to build and restore facilities, particularly adult education facilities, here in Stourbridge.

I conclude that I am a proud Midlander, honoured to serve Stourbridge. It will be my responsibility, one which I will not take lightly, to ensure Stourbridge is a key beneficiary of the economic renaissance sweeping our region.

Finally, I have recently received a large volume of communications from local residents concerned about crime. I would like to reassure residents that I know this is one of your top priorities and I am taking that away into meetings and ongoing discussions with local Police officers. Working together with the Police, I am sure that we can get crime down and one of the first steps will be bringing a police base back to Stourbridge town centre.