New Year is always a time for reflection. As we pass from the teenage years of the 21st Century and into its 20s, reflection on the last decade is quite a task.

I was first elected in 2010, when we were coming out of the financial crises and embarked on the first peace-time coalition government for three quarters of a century.

I took over from an individual here who I still have huge respect for – Dr Richard Taylor, a man who worked tirelessly for our local hospital and who was the man of the moment in 2001, when the then government embarked on far-reaching changes to our local acute provision.

But in 2010, we needed to address new issues and economic repair was on the forefront of everyone’s minds.

Whilst public finances are back on track, no one would ever have predicted the extraordinary outcome a few years later.

A referendum to end the Scottish independence question has resulted in a huge surge in Scottish nationalism.

A further referendum to quieten the growth of Euroscepticism resulted in three years of deadlock, with Parliament – whose primary role is to make decisions – broken by infighting and deadlock.

At least we had a (third) referendum that really did achieve what it set out to do – to quell any desires to change our voting system.

The last few months have been, to say the least, turbulent: our third prime minister since 2015, a supreme court ruling against the government, hideous confrontation between the government and Parliament.

What is astonishing is that we start 2020 with these problems, apparently, resolved. The general election has resulted in a stable government with a clear mandate to deliver Brexit.

We are now moving on with the will of 63 per cent of Wyre Forest voters, who opted to leave the EU. From February 1, we will be in the transition period, seeking a fresh relationship with our closest friends and allies.

But government is about so much more than just a single issue. We now enter a period of a genuine fresh start, where we can address a wide range of issues that have been pushed aside because of Brexit.

So I enter 2020 with optimism. Parliament is back on track, and we can move on, delivering for our country.

A happy, and optimistic New Year to you all.