IN 2019, I was selected as the Conservative candidate for Sedgefield and the election that December saw a blue wave sweep across the North East as the country selected Boris Johnson and Brexit over Jeremy Corbyn and Europe.

I was a beneficiary of that wave and have spent the years since working as hard as I possibly could for my constituents. Back then we could not possibly have foreseen the Covid pandemic or war in Europe that so massively affected the agendas we had hoped to deliver.

I am immensely proud of what my team and I have delivered locally during our term in office and the many thank you messages we have received, either directly or on social media, are testament to that.

I have been as transparent as possible by telling constituents every week about everything I did and I made it a mission to visit as many organisations and people throughout the 250 square miles of the constituency from Deaf Hill and Wingate to Hurworth and Middleton St George and everywhere in between, like the rest of the Trimdons, Fishburn, Sedgefield and the biggest town of Newton Aycliffe. It is that engagement with constituents that was the biggest joy of my tenure and I would take this opportunity to thank them all for their welcomes and engagement.

However, the tide has turned over the last couple of years and people have voted for a change. It is disappointing that turnout at the election was so low as a disenfranchised electorate is not good for the country.

My interpretation of the result is that while people wanted a change, there was no enthusiasm for the alternatives. In particular, the vote for Reform candidates, who were barely introduced to the electorate, concerned me, as it is what your MP can do for the constituency that should be a major consideration of the voting public and this seemed to be missed.

We now have a Labour MP for the new constituency of Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor, which effectively morphed out of my old Sedgefield constituency. In my concession speech at the election, I congratulated Alan Strickland and wish him all success.

I hope he picks up the four agendas that I felt were particularly important to the constituents.

The first was Hitachi, where I see plenty of photo visits and noise, but we were told its future could be solved “at the stroke of a pen”. Well, Labour now has the pen and we are waiting. Civil servants advised my party that the Avanti contract that was mooted as the saviour could not be delivered. I will be delighted if they change their minds, but that is not my expectation so I hope Labour has a plan B.

The second was reopening Ferryhill Station which my government had committed to, but press speculation is that the new Chancellor is about to walk away from proposed transport projects. This station is about more than transport links: it is about economic regeneration of an area, but I have heard nothing at all from Ferryhill’s new representative about this critical initiative.

My third was to ensure Spennymoor gets its £20m Towns Fund money – again silence – and my fourth was to engage with constituents in all the towns and villages.

I genuinely wish Alan all success and hope that he delivers for his constituents. As a Member of Parliament, he has one of the best jobs in the world and the opportunity to make a difference for them – it is imperative that he does.

READ MORE: PETER GIBSON: THANK-YOU, DARLINGTON, FOR THE JOURNEY OF MY LIFE