We’ve passed the first anniversary of Rishi Sunak standing on Downing Street in the pouring rain announcing a General Election.
A year that has both seemed to have flown by, yet has seen so many difficult headlines.
From the heartbreak in the Middle East to the Southport attacks and riots on our streets, this Labour government has had a baptism of fire in it’s first year.
The mess that the Conservatives left our country in is telling.
Any incoming government would have been met with the same £22bn black hole, the same overcrowding in our prisons and the same backlog in processing immigration cases.
After 14 long years, the Conservatives left a legacy that was crying out for change.
That is what has made this year such a challenge – our government working and wanting to be bold and to adopt the change that people voted for, while having to clean up the financial mess left behind.
I know that some of those tough choices taken are not popular, but by taking those decisions, we can collectively look forward and believe in a brighter tomorrow.
The green shoots of recovery are evident as we turn a corner and look towards the future in both economic security and public investment.
With an improved economy, Labour can make a difference that has a positive impact on everyone.
Our trade deal with the EU will lower food prices at the checkout, drive down energy bills and strengthen our borders, whilst deals with the USA and India will provide a platform for industries, such as car manufacturing and whiskey.
As our economy turns a corner, meaning more money in people’s pockets – real wages have grown more in the first 10 months of this Labour government than during the first 10 years of Tory governments since 2010.
In our NHS, extra funding to our frontline services has enabled a fall in waiting list times by 200,000 people. More people are receiving treatment faster, and this is just the start, with the announcement of a 10-year plan for our NHS to come. And, in my own constituency of Blaydon and Consett, we have a commitment to build that new hospital which has been talked about for so long.
Our Waters Act is now in law, with Labour committed to cleaning up the sewage that had plagued our waterways.
Just this month OFWAT have fined Thames Water £123m, the money raised from their neglect of our water supplies will be used to finally clean up our rivers and seas after years of neglect.
Our prison system was close to collapse under the Conservatives, their record is one of creating less than 500 places nationally in 14 years of power. Labour have already created 2,400 places and have committed to fund £4.7bn over the next three years to keep us on track for 14,000 places by 2031.
Alongside this we are committed to comprehensive sentencing reform. This government are ensuring jails never run out of space again and dangerous offenders can be kept off the streets. We will never allow law and order to breakdown on our streets.
Our education system is benefiting from this also. More investment in apprenticeships, young people will benefit from 120,000 new training opportunities as part of Labour’s landmark reforms to the skills landscape. Labour is also investing in our children’s mental health, meaning that almost one million children will have access to support in school this year, alongside a commitment to all children being able to access support by 2029/2030. This includes nearly 60,000 children in Durham and Gateshead who will be eligible to receive support, with 274,235 being supported across the region.
Whether it is safer communities, improving access to healthcare, that extra bit of money in your pocket, or that extra support for your family, change is happening, and it is creating the foundations in which we can build from.
With a Labour government, we are creating the change that people voted for just over a year ago, and we are creating the change that will enable people in the North East to thrive.