It is with real pride and a great deal of pleasure that I am writing this article after formally being sworn in on my return to the House of Commons. I want to say a big thank you to the voters who turned out to vote for me, Theresa May and The Conservative Party on June 8.

I am truly honoured and delighted to have been returned for a third term as the Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire. It is a job I love and it gives me an opportunity to put forward our area’s interests nationally, to assist those that live here when they have problems and to seek to influence policies which can change our country and its citizens lives for the better.

While nationally we did not get the large majority Theresa May was looking for, the Conservative Party won the election with 40 per cent of the national vote, with turnout a whopping 68.7 per cent. This percentage is higher than Tony Blair secured in 1997 when he won a landslide victory.

In such difficult and turbulent times, when we are experiencing awful tragedies like The Grenfell Tower fire and terrorism attacks like those in Westminster, Manchester, London Bridge and the Finsbury Park Mosque, and when we are about to undergo one of the most comprehensive transformation as we leave the EU, we should remember first and foremost we are one nation we are one people. We should be standing together and uniting in our collective grief and determination, not political point scoring. The terror attacks are despicable events, the whole aim of the terrorism is to divide and weaken our country. We must not aid and abet their cause by turning on each other in the hope to gain political capital.

The election, has returned a Tory Government, Theresa May is our Prime Minister and she has a job to do for Britain. I feel it is time for us to unite behind her, work together for the best deal for all of the United Kingdom and let her next term in office be determined robustly and honestly through the ballot box at the next General Election in 5 years’ time.

I will continue to be a strong and proud voice for the people of South Derbyshire, to work with our Elected Prime Minister to get a good deal for Britain and to help create a bright and prosperous future for everyone who aspires for a better life for themselves. Thank you, again to the voters in South Derbyshire, for giving me the opportunity to do my job and to play a role in such a momentous period in our nation’s history.