A day in the life of a new MP

What I’ve found as a new MP is that no two days are alike, but I would like to take you through last Wednesday as it was as typical a day as you can get.

My day started at 7.45am in my new office in Westminster doing casework on subjects as diverse as DWP errors, evictions and anti-social behaviour. I had moved into the office two days before and was quite excited to discover that it has windows, which tells you something about the state of the Palace as a workplace. Someone also asked me if I had seen a mouse yet...

My next agenda item was a 90-minute Westminster Hall debate on preventable baby loss where I was able to highlight the good work of two local support organisations Matilda’s Mission and the Tigerlily Trust. I also spoke about my two pregnancy losses and my ongoing campaign for good maternity safety and wider patient safety.

Next, I met with Janet and Emma who run INFACT UK, a charity dedicated to helping people affected by unsafe use of anti-convulsant drugs, such as sodium valproate, in pregnancy. Through long years of work, they have ensured that stricter safety protocols are now in place and continue to campaign for their proper implementation alongside compensation for those affected.

Wednesday is Prime Minister’s Question Time (PMQs) and whilst it’s the most well-known event in Parliament, I would say it’s the least representative of what usually goes on. Parliamentary debate is usually a lot quieter, respectful of speakers and there is a lot of cross-party working.

After a quick working lunch with colleagues and some more casework, I attended a roundtable on energy where I lobbied the minister about bringing new nuclear energy to Heysham. That was followed by a session with the FA and others about grassroots football.

Next was a police briefing with the Chief Inspector for Lancashire and then it was more football with an event organised by Fair Game who are campaigning for new football governance. This is a passion I share as I believe a proper football regulator, as promised in our Labour manifesto, is vital to clubs such as Morecambe. I have been working closely with the club and the Shrimps Trust to ensure we get that right. I bang on about football governance and the Shrimps so much that in in my most recent encounter with Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport she met me with a cry of ‘Yes Lizzi, I’m on with sorting out the football!’

I usually get home about 10pm on a Thursday but this week I was traveling north for a funeral so I set off at 7.30pm and spent a few hours on the train reading briefings and responding to emails. Over the coming months I will keep you updated about my work in parliament and hope to ‘pull back the curtain’ on how the halls of power operate.