My favourite visits have been to schools. I’ve been across the length and breadth of Portsmouth, from New Horizons in North End to St Pauls in Paulsgrove.
I’ve been put in the hot seat by pupils, I’ve watched them play and learn and enjoy what’s on offer at their free breakfast club.
So some of my proudest moments in this first year have come as this Labour government has delivered for those pupils – my youngest constituents – and their families.
Starting in our earliest years, the Tories left behind a pledge without a plan – not enough nurseries, not enough early years educators, not enough money.
But we’ve put our shoulder to the wheel to deliver on the promises made to parents, delivering 15 hours of government-funded childcare and upgrading that to 30 hours this September, saving working parents £7,500 a year.
Never has a government placed such a focus on the early years, because we believe that children growing up in Portsmouth deserve the best start in life – nothing less.
The change goes onto our schools where we’ve quite literally had to fix the foundations of our crumbling buildings.
But that’s not enough, we need to fix what’s going on inside.
That’s why we’ve turned the tide on attendance – 140,000 fewer children persistently absent, over 3 million school days gained. We’ve got more teachers in our classrooms – 2,300 more, 1,000 more in training.
And rightly, we’ve kept the promises we made in our manifesto: ending private schools’ tax breaks, raising £1.8bn for our public services. 2 million breakfasts served at our free clubs. More mental health support. And we’ve gone further, lifting 100,000 out of poverty by expanding free school meals.
After school, we’re backing working people to unlock opportunity and drive growth. Our radical reforms – cutting red tape, tilting the system towards young, domestic talent – will create 120,000 new training opportunities to help people get on in the industries of the future.
Now, I’m under no illusion there’s more to do – not least tackling big, generational issues to improve the lives of white working class children and children with SEND.
Crucially, I know the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, is determined to do it.
Since entering the House of Commons, I’ve been determined to champion the people of Portsmouth, but also to champion those whose voices are rarely heard in the Chamber: children.
So, a year on, I promise to redouble my efforts to give every child growing up in Portsmouth the best start in life by backing Labour’s Plan for Change.
