"It's been a complete whirlwind" - Meetings, emails and trainers: A day in the life of Halifax MP Kate Dearden
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Trainers seem the perfect footwear for being an MP.
If my day with Kate Dearden is any guide, anything else wouldn't really work.
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Hide Ad"I live in them," she says, unable to recall how many pairs she has.
They're one of the essential items needed for the job, a list that also includes a mobile phone, being extremely organised and having 25 hours in your day.
Kate's penchant for trainers got her a little telling off when it was pointed out on her first visit to the Houses of Parliament as an MP that they're not suitable footwear in the commons chamber.
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Hide AdThey share space in her locker there with a more formal pair of shoes, but in Halifax, they're well suited to the day's schedule.
"At the moment, basically whenever I've been awake I've been working!" she says.
"But as we get an office sorted in Parliament, it'll get into some routine.
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Hide Ad"At the moment, I'll unpack my suitcase, wash my clothes, dry them and then pack my suitcase again, you don't have time to unpack.
"It's been a complete whirlwind, a really surreal experience but I feel such an immense sense of privilege and duty to the voters.
"I really feel that responsibility, so right from day one, I've just tried to get stuck in and learn as much as possible about Parliament, how it works, and how it can be best utilised for the people of Halifax.
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Hide Ad"I've also tried to get around the constituency and meet as many people as possible, listen to them and their experiences, their thoughts and what they want to see change.
"Obviously the past few weeks have been difficult, for a lot of people and communities across the country.
"So for a first month, there's been a complete range of experiences and feelings.
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Hide Ad"I've been trying to reach out to as many people as possible in Halifax to make sure we're doing everything we can to help people feel safe."
As it turns out, the day will centre around meeting as many people as possible, with visits to Overgate Hospice, the Calderdale Industrial Museum and Tuel Lock in Sowerby Bridge, as well as checking emails, case work, answering my questions, and checking more emails.
It's just over a month since Kate was elected as Halifax MP, winning 14,135 votes and securing a majority of over 6,000.
"It fees like such a long time ago!," she says.
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Hide Ad"It was amazing, I felt quite emotional actually, that so many people had put their trust in me to be their MP.
"To have all my amazing campaigners there with me was brilliant and we could celebrate it together.
"It was an incredible night but then you do feel that sense of responsibility of 'OK, time to get on with the job'.
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Hide Ad"I think we had a couple of hours' sleep and then it was straight to work.
"You get a letter saying congratulations and 'here's everything' basically to start cracking on with.
"We did thank you drinks on the Friday for everyone who'd campaigned for me but other than that, it was straight into it."
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Hide AdOn the Monday afterwards, Kate was one of 335 new MPs shown round the House of Commons, although how many others were told off for wearing trainers is unclear.
"We were guided round, thankfully," she says.
"You get teamed up with a buddy, someone who works in Parliament, and you're taken round the different departments, like HR, IPSA, IT, security, you get your laptop and get everything set-up with your email address.
"All the staff are brilliant there, answering our never-ending questions and spotting our lost-looking faces!
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Hide Ad"There were actually more new MPs than returning MPs, so there were a lot of us, and we were all given a back-pack with everything we needed.
"Then you start to see the emails come through from constituents and organisations, that's when you start to process it and it hits you, 'right, OK, let's get on with it'."
Kate's partner, mum, dad and sister visited Parliament for her swearing in as an MP.
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Hide Ad"I made the mistake of saying 'I'll take you on a tour," Kate says. "They ended up saying 'we've been down this corridor three times already Kate - we got completely lost!"
On July 22, Kate made a seven minute maiden speech, her first contribution in Parliament.
"I think it got to about five hours of bopping up and down in my seat, waiting to be picked, which helped settle my nerves actually," she says.
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Hide Ad"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't nerve-wracking, but it was done in such a lovely, supportive atmosphere, everyone was really generous about it.
"I really enjoyed it, speaking about Halifax and all the brilliant people and organisations I met during the campaign and everything I want to do going forwards."
The 30-year-old, from Bingley, studied International Relations at Edinburgh University, achieving a 2:1, before working for a trade union representing the steel industry for eight years.
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Hide AdLike a lot of people from West Yorkshire, Kate's first visit to Halifax was through a primary school trip to Eureka.
"Halifax is an amazing place, there's so much brilliant work people do here, its history that we celebrate," says Kate, who lives in Leeds but is already looking for a home in Halifax.
"There's so many great initiatives and organisations that can help the future of the town, so the potential is there and I want us all to work together to celebrate it and champion it.
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Hide Ad"I want to hear from different businesses and organisations about what they want to see in terms of growth, so I can work with them to try and achieve it and pull in the resources we need."
In her month in the job, Kate has been meeting with a mix of individuals, groups and organisations that either she reached out to or who contacted her
"A real range of stuff," she says, "some really complex and difficult cases people are working through, either themselves or their family.
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Hide Ad"It ranges from immigration issues to housing issues, taxes, pensions, you name it.
"But I'm glad people are getting in touch with me and I want that to continue if they have any issues, problems or challenges.
"That's what I'm here for."
By 4pm today, there'll be three more ticked off the list, starting with Overgate, for a tour of the hospice and a rundown of their Big Build Appeal.
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Hide AdKate volunteers to host a Big Brew to help fundraising for the cause, and stops to read some of the dedications on the Rainbow of Ribbons in the hospice garden on the way out.
After that, a quick stop at the Piece Hall for a bite to eat: not Kate's first visit to the landmark, that was a Chic and Nile Rodgers gig in 2022.
"It's amazing, all the artists just praise how beautiful it is and what an amazing venue it is," she says.
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Hide Ad"The amount of people it's brought to Halifax, it's brilliant."
Then it's a visit to another tourist attraction: Calderdale Industrial Museum.
Kate is given a tour, taking pictures and asking questions while absorbing Halifax's history.
It's like that school trip to Eureka, two decades on.
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Hide AdKate then meets volunteers from the Canal and Rivers Trust at Tuel Lock in Sowerby Bridge, having checked more emails on the way, driven there by her office manager Rory Bickerton.
Before she can check more emails after being guided round the lock, there's more questions to answer from me, starting with why she wanted to become an MP.
"I really want to help people, I really want to do whatever I can to make a difference, whether it's to their life, their family, their community, to Halifax," she says.
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Hide Ad"There are a lot of challenges we face here, but I want to play a part in addressing those.
"It's that sense of responsibility and duty that I want to give my everything to.
"I also want to see a bit of a reset in politics, and changing the way we do politics is really important to me.
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Hide Ad"I know there are a lot of challenges in putting myself in this position, for young women in particular coming into politics.
"Changing the environment and culture in politics.
"I met a few people on the doorstep who'd never voted before, and they sent me messages after the election on Facebook saying the conversation we had on their doorstep was really refreshing, which meant the world to me, that I could encourage someone to go out and vote for the first time.
"I think listening is a big part of trying to do politics differently."
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Hide AdThe themes of responsibility and duty are a common thread in Kate's answers.
"It is a unique job," she says. "I've been living out of a suitcase for the past month, and every spare moment you have, you're making sure you're on top of your emails or case-work, or you're packing your diary to meet as many people as possible.
"Or you're in Parliament, working on legislation.
"It's a wonderful job but it's a busy one. The to-do list never stops.
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Hide Ad"If I can help someone in a single day or a week, it puts the whole job into perspective and makes you realise how important the role is and what an honour it is.
"I've also been made an assistant whip for the Government, which has been another layer of learning."
Kate has been in Parliament on a Friday recently, but will usually be at the House of Commons from Monday to Thursday, and back in Halifax on a Friday to meet constituents.
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Hide Ad"I love meeting people," she says, "I love hearing their stories and experiences and being that person they share that with is incredible.
"I love that part of the job, introducing myself and talking to people.
"I've been trying to tell different people about me, who I am, why I stood to be an MP and what I hope to achieve.
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Hide Ad"Whether they tell me I'm doing things right or wrong, I still enjoy it.
"Not everyone voted Labour, but it's still great to have those more difficult conversations because I want us to get back to a place where we can disagree well in politics.
"I do believe things can and will be better.
"People often think politics is done to them rather than with them, and that's something I want to change by having conversations with as many people as possible.
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Hide Ad"Being challenged by them is something I welcome; if I'm doing something wrong, I want to hear about it, about how we then work together to fix things.
"Politics can be a force for good and I want to be a part of that, to make it happen.
"It's not going to be easy and I'm not saying things will be fixed overnight, it's going to be a decade of work."
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Hide AdWhen asked what skills are needed to be an MP, Kate believes being a 'people person' is top of the list.
"Love a natter, absolutely love a natter with anyone about anything! That's number one!," she says.
"Being humble and remembering who elected you and the privilege that comes with it, the responsibility.
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Hide Ad"Some of the experiences you have, like going into Parliament and that being your work place, it's incredible, it's overwhelming.
"But you always need to be aware of why you're there and who has elected you.
"I think that's important for every single thing you do in this job."
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Hide AdKate puts being prominent and approachable to everyone in Halifax as an important measure of success over her time as the town's MP.
"I think first of all, it's about meeting as many people as possible and being very visible as a new MP," she says.
"If we can get these bills through Parliament that we want to, like bringing our railways into public ownership for example, to make a difference to people.
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Hide Ad"If we can see that kind of progress put into action, I think that would represent massive progress."
Being an MP in the 21st century is not without its challenges, sadly one of them being staying safe, following the murders of Jo Cox in Batley and David Amess in Southend.
"I'm only human, I think it would unnerve anybody," says Kate.
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Hide Ad"You have to really think about how visible you are - I want to be as visible as possible in the community and hear from them directly.
"But there is that security element to it after the tragic deaths of members of Parliament, so we do have to take security seriously.
"I hope there is never another dreadful situation that an MP has to go through or experience of any similarity to that.
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Hide Ad"It is unnerving as a new MP. I don't want to say it's part of the job because nothing like that should be part of the job, but it's something you always have to be aware of."
There's been a snapshot of Halifax's past, present and future about the day.
But one thing all three visits have in common is the importance staff and volunteers at Overgate, the Industrial Museum and Tuel Lock placed on meeting their MP.
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Hide AdThere was a pride in the way they showed Kate around, knowing this was someone useful to know, someone who can help them, someone who can make a difference.
"There's so many different issues across the different wards," Kate says.
"I've spent a lot of time in north Halifax, where there are some brilliant councillors, organisations and community groups doing some amazing work.
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Hide Ad"Whether it's food banks or drop-in cafes, bringing communities together, because there's a lot of poverty and social deprivation in a lot of communities across north Halifax in particular.
"The cost-of-living crisis just exacerbated a lot of those issues, financially but also people's health and access to transport and housing.
"There's massive issues that would make a huge difference to people's lives if we can help to fix them.
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Hide Ad"Whether it's better and more reliable access to your nearest bus to get to the hospital, or to your job or to school.
"I know town centre businesses are also facing a lot of challenges, I know the roadworks are causing a lot of concern for people, so I'm trying to work with the council to make sure we can find some solutions in the short-term.
"I want everybody to benefit from the tourism that comes into Halifax and all the amazing stuff we have to offer here.
"There are so many brilliant organisations, businesses and individuals that do so much good work in Halifax and I really want to support them and help them thrive."