Kate Dearden MP: I'm here in Westminster to serve the people of Halifax, to ensure everyone’s voice is heard

I promise I’ll put everything I have into trying to reward your trust by helping build a better Halifax and a better country.

As I write this I am sitting in the House of Commons library. I’m surrounded by a mountain of paperwork, dozens of new MPs like myself, and hundreds of years of history telling the story of our wonderful democracy. At about five in the morning last Friday, I was in the large tent stationed in the car park off Mulcture Hall Road. There, you the people of Halifax, voted to elect me as your new Member of Parliament.

Kate Dearden MP writes: This role is an incredible privilege. The fact 14,135 of you put your faith in me and the Labour Party is an honour I am still coming to terms with. To those who voted for me, thank you. I promise I’ll put everything I have into trying to reward your trust by helping build a better Halifax and a better country.

But I’m well aware not everyone voted for me. If that’s you, let me say this now. I’ll do everything I can to represent you too. For me, politics is about service. I’m here in Westminster to serve the people of Halifax, to ensure everyone’s voice is heard. So please, please reach out if you need my help, need your questions answered, or want to tell me I’m wrong. We might end up disagreeing, but I can guarantee I’ll listen.

Now, with what I’ve got left of my column I want to tell you a little about myself. I know I’ll be a new face to most of you, and it's right you know who I am and what I stand for. I was born and bred just up the road in Bingley. I went to school in Bradford and spent my weekends waiting tables at the Five Rise Locks Cafe. As a teenager, I got involved in charity work, where I helped build a virtual support pack for pregnant women in Nigeria. This is what really kick started my passion for helping others and I owe so much to my parents and teachers for setting that fire burning.

I headed to Edinburgh for university, where I got stuck into politics. But, as we all know, politics can feel slow and frustrating at times. I was in a rush to make a change. That’s what led me to the Community Trade Union, where I’ve been representing working people and coming up with ideas that will make work pay for everyone. I’ve stood up for our crucial steel industry, demanded better conditions for prison officers, and developed policies to give proper rights to self-employed people. In fact, the thing I’m proudest of is forcing the previous government to U-turn on its furlough scheme and provide proper financial support for self-employed people during Covid.

This work will form the basis of what I want to achieve in parliament: better rights for working people. I’ll also be working to support Labour’s missions in government such as a strong economy and revitalised NHS. As well as championing important local issues from electrifying the Calder Valley line, to tackling anti-social behaviour, to securing a new leisure centre in Halifax.

Most of all, I’ll be ready to help with the issues facing you. Our outgoing MP Holly Lynch worked tirelessly to help locals who needed it. I will do just the same. So if you have something you want my help on, please do get in touch. In fact, as I wrap this up I’ve just been told that my email is now online.

Get in touch on [email protected], and I’ll get to work for you right away.