Tory election win lends a new importance to opposition - Julie Elliott MP

I have represented Sunderland for 10 years now, the city I have lived in and around with my family all my life, and I am just as proud to represent this city now as I was the very first day I was elected in 2010.

The election of a majority Conservative government in December, in an election where the Prime Minister promised 40 new Hospitals and 50,000 new nurses, lends a new importance to opposition.

The Queen’s Speech, delivered in December, brought promises aplenty, from pledges to invest in infrastructure and to combat climate change.

Brexit will also be progressed in a way by this government; whilst they may have passed their withdrawal agreement through the House of Commons, this in no way means that Brexit is resolved, and that it can be cast aside.

Now starts the long process of forging trade deals and ensuring our future relationship with the EU is of benefit to us and our interests. I believe it will take 10 years to come for it to come to a conclusion and I will therefore continue to make Sunderland’s voice heard in this debate.

But this is a government that has promised much before without delivering. Many of the problems to which solutions have been presented in the Speech are of the Conservatives’ own making.

The proposals barely go far enough to repair the chronic under funding and neglect experienced under years of Tory austerity.

As your MP, I will be holding the government to account on their commitments, I will be making sure Sunderland is not ignored by central Government, and I will be fighting for the best deal for our city.

At the same time as this, I will be campaigning for a Labour Party that is more effective in its opposition to the Government; a party that you can be proud to vote for once again.

Whilst we in the Labour Party may not have achieved government, it does not stop us from fighting for what is right and working for those that need us most. And that is what I will continue to do.