Whilst I arrived in Parliament on the first Monday after the election, it was only officially opened for business by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament. During this day of pomp and ceremony, the Queen delivers the Queen’s Speech in the House of Lords, where I joined the other 650 members of the House of Commons in the corridor attempting to catch a glimpse and hear the speech.

Last week started with the re-election of the speaker of the House of Commons. Unlike most elections, a contest to re-elect the speaker is only held if there are any shouts of dissent to his nomination.

After the euphoria of election night, I am now fully focused on starting my new role as the MP for Bexhill and Battle Constituency. On the Monday after Election Day, the new MPs started our induction programme in Parliament. There is a huge amount for me to learn and some of the skills will take time. I am, however, doing my utmost to be ready to serve from the start and my team are already in place to help me do so.