Nicola Richards: 'My first year as an MP has been something of a whirlwind'

It’s twelve months since the people of West Bromwich East put their faith in me to be their representative in Parliament, and what a rollercoaster it has been.

I’ll never forget standing on stage at 3am to make my acceptance speech – incredibly tired from a hard-fought campaign, but overwhelmed with pride that people had elected a young woman from the Black Country to be their voice on the national stage.

I felt that same wave of emotion seven days later as I walked through the ‘aye’ division lobby in one of my first ever parliamentary votes to pass the Prime Minister’s Withdrawal Agreement Bill, which wrote into law our formal departure from the European Union in January this year.

My first year representing the fantastic constituency of West Bromwich East has been something of a whirlwind. When the coronavirus restrictions have allowed, I have made a point of getting out and about speaking to as many businesses, schools, NHS leaders and community organisations as possible. On a personal note, I have also moved into a house in the constituency with my fiancé.

In Parliament, I have made it my priority to work with anyone who shares my vision for a better West Bromwich East. I have spoken on nearly 60 separate occasions in the House of Commons Chamber and raised the issues that matter most to my constituents with Government Ministers – holding them to account to ensure West Bromwich sees its fair share of investment that has been severely lacking for decades.

I’m proud to be a Conservative and I firmly believe Boris Johnson’s Government has the interests of areas like ours at the forefront of policy-making. However, there will be times when the Government needs challenge to get the best possible deal for West Bromwich East.

I have constantly demanded further information and justification for decisions from ministers, asked tough questions and lobbied hard for our region to receive a bigger piece of the pie.

More widely, I have spoken about our sovereignty in the Brexit debates, supported our fantastic NHS and made the case for investment in West Bromwich High Street.

I’ve been working with the All-Party Parliamentary Group for ‘left-behind’ neighbourhoods on the levelling-up agenda and promoting my vision for our area, where a child born in West Bromwich has the same opportunities in life as a child born in the south east.

When reflecting on this last year, I realised I have mentioned West Bromwich or our surrounding areas 68 times in the House of Commons Chamber.

But perhaps the most enjoyable part of the job is spent back in West Bromwich East, where I have already helped more than 2,000 people with their casework enquiries so far this year.

It has been frustrating not being able to have as much face-to-face contact with local people as I would have liked due to the coronavirus restrictions, but this hasn’t stopped me from ensuring I engage with everyone in our community.

For example, I have been working with our Mayor Andy Street to protect the green belt in Great Barr and promote a ‘brownfield first’ agenda to protect our green spaces.

Crime in West Bromwich town centre is also a key concern for local people, which is why I have raised this with the Policing Minister directly, organised a community stakeholder roundtable and lobbied the police and crime commissioner to allocate more police resources to us.

It has also been fantastic to engage with our diverse communities in West Bromwich and to hear their perspectives on the issues of the day.

The coronavirus crisis has impacted every household across the country; there’s no getting away from that. Thousands of lives have, tragically, been lost. We now face a long winter of prolonged restrictions with people still having to make huge sacrifices on a daily basis.

When I was elected to Parliament one year ago, I could never have imagined voting for laws to allow the state to tell people how they should live their lives. But it had to be done to save lives.

My heart goes out to our heroes on the frontline in our public services – especially at Sandwell General Hospital – who have sacrificed so much to protect those in our society who are most vulnerable to the virus.

Whilst the virus not gone away, the vaccine is being rolled out across the country and we’re all looking forward to the day when we can meet safely again.

The people of West Bromwich East sent me to Parliament one year ago to do one thing: give them a voice. It was clear when I was campaigning to become our area’s MP last year that so many people simply felt ignored – like someone had taken the strategic decision that their priorities weren’t important; that their voice shouldn’t be heard and that their area had simply been abandoned by politicians for decades.

I have fought bitterly over the last year to give our part of the Black Country the recognition it deserves. I’m heading into 2021 with a renewed sense of purpose and drive to deliver on my promises and ensure our area is restored to somewhere we can all be proud to call home.

In my maiden speech in Parliament I quoted JB Priestly – not for his political insight – but for his famous line: "If I were compelled to choose between living in West Bromwich or Florence, I would make straight for West Bromwich."

This is as true now as it was then.