Parliament is now firmly back in business after having a break for the Party Conference season, with fresh impetus for Labour after our conference in Liverpool.

It’s easy for people to switch off from politics, but the message from the Prime Minister down was clear – Labour in power will not duck the hard decisions to make Britain a better country, and we will work together to build a country fit for the future – and a country which works for you.

In his speech, Keir Starmer outlined some of the steps we have already taken as a government, only three months after winning the mandate for change in July.

Setting up GB Energy to cut energy bills and help the green transition, beginning the process of putting our railways back in public hands, radically reforming our planning system to get the homes that we need, including social housing, delivering rental reform and setting up a child poverty taskforce.

Catherine West says parliament is back with fresh impetus for Labour after their conference Catherine West says parliament is back with fresh impetus for Labour after their conference (Image: Office of Catherine West) The difference from the chaos of the past could not be starker, and it is change our community in Hornsey & Friern Barnet desperately needs.

But change will not be easy. The Prime Minister rightly pointed out that easy options are few and far between, and the scale of the mess left after the last 14 years of the Tories means that there will be difficult decisions to take.

Some of these will be daunting. As your MP, I understand that.

But in clearing up the mess left by the Tories, we also understand that those with the broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden. That includes cracking down on non-doms, tackling tax avoidance, ending the tax break on private schools, strengthening the powers of the water regulator, and backing tough fines on water companies. 

Change couldn’t be more needed. My casework inbox over the years, tens of thousands of emails, and hundreds of advice surgeries, have been dominated by the same issues – housing, social care, crime, and the dire state of the NHS.   

We cannot afford more of the same. With Parliament back in action now, we will continue taking the tough steps we need to deliver.

  • Catherine West is Labour MP for Hornsey and Friern Barnet.