Happy New Year! I hope you and your families enjoyed the Christmas season and made many happy memories together.

2024 was a year of change. Change for our country – with the first Labour Government in 14 years and change for many of us as individuals. Personally, it has been quite a daunting change. After almost 20 years of working at the YMCA in Hanley and returning to my home in Stoke-on-Trent every night, it is quite startling to find myself working late into the night in a medieval palace hundreds of miles away from home! Nonetheless, I am reminded every day – every time I sit on the green benches of the House of Commons, every time I meet with people in Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove – of what an honour it is to have won the trust of the people of this great area. I am determined to work hard every day to repay that trust.

There were a few reasons why that I put myself forward to become your MP. Like many, I got fed up with false promises from people who didn’t deliver. I grew weary of seeing our area falling behind. Time and again we were promised jam tomorrow, yet living standards fell and life became more difficult for working people. Working in a youth charity, I became angry at the raw deal our young people were getting: overstretched and exhausted teachers, youth centres being closed, and record waiting lists for the vital mental health services too many are forced to turn to. I became your MP because I wanted to see change in our area and across our country, and it is fair to say that change is coming.

2025 will be a year of prosperity and renewal. Whether that’s the extra £56 per week that some of the lowest earners in our area will earn thanks to the increase in the minimum wage, the boost in the state pension made possible by protecting the triple lock, or the action we’re taking to protect small businesses and family farms through sustained business and agricultural property relief. None of this is eye-catching, and it certainly doesn’t make for good soundbites, but it will make a real difference to the lives of the people I was elected to represent. To me, that is what matters. Real change, not headlinegrabbing gimmicks.

There is even more to be optimistic about as we look ahead. We’ll see the first of the free, universal breakfast clubs rolled out in primary schools across the country – and we will work to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school: a real investment in the future, ensuring every child gets the best start in life. Thanks to the Government’s swift action to end the junior doctors’ strikes, coupled with the muchneeded extra funding and meaningful reform, we will bring down waiting lists so you can get the treatment you and your loved ones need faster. We’ll deliver on our promise to put power in the hands of local people as the Devolution Revolution takes shape, ensuring more and more decisions are taken out of the hands of the Westminster elite and put into the hands of local people – people with skin in the game – who know far better what their areas need.

In the new year, I’ll continue to use every opportunity I get to champion Stoke-on-Trent and Kidsgrove, and I’ll work to create the best future for all our people. If you live in my constituency and need my help, please contact my office on 01782950484 or email david.williams.mp@parliament.uk – we are here to help.