Mary Glindon MP column: Fulfilling the mandate

The ability to count is essential for politicians but so is understanding what the numbers mean. Labour won a national landslide in 2024 but lost councillors in recent elections in parts of the country.

The government has served less than two years of a five year mandate. We promised in that time to turn around crises that festered for about 20 years including the chaos inflicted by five Conservative Prime Ministers in much of that time.

But politics moves fast. Our opponents will be tested. Can the Greens eradicate their vile antisemitism and softness on defence. Will Farage be punished for taking millions from a crypto currency billionaire without declaring it. How will both these parties behave in local councils.

As a Labour backbencher, I will take a view on any election for the party leader. I will argue my corner with whoever is Prime Minister and who’s in the Cabinet for how we tackle the country’s deep problems.

Increased defence spending is vital and boosts growth. Wider investment can unleash opportunities that generate quality jobs, extra tax revenues, and consumer spending.

We need homegrown nuclear and renewable energy such as wind power, which I champion in my constituency, to protect us from volatile energy imports and conflicts. North Sea energy is neither a boon nor a bane but a small reserve of oil and gas that we should use while it lasts.

The fantasies of the culture wars have needlessly divided us. We can be compassionate towards transpeople but cannot compromise on women’s private spaces and sports. We need zero tolerance for shoplifters, fly-tippers, phone and car thieves, and online scammers who blight our lives.

Labour should remain patriotic, pro-UK, and tough-minded. You can decide at the next general election if we have done enough to tackle these crises for the many and not just the few.