Dawn was breaking when the result of the Richmond election was announced at Hambleton Leisure Centre in Northallerton last Friday.
After a positive, enjoyable, and packed campaign, I was absolutely delighted to be re-elected as your Member of Parliament with an increased majority. To all those who supported me, thank you. But, whether you voted for me or not, I hope that we can spend the coming years working together to make our community a better place.
In Westminster, I shall continue to campaign on the issues that matter most to us in rural areas: good hospital services at the Friarage and Darlington, better broadband and mobile coverage, the best possible start for young people through more apprenticeships and fairer funding for rural schools, and supporting the small businesses and farms that drive our local economy.
I also want to thank the other candidates for the decent and honest way they engaged with me during the campaign - particularly at the three hustings we attended in Northallerton, Richmond and Leyburn.
All of us were grateful for and impressed by the smooth operation at the count, overseen by the returning officer at Hambleton, Dr Justin Ives, who led a team of over 60 people in collecting, collating and counting the 47,000 ballot papers. Together with those who manned polling stations during the day, it was a fantastic team effort.
As Westminster got back into action this past week, I was sworn in again as a Member of Parliament and helped re-elect the independent chairman of the House of Commons, the Speaker John Bercow.
As you would expect of Westminster, this process comes with its little traditions and, before he was elected, the Speaker sat amongst us on the green benches (in fact right in front of me on this occasion), and was physically “dragged” to the chair by the two MPs who nominated him.
This custom symbolises an unwillingness to take up the chair. Historically, previous Speakers required some gentle persuasion to take up the role as many of them lost their heads!
Until the 17th Century, the Speaker was often an agent of the monarch and would relay the decisions of the Commons. If the monarch didn’t like what they heard, the Speaker was often blamed, and they could meet a swift and sudden end.
This relationship with the monarch made the role of Speaker quite perilous - seven Speakers were executed by beheading between 1399 and 1535.
The custom of dragging the newly-elected speaker to chair is followed in other Parliaments around the world - namely Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Away from Westminster and back home in North Yorkshire, I am back at work and my first constituency surgery is today. Also, the summer season of events, shows and festivals is in full swing.
This weekend I am planning to attend the Dales Festival of Food and Drink at Leyburn and on Sunday I am looking forward to having the North Yorkshire County Show back in the constituency at its new home of Camphill, near Bedale.
The weather is set fair so I hope to see many of you there.