On Friday, May 3rd I was elected as the very first Mayor of the East Midlands.
I am truly humbled that the people of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire have elected me to become your very first East Midlands East Midlands Mayor. Throughout this campaign, I have heard your message loud and clear: you are ready for change.
You have not only put your trust in me, you have also put your trust in a changed Labour Party that can now, confidently and with conviction, say to our proud villages, towns and cities: we are ready to lead, we are ready to deliver.
Thank you to my agent and the whole Labour team across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the trade union movement, and so many more who will forever have my gratitude.
And of course, a huge thank you to my family, my husband John and my children, for their endless patience, love and support.
As mayor, I will leave the same old politics behind in Westminster, create a new politics here, and involve our communities in new ways.
My focus will be on making a difference, not point scoring, and working across the political divides to deliver truly transformational change for our region.
We will give power and purpose to those people and places that Westminster has left behind.