IN my final column of the year, here is my A to Z of 2023.

A for Action across the constituency, with surgeries and visits in every part of Dudley South.

B for Boundary changes, which mean that this is my last Christmas as MP for Dudley South. At the next election, Brockmoor & Pensnett will be in Dudley and Brierley Hill and Netherton & Woodside will go to Stourbridge, while I will stand in the new Kingswinford & South Staffordshire seat.

C for Christmas card competition, which was won by Abigail Whitehouse of Brook Primary.

D for Dealt with 4,081 cases on behalf of constituents.

E for Events that I organised, including my ninth Jobs & Skills Fair, sixth Older People’s Information Fair, seventh Apprenticeship & Careers Fair and a Macmillan Coffee Morning.

F for Free childcare, which will be available for the two-year-old children of working parents from April.

G for Green Belt. The new Dudley Plan has rejected proposals to build on Green Belt sites at Holbeache and the Triangle in Kingswinford, as well as protecting other green spaces like at Crestwood.

H for Hospitals, with £16.9million from the Government to expand A&E at Russells Hall, on top of the new Community Diagnostic Centre.

I for Inflation, which has been halved, helping households and putting the economy on a more stable footing. A year ago, inflation was 11.1 per cent; now it is just 3.9 per cent.

J for Jobs, with employment at near record levels. Locally the number of people unemployed in Dudley is less than half what it was in 2010.

K for King’s Coronation, and all the fantastic artwork and poems that pupils submitted for my Coronation competition.

L for Levelling Up, with £20million Government investment locally, coming on top of millions already received from the Future High Street Fund.

M for Midland Metro. I helped secure a further £100million to make sure that the new tram line will be completed all the way to Netherton and Brierley Hill.

N for National Insurance Contributions being cut by two per cent next month, meaning an average tax cut of £450 for 27million people.

O for Online Safety Act, which I helped take through Parliament to keep children safer online.

P for Pensions. State pensions are going up by 8.7 per cent in April, worth up to £900 – the biggest cash increase ever.

Q for Question sessions in 15 schools in Dudley South.

R for Remembrance. An honour to sell poppies again and to join the Kingswinford Remembrance Service, as well as moving Remembrance assemblies at Summerhill School and Wordsley School.

S for Saved Our Surgery, working with local councillors and residents to restore GP services to High Oak.

T for Tours of Parliament. It is always a pleasure to show groups of constituents around Parliament.

U for Uplift in Universal Credit and working benefits of 6.7 per cent next year.

V for Volunteering with highlights including Brierley Hill Baby Bank and Russells Hall Hospital.

W for Wages. The National Living Wage will be £11.44 from April, meaning working people on the lowest wages will be 25 per cent better off after tax and inflation than they were in 2010.

X for Stopping illegal boat crossings, which are down by a third compared to last year. More action is under way to bring it down further.

Y for Young people, who can look forward to better opportunities, including many apprenticeships and training courses.

Zzz for the few days rest I’ve enjoyed over Christmas.

Have a very Happy New Year.