BY the time this column is printed, I will no longer be the Member of Parliament for Dudley South.

First, because the boundary review means Dudley South will sadly no longer exist as a constituency, and second because the dissolution of Parliament means there aren’t any MPs at all until the results of the general election on July 4 are known.

Serving the residents of Dudley South – which covered Kingswinford, Wordsley, Wall Heath, Brierley Hill, Brockmoor, Pensnett and Netherton – since I was first elected in 2015 has been the honour of my life, and I am incredibly grateful to all the residents from across this great area who have supported me over the nine years since.

Together we’ve faced and overcome challenges, drew in record investment, worked to attract employers to the area and helped local people find work and upskilling opportunities to make the most of those new career paths, amongst many more local achievements that I hope have played a part in improving life in Dudley South.

The Dudley South constituency has now been split three ways – with the wards of Brierley Hill & Wordsley South, and Netherton & Holly Hall going into the Stourbridge constituency, Brockmoor & Pensnett going into the Dudley constituency, and Wordsley North, Kingswinford South, Kingswinford North & Wall Heath joining places like Kinver, Enville, Wombourne, Himley, Perton and Codsall in a new constituency called ‘Kingswinford & South Staffordshire’.

With the larger part of my old constituency moving into the new Kingswinford & South Staffordshire constituency, this is the seat where I am putting myself forward as the candidate this July, so I hope to have the chance to continue serving the residents of Wordsley, Kingswinford and Wall Heath. Therefore, this may not be the last column I write as MP for these areas, but it will be the last I write as the Member of Parliament for Brierley Hill, Brockmoor, Pensnett and Netherton.

These places are fantastic communities with real Black Country heart. I am incredibly sad to be losing them.

There really are too many people who deserve thanks to fit into this column, and it seems incredibly unfair to miss anybody out, but I hope they will forgive me for mentioning just a few highlights.

It has been a real pleasure to work with Brierley Community Forum and the Town Board on projects to regenerate the town – including with the Future High Streets Fund, Heritage Action Zone and now our successful Levelling Up Fund bid – as well as making sure the Midland Metro extension is coming all the way to Brierley Hill.

In Pensnett, the Friends of Fens Pool were fantastic when I was campaigning for the Order to ban quad bikes and mini-motorbikes from the nature reserve.

The Friends of Netherton Park and other “Friends Of” groups do amazing work to improve our parks and green spaces. I won’t be MP for Netherton for this year’s Fun Day in July, but I look forward to popping by to enjoy what’s always a great day.

To all of them, and the hundreds of others who do such great work in our community, thank you for making the last nine years even more special.

And finally, a huge thank you to everybody in Dudley South. It has been a great privilege to represent the constituency. Nobody knows what the future will bring, but I will always be grateful to everybody who put their trust in me and helped to make it the best job in the world.