Newark and Sherwood Conservative MPs Robert Jenrick and Mark Spencer get back to work as they resume their roles
It has been a case of back to work for the Newark and Sherwood Conservative MPs this week.
Both returned and both reappointed to their seats at the top table of British politics.
Robert Jenrick, MP for Newark, resumed his role as Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, while Sherwood’s Mark Spencer remains Government Chief Whip.
Mr Jenrick said: “We are back to work. We had our first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and Mark and I were re-appointed to Cabinet.
“Everyone seemed buoyed by the election result.
“There was a very strong message from the Prime Minister that we had been lent the votes of millions of people, particularly in the Midlands and the north of England who have never voted Conservative in the past, and we now need to set out and repay them for their trust.
“We see that very strongly in Nottinghamshire — in places such as Bassetlaw and Ashfield, who haven’t voted in a Conservative MP for decades.
“We now have a Conservative team of nine MPs in Nottinghamshire — every seat outside of the city.
“That’s the first time since the second world war. I look forward to working together with that team.”
Mr Jenrick said the Government had a big task ahead.
“The first step is to honour our pledge to get Brexit done,” he said.
“On Friday, the Withdrawal Act returns to Parliament and will be voted upon, which begins our departure from the European Union. We expect that to be finished and leaving on January 31.
“We are setting out our objectives for 2020 — investment in the NHS, levelling of schools funding, safer streets with the recruitment of 20,000 extra police officers, and better housing.
“My department will be responsible for leading on two of those things — housing and economic growth in the regions of England.”
Mr Jenrick said Parliament had a different air since the election, in which the Conservatives won a 80-seat majority after previously being a minority government.
“Returning to Parliament has been like night and day compared to the previous one, which was not functioning,” Mr Jenrick said.
“The fact that we are not endlessly arguing about Brexit is a huge relief.”
He said once Brexit was done, critical to Newark was ensuring that “spades were in the ground” on the £450m construction of the new A46 bypass dualling between Farndon and the cattle market island.
Mr Jenrick was sworn in this week along with Mr Spencer and the rest of the Cabinet by the new speaker. It was the third time he has been sworn in since he was first elected in the by-election of 2014.
Despite that only being five years ago, Mr Jenrick is among the longest serving quarter of MPs.
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