I’M always being asked what the government has to do in 2026 to ‘turn the corner’.

This government has spent 18 months pushing through huge quantities of legislation. That was the groundwork. Now we need to start seeing and feeling the results.

All of that work and legislation should set us firmly on the path to change, as promised in our manifesto. This is what we are committed to, for it to benefit people’s lives, and we now must move on ahead.

Last year, landmark legislation such as the Employment Rights Act, Renters’ Rights Act, Planning and Infrastructure Act, Bus Services Act, Great British Energy Act, and Water (Special Measures) Act received Royal Assent. These laws introduce big changes. Whether it’s more protections for workers and renters, nationalising buses and trains, or creating public ownership of energy. They are the product of extensive consultations, grassroots campaigning, and the work of people who have put the hard yards in and consulted the experts. They are the roots of the change.

People have been waiting for too long for living standards to improve, for public services to recover, and for trust in politics to be restored. I hope this year we will see the start of that. The Government has taken measures that people should soon start to feel. Interest rates have fallen, helping homeowners with mortgages. Inflation is coming down, and wages are rising faster than they have in a decade. The cost of living remains a huge concern, which is why we’ve increased the national Living Wage, taken £150 off the average energy bill, frozen rail fares for the first time in 30 years, and opened 500 more Free Breakfast Clubs in schools and delivered more free childcare, saving parents money. We’ve frozen prescriptions and invested in our NHS, delivering 5 million extra appointments and cutting waiting lists, so patients can get on with their lives.

Renters have new protections against unfair hikes, and the Employment Rights Act gives working people the security they deserve. We’ve scrapped the Two-Child Limit. This Government is set to go even further than the last Labour government and lift 600,000 children out of poverty that were dropped back into it by the last Conservative government. We’ve also stuck to the triple lock and increased the state pension. These are real, tangible changes that will ease the cost of living and improve everyday life.

The press talk about u-turns. But when things aren’t right, surely the best thing to do is to change them before they hurt? Doesn’t that show pragmatism and common sense?

Internationally it will be an unpredictable year. The conflict in Ukraine hangs over us, threatening our security, and it is vital that is the Prime Minister’s priority and that our defences are rebuilt after more than a decade of neglect.

There are no easy answers, despite what those on the left and the right tell us without an ounce of responsibility. The answers generally aren’t simple and straightforward and take time, effort and discipline. But, I hope that this year, we will show that politics can deliver and people in Cornwall will feel the beginning of that change and the rebuilding that we need so much.