‘Rolling up my sleeves to get involved and help people’ is most satisfying part of being an MP

Speaking on the first anniversary of his general election triumph when he captured the Peterborough seat with a 118 vote majority, Mr Pakes says the issues raised by voters are the most challenging and satisfying part of his work.

He said: “I get a huge sense of privilege from being an MP.

“And I know that the bit many people see is on TV when we sit on the green benches in the House of Commons or out and about at Westminster.

“But, actually, the biggest weight I feel on my shoulders is when I go to a community event, school visits or at my surgeries.

“Any MP would say the mix of challenges people bring to you at surgeries or write about are often really difficult things and they have not been able to solve it themselves or the system doesn’t work properly.

“Being able to roll up my sleeves and get involved in helping people with issues, which range from help for children or issues with the Department of Work and Pensions or housing.

“It takes a lot of time, but to me it is the best bit of the job because you get that individual level of satisfaction.”

Life in the House of Commons and half a sandwich with the PM:

After a year as MP, Mr Pakes says he is still getting used to living in two different places.

He said: “I think it must be what being sent to boarding school is like. I’m in London much of the week and then home afterwards. I have an office the old Palace of Westminster and another in Peterborough

"But I say that wherever I lay my head at night, I still have Peterborough tattooed on my brain.”

He added: “Life in the House of Commons, because of the sense of history, can be daunting.

"But it’s also a bit old and slow. For instance we still walk through the lobby to vote. This is something in the electronic age that could see changes made.

“And while there is a great sense of history you never lose sight of the fact you could get a phone call at any minute from someone saying they really need your help.

"So the grounding is always in the community.

“My day job is looking after Peterborough.”

But Mr Pakes said the often spoke to ministers around the House of Commons and even once had the opportunity to share ‘half a sandwich’ with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in the tea room.

Mr Pakes said the adversarial nature of politics in the House of Commons shown by TV was not the full picture.

He said: “In the House I get to speak to people from all backgrounds.

“TV can be misleading about what public political life is like.

“Yes we have the Punch and Judy Show of Prime Minister’s Questions but two-thirds of the time we are working together, scrutinising policy and trying to work together on common issues.

“Part of my work over the last year has been to bang the drum for Peterborough every time I see ministers.”

But Mr Pakes said it was understandable that people were tired of the slow pace of change.

He said: “I noticed that the maiden speech made by the first Labour and Co-operative MP for Peterborough, Stanley Tiffany, in 1945 was about the need for more affordable housing.

"Eighty years on and we are still talking about the same issue.”

Hate speech:

One of the issues facing many MPs is the sheer volume of abusive and sometimes threatening messages they receive from the public.

Mr Pakes said: “I am a big believer in kindness in politics.

"We’ve just had the anniversary of murder of Jo Cox. We live in a really angry world.

"\It is right that people are passionate and angry about things that upset them but when you look at online bullying on social media, I have been shocked by the number of abusive messages I get and the number of death threats that myself and other MPs received.

"I will actually defend the right of people to say I’m doing a lousy job if that’s what they believe, but they don’t have to do that with threats of violence or abuse.

"How do we remember that we are all residents of this city, whatever political team I play for we should all be able to go for a pint after work.

“It is part of our British tradition. British dissent is a great thing and many parts of the world do not have it but the level of violence and anger in public life and online is a very worrying trend.

"There have been a number of threats and all of us MPs have seen it.

"And, yes, they do get passed on to the police. The police are very supportive.

My plea is can we have more kindness across our political life and our public life.

"Nothing will stop me doing my job to represent Peterborough and make sure we get the investment we need, but it is a difficult thing when you see some of those abusive emails.

"I don’t know what sparks it. I’m more concerned about how we turn the temperature down and have a civil debate.”

Focus for the future:

Mr Pakes said he was aware that people are frustrated because they were fed up with the way the country was working.

He said: “After a long difficult decade with Brexit, Covid-19, the cost of living, challenges facing the NHS, people wanted change

“I felt that weight on my shoulders, that people were expecting me to be one part of delivering that change and I think we are beginning to see some of that happening.

“The foundations of our country need shoring up.

“This is about helping Peterborough turn the corner. We have a cracking, brilliant city but it needs a bit of tender, loving care.

“We need to get some stability in the economy so we can get that long term benefit everyone needs and deserves.

He said: “My real passion is about apprenticeships and opportunities, so I’ve made my real big focus around how to create job opportunities.

"It has been brilliant to meet with businesses, apprentices, providers and to see the Green Technology Centre finally open at Peterborough College – it is a good start for us.

“But one of the legacies the new government has inherited is that over the last decade in a city with an engineering history like Peterborough, we saw the number of young people starting apprenticeships go down.

“One of the reasons why we have a high level of youth unemployment is because we are not giving people the training they need to get into the kind of jobs here."

He added: “I hope I come across as someone who believes in Peterborough. I think we need less egos in politics and more collaboration.

"I’m less interested in carrying big cheques around the city and more interested in getting spades in the ground and the job delivered. People want to see things getting done.”