Later this week Hastings In Focus will be recording an interview with the town’s new MP Sally-Ann Hart. In the meantime Mrs Hart has outlined here what she sees as her immediate priorities in her new job.

I am writing this as your Member of Parliament, sitting at my kitchen table. The early morning house is quiet and our Jack Russell has gone to find a warm bed to snuggle into.

The quiet is welcome, giving me time to reflect on the intense activity of the last couple of months, and on my core priorities for Hastings and Rye.

It was not part of my life’s ambition to become an MP. However, my experiences working as a local magistrate, in particular, gave me a determination to change the law rather than administer it. I saw first-hand the effects of family breakdown; the effects of alcohol and drug abuse and criminal behaviour on individual lives, families and communities; the effects of welfare dependency on generations of too many local families; and the shortfall in our education system.

Going into this new decade I am determined to deliver for the residents of Hastings and Rye, focusing on the priorities that matter to us – improving local education, investing in transport infrastructure, supporting our fishing communities in a post-Brexit world, getting funding for our local NHS, and delivering high skilled, high quality jobs for local people.

One of my personal priorities is to help improve local education. Enhancing the quality and breadth of education in Hastings and Rye is vital.

One of my personal priorities is to help improve local education. Enhancing the quality and breadth of education in Hastings and Rye is vital. It is fundamental in supporting our local economy and unleashing the potential of all resident in our area. Through high quality teaching, coupled with hope and aspiration for our young people, any disadvantage can be overcome.

All levels of education are vital at providing young people with the skills, experiences and confidence they need to enter the world of work. That is why I want to see continued investment in primary education to ensure the best possible start for all our children, whatever their background. Moreover, I believe secondary education is not just about academics; we also need better technical and vocational education to improve the choice and quality of employment for more of our young people, making them nationally and globally competitive.

It’s not just education that needs improvement, but also our health and social care system. I will fight for delivery of the best services to protect – and improve – the health of our residents. A good national health system is a marker of a fair and just society, which is why I am delighted that the Government will be implementing a three-point plan for social care, with extra funding and a plan to take adult social care out of the political arena by establishing a cross-party consensus on a future system.

These are just two major priorities that I will be championing on your behalf, but in the coming weeks I will also outline other areas I want to focus on from supporting families, improving local infrastructure and creating more high-skilled jobs.

2020 brings us challenges, but so much hope. Getting Brexit done by the end of January this year will unleash huge potential for our area, especially for our fishing communities through the regaining of control of our waters. And with Brexit done, we can focus on the priorities of local people.

I am ambitious and optimistic for Hastings and Rye as we leave the European Union, and as your newly elected MP, I know that I have been granted an enormous privilege to represent each and every one of you – a privilege which I will never take for granted.

Thank you for putting your trust in me and the Conservative Party and I wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2020.