ather than diminishing or becoming the norm, the sense of the privilege of serving as a Member of Parliament grows with each passing day spent in the House of Commons. This is not to say that everything about the House is endearing. Many of the protocols and procedures are archaic and needlessly time consuming but every session spent in the Chamber helps to adapt new members to the ways of this ancient institution.

Some Members make the mistake of believing that by belonging to the House of Commons they somehow become elevated above party politics to become ‘Parliamentarians’ – a curious term which essentially applies to those who seek to protect and serve the interests of Parliament rather than the interests of those people and those parties they were elected to represent. Parliament must be respected, but it exists to serve the people of this country and not individual Members of Parliament.

The most frequently asked question of any new member is "How are you settling in?" quickly followed by "Have you done your maiden speech yet?"

I had hoped to have broken my duck before now but decided to learn about how the Chamber works before rushing in. The speech will now be the better for it! The highlights of it will be printed here in Egremont Today.

Currently I am receiving something approaching 200 letters every day from a mixture of constituents, lobbyists, fellow Members and Government departments. Please rest assured that if you have written to me and not yet received a response you will do so shortly.

Despite a fairly sedentary programme of legislation at the moment, the House is extraordinarily busy. Late night sittings are common place, briefings, seminars, meetings and debates consistently clash with each other – but this is Westminster and I am looking forward to the even busier times ahead as our Labour government presents the legislation which will set about improving the lives of ordinary people in Copeland.

Finally, as an avid supporter of Liverpool FC I tried everything within my power to avoid the recent European Champions League Final. Liverpool defeated both Juventus and Chelsea on the way to the final in spectacular fashion during the election campaign whilst I was both too busy (and superstitious) to watch the games and so a ‘lucky’ ritual was born. Developing this coincidental pattern , I ensured that I was safely planted in the Chamber during the Final in a desperate attempt to ensure a Liverpool victory by working whilst the match took place.

I sat in my customary place (two rows behind the despatch box) to enjoy a debate on European Affairs in an almost empty chamber, but my avoidance strategy failed when the informative debate was unexpectedly adjourned midway through the first half of the match.

My mood worsened as each time I inadvertently passed a television in the corridor of the House of Commons, Milan increased their lead. Matters were made worse by a beaming Evertonian security guard. Despondent, I headed for my hotel.

After convincing myself that I couldn’t feel any worse, I sat down to watch the last half hour of the second half. The rest is history – and surely I should take some credit for a magnificent victory…

I imagine my winner's medal is still in the post.