After early morning delivery, we meet with the Shadow International Development Minister Andrew Mitchell. I have known Andrew for many years, since he was the Member of Parliament for Gedling in Nottinghamshire. I remember the first occasion we met, a by-election for a council seat on the County Council. I had spent the day pounding the streets and in the evening, as everybody else went to the count, Andrew and I sat watching the evening news in someone’s front room.

I remember Andrew had a ministerial box on his knees and was catching up with paperwork as I watched the story of Claire Short (the former MP) being reunited with the son she had adopted years before. Thinking that he was engrossed in his work, I was surprised when Andrew looked up at the television and then at me and simply said “That’s a nice story”. In all the hullabaloo of politics, particularly in Westminster , I still think most parliamentarians recognise the sacrifice and difficultly other politicians put themselves through in order to undertake the role of an MP. On that night Andrew certainly displayed that to me.

Andrew was very good with local people, many saying that they would be supporting us at the election. I met one lady who is a single mother who was forced to leave university because her student loan did not come through. What a wasted opportunity for someone trying to improve her life. I feel very strongly about opportunity and aspiration as I did not attend a private school, or even a grammar school, and often felt that the ‘system’ did not help me. Consequently it is a political priority for me to fight for others to have better opportunities. That is the reason I felt so passionately about introducing opportunities for Looked after Children in Barnet.

As a councillor, I promoted a scheme to help the children who were in care to get a position of employment and training with the council. This was because councillors are legally the Corporate Parents of children in care and just as most people would give their own children work within a family business then I felt we should give the same opportunities to our ‘children’. It has become a successful scheme and is not promoted that a certain number of young people have to take up the course but the opportunity is offered. Many people who have lived in local authority care home often end up institutionalised in other ways, such as prison, so this has been one of the best initiatives I promoted as a councillor. In the evening I attended the Yom Hazikaron at Finchley synagogue. It was good to see so many people I know and be part of the service