Kevin Bonavia: Full Comet interview with Stevenage's new MP

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How have you found your first few weeks as MP?

“It’s been really exhilarating. There’s been so much to take in, in Parliament and particularly across the town.

“Lots of people have been coming up to me and wishing me congratulations, which is lovely on a personal level.

“But there’s also a sense of responsibility – it’s time to start delivering on the pledges I made during the campaign.”

Have there been any particularly memorable moments?

“The day after the election – I’d had no sleep as you might expect – just being in the Old Town, where I live, a lot of people were wishing me well.

“I also attended Any Questions, which was in Stevenage, that afternoon, and people were already coming up to me and asking me policy questions on housing and planning reform.

“So straight from day one, I was already engaging on the issue we want this Labour government to deliver on for all of us”.

Are you happy with how the campaign in Stevenage went?

“Yes, with a great result. I’m really grateful for the support I got from our residents.

“I couldn’t do it on my own as well.

“I was very lucky to have an excellent campaign team around me.

“Campaigns are run on volunteers, and we had a really strong family of Stevenage Labour volunteers, and also people from outside the party who came in and joined the campaign because they believed there is something new that could happen for Stevenage.”

What lessons did you learn from it to take forward into your work as an MP?

“The main lesson is to always remain grounded.

“You’ve got to be where the people are at.

“In my campaign, I had more than 50 visits in six weeks.

“That’s where I got the most value, and learned a lot both about individuals and what our amazing community organisations across our town and villages are doing.”

“I also organised a series of public meetings. Very old school politics, but there’s a place for that even in our modern way of communications. That’s something I want to take forward, and put myself out there.

“I’ve got to be an accessible and available MP [for my constituents].

“If I do that, I know I’ll be able to do my job better too.”

You were candidate for a year and a half. Throughout that time, there was criticism over a perceived lack of activity from then-MP Stephen McPartland. Did you consider calling on Mr McPartland to resign?

“At the time, I did say ‘look, if you’re not able to do your job, then the best thing to do is to step down’. He didn’t decide to do that – that’s his decision, that’s now the past.

“What I do know is that I made a series of personal pledges, and they’re actually the basics of what we expect an MP to do.

“For me, to do my job, I want to be full-time, and I am full-time, I gave up my previous job as a solicitor before the election so I’ll be full-time from the start.

“That I am accessible, that I do advice surgeries, that I do have an accessible office.

“I’ve got a temporary one at the moment, but I’m going to make sure I’ve got one that is accessible, safe and secure as well, and that I make sure I’m grounded in the constituency – going to every school and business in our constituency, holding my advice surgeries, holding my public meetings, doing my casework walks.

“There’s a lot to do, but if you want to go into politics and serve in politics you’ve got to be very people-focused and that means getting out there where people are.”

Turning to the election result, you received a smaller majority than Stephen McPartland’s in 2019, and you got fewer votes than Baroness Taylor of Stevenage received in 2017. Turnout was very low – the lowest ever in Stevenage since the constituency was created – and there was a strong vote for Reform UK. What lessons do you draw from that?

“There’s one big lesson from the result, and that is trust in politics.

“That had reached – it’s never been high, there’s never been a golden age where people love their politicians – but in recent years there’s been several instances – particularly with the previous government – where standards of decency and accountability have been broken down.

“That’s left a lot of people disillusioned. I had to fight hard to show people that politicians can be different.

“That’s why we had a lower turnout, that’s why people were prepared to consider novel alternatives.

“My job now is to show what an MP who is committed to public service will do.

“That is what I hope will lead to more people getting engaged.

“Democracy is not a one-off event, it’s not just an election. People need to have that ongoing relationship with their MP, and that’s what I’m determined to do.

There’s been a lot of debate about how to discuss Reform UK, and how to refer to them. Do you think they’re a far right party?

“People were expressing their frustration.

“When I asked people what they particularly liked about Reform, I got all kinds of responses.

“The general point was around that distrust of the political process.

“We need to be mindful of that.

“This Labour government, and me as an MP, will be offering a proper programme. People can measure us on delivery. They can measure me on my personal pledges, and they can measure this government on its manifesto.

“If we do our jobs properly, then I fully hope people will choose Labour because they believe in a party that’s serious about changing things rather than choosing a party to express their frustrations.”

What kind of MP are you positioning yourself as, what kind of MP are you going to be over the next few years?

“I’m a new MP, which means I need to be absolutely grounded in my constituency.

“In Stevenage, most people haven’t known how to get hold of their MP for a while.

“That’s got to be my primary focus, but being available isn’t enough.

“It’s being on top of the issues that people are facing in the town and villages.

“In the time that I’m allowed – because we have many calls on our time as MPs, in Parliament and the constituency – everything I do in the constituency will all be about learning the issues, being a facilitator, bringing people together, and trying to bring change in our town and villages.

“And when I’m in Parliament, my focus will be on what can I do here that will benefit our residents.

“When I first came here after the election, I felt this awesome responsibility – I’m known here as the Member for Stevenage, and that will always be at the front of my mind – what am I doing to speak up for our town and villages in this place?”

At the next general election, what do you want to be judged on? What do you want to have achieved to say ‘here’s why you should re-elect me, here’s why I’ve been a success?

“The easy thing is to look at some measurable statistics – how many people have I helped, how many emails have I answered, how many advice surgeries have I run.

“But there’s also the intangibles.

“I want to be able to show people that because something became an issue in our constituency, I used my position as a voice in the constituency and in Parliament to deliver some change on that issue.

“I want to be able to point to that, and I want people to say ‘you know what, having Kevin as our MP did make a difference in the last few years, it was worth lending him our support then, and it’s now paid off.”

How do you think your previous career in the law will help you as an MP?

“Hopefully it will really help.

“I got into politics and the law for the same reason – it’s all about representing people.

“It’s all about being a voice for people who need it. I did that for 20 years as a lawyer.

“The difference is that as a lawyer you’re sometimes frustrated – you’re acting within constraints, you’re acting for a client and within the law as it is.

“The point of being an MP is you’re there to speak up for change as well.

“I hope I can continue using those skills to represent people, and also to push for the change they need.”

Which issues are you particularly hoping to focus on as constituency MP?

“I’ve got a whole list of issues I’ve picked up in the campaign and over the last 18 months.

“Some of the measures announced in the King’s Speech, I want to make sure they work for the people of Stevenage.

“If you take the housing crisis, it’s fantastic this new Labour government is going to give better rights for renters, such as ending no fault evictions, because we’ve seen that a lot in Stevenage.

“It’s also about building those new homes, not just in our constituency, but around our region and the country, which is going to alleviate that pressure.

“We’re talking about new towns – Stevenage was the first new town built by a Labour government after the Second World War; we need to return to that to deal with today’s housing crisis.

“So that’s going to be a priority of mine.

“Justice – I will use my legal expertise on that, but I want to make it work for people. I want to make our streets safer again. That was a big issue I got on the doorsteps.

“People need to be able to see their police officers. They need to see that justice works, and that young people can be taken away from a path of crime.

“That will be a key mission of mine.

“The other area I want to focus on is the potential Stevenage has.

“We’ve got an amazing life sciences industry in our town, we’ve also got a defence industry that has been critical in our support for Ukraine, and the support we’re going to need for NATO.

“We’ve got the materials and the people in our town to be trailblazers for both life sciences and our country’s defence.

“I will be working to make sure that this Labour government will be using the potential Stevenage has, to deliver obviously for Stevenage, but I know in turn Stevenage will be delivering for the country too.”

What will this Labour government do that will materially benefit the science and defence sectors in Stevenage?

“On defence, we have announced a Strategic Defence Review.

“This isn’t just about how much more we can spend on defence, this is about realising the threats we now face as a country and how do we allocate our resources, make our priorities as a country focus on those.

“In the case of Stevenage, we have got all those skills there to develop a lot of those materials we need.

“We’ve also got many people in our town and villages who want to, if not the defence industry, serve in our armed forces as well.

“I’m very conscious of the fact that is a tough career. We need to look after people serving in our armed forces, and our veterans as well.

“That’s one of the things I want to be a champion for. I’ve got experience of that before and I will do that again as our MP.”

Do you think enough is done by the science and defence companies in Stevenage to encourage people who are from Stevenage to get into the jobs they offer?

“There are some great examples of what’s happening in Stevenage in STEM, such as Mission 44.

“I’ll be working hand-in-hand with our Labour council to link up with our young people and schools.

“As our Labour MP, I’m going to roll up my sleeves and get involved in that, and making sure I can help our young people get into these highly skilled and well-paid jobs.

“You can start your career in Stevenage, and have a great career here – you don’t have to travel, we’ve got it right under our noses. My job will be to be a facilitator of that.”

The council obviously have a big role in that too. Have you met with Stevenage Borough Council and Hertfordshire County Council, and what do you want your relationship with those councils to look like going forward?

“I know many of the key personnel in all our local councils.

“I’ll be liaising with four councils – three borough and district councils, and one county council.

“I’m keen to have those good personal relationships but I’m also keen to formalise those relationships too.

“We’ll be putting together a programme where I will put things on the table from what I’ve learned from constituents and in Westminster, and they can put things on the agenda they want me to take forward as Stevenage’s MP.

“That’s the relationship I want to have with all our councils.

“I’ll be a critical friend. We achieve things together. I don’t want to be apportioning blame, I want to work on things together so we can share the credit – it’s far more effective.

Stevenage Borough Council leader Cllr Richard Henry told the Comet that he’s got a ‘shopping list’ of things to go through with you that had been halted under the previous MP. What’s on that shopping list?

“I’ve got a vague idea what some of those things are!

“We’ve got to talk about the housing crisis and the role that our council can play together with this new Labour government that’s keen to put it on it’s agenda – it’s at the top of my agenda.

“It’s also about how we physically shape our town – there’s a lot of interest among our residents.

“One of my roles is to facilitate that, and to bring people together whenever there are proposals.

“One thing I’ve learned is the sooner you get the people who are going to be impacted by it involved, the better it will be.

“I will be speaking with all our councils on that. In turn, I will be bringing people together to help shape those proposals.”

Let’s go through a few more practical questions. When will your office be fully set up?

“It’s already up and running, in its early state at the moment.

“I’m temporarily using our campaign office as a physical office.

“Opening hours and accessibility are still to be worked out.

“But when I’m working in the constituency at the moment that’s where I’m working.

“I’m putting together my personnel to help me in my role.

“I’ve had a lot of correspondence come in and I’ve been honest with people, it will take me time to get through to everyone.

“I’m keen to have a proper rota of advice surgeries, not just in Stevenage but across our villages too – that was my election commitment.

“I’ll be doing more pop-up surgeries across the summer to see what works and what doesn’t.

“That will help me shape a proper programme so people know in advance how they can meet me in person in a safe and accessible way, for me and my staff, and for people who want to come and see me.

“I’m very keen to do it, it’s important that we keep our democracy functioning and I’ll make sure that happens with regular surgeries from September.”

What about events in the constituency, how often are you expecting to go to those and can people get in touch if they’d like you to come along?

“Right now, people can send in their requests to my email address.

“Obviously, I can’t do everything.

“Where I may not be able to do something, I will send a representative wherever I can – I’m lucky that I’ve got many supportive local councillors.

“Across all my campaign visits, I always had a councillor join me.

“It’s important they have an elected representative and a representative from my office where possible.

“In a way I’m very glad we had an election over the summer so I can get out and about, hopefully in sunny weather like this!

“I’ll attend what I can, subject to my other commitments – I’ve got to make sure I represent Stevenage in Westminster too.

“Sadly, the previous MP wasn’t that active here [in Westminster]. I want people to be able to see that I am active and speaking up for Stevenage in Westminster, as well as making sure that I’m visible and accessible in the constituency.

You’ve said you’re going to continue living in Stevenage. Will you be getting a home in London too?

“No.

“The rules allow for it, so I wouldn’t be breaking any rules if I did, but two things.

“Do I actually need to? And is it what anybody else living in Stevenage and working in London would do?

“Most days I won’t need to stay overnight in London.

“There will be times, because of some of the unusual working arrangements in Westminster, where I need to stay overnight.

“Other MPs in our region do that.

“Like anybody in any other job, that’s what I will do if I have to, so I can do my job properly both in Westminster and in the constituency.

“But I don’t need a second home, so I’m not going to have one.”

Moving onto some more issue-oriented questions. You’ve mentioned the importance of restoring trust, and have spoken about duty and responsibility. Sir Keir Starmer has abandoned many of the pledges he made during the leadership election, so why should voters trust the government he’s leading to deliver on its manifesto commitments?

“What Keir has done, and I think is quite admirable, is that his principles have always been there, but when circumstances change, you change your solutions.

“He was elected as our leader in 2020. Since then we’ve had the pandemic, we’ve had Ukraine, we’ve had the economic crash under Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak’s response to that.

“We’ve had to develop our policies in that very unstable period.

“What has been made clear to us as MPs is we have our programme of government and our long-term mission, but we are going to have to adapt as we get there.

“There will be things we don’t even know about yet, but you have to have confidence – that we have as our prime minister – someone who is going to use good judgement, and apply those principles that he set out.

“That principle, ultimately, is one of public service and that’s something I’m very strongly committed to in Stevenage as our MP too.”

Did you vote for Sir Keir Starmer in the last Labour leadership election?

“I did, I certainly did. I supported his campaign at the time and I spoke for him, because I could see in him he had the potential to be not just a leader that could change our party – and he certainly has done that – but I could see that he would actually be an effective prime minister too.

“You can see that in our first few weeks in government, where we’ve really hit the ground running.

“He’s not going to be distracted by tittle-tattle, he’s going to focus on our manifesto and our programme of government, and I’m really keen to support him in any way I can.”

You mentioned we’ve been through an unstable period in the last few years. Looking back over the last 14 years, who do you think was the best Conservative prime minister?

“That’s a good question!

“There’s no prime minister that I would say … I’d put it the other way round, in 49 days it’s amazing what you can do to damage a country and we had that under Liz Truss.

“I will say this, though, and I’d like to say it for some more than others, there is a certain decency that you should expect in politics.

“I saw this recently in the King’s Speech debate, I thought when the leader of the opposition and our prime minister spoke with each other, both at the despatch box and in person, you could see that mutual personal respect, and we need that in politics.

“I was quite impressed by Mr Sunak then.

“That’s the kind of tone we need in our politics, and that’s the kind of tone I will have.

“We may disagree strongly, but there’s ways in which you can disagree, and you can always do it with mutual personal respect, and that’s what I will do.”

Do you think that squares with some of the more negative campaigning that went on in Stevenage, with some of the adverts that were run about [Conservative candidate] Alex Clarkson?

“You can do things in a way that’s not … you don’t have to personally abuse anyone, but you do have to hold them to account, and that does have to be done on an individual level if you’re a candidate.

“Given that we needed to show commitment, you have to show commitment.

“And you have to contrast what you want to do with your opponents, and let the people decide who is going to be more committed to our constituency.

“That was very important in the campaign, and that works both ways.

“You’ve got to put yourself out for scrutiny, but you also have to scrutinise your opponents. If you don’t do it yourself, you shouldn’t expect anybody else to do it for you.”

Looking back on the first few weeks of Labour in power, are there any particular highlights that stand out to you as something really important that the government is going to do?

“Absolutely, we’ve announced about 40 new bills, which I think is an even bigger programme than we had in 1997.

“But within that I can see some measures that I think are going to make a real difference.

“Planning reforms, for example, that will ensure we can get our housebuilding programme up and running.

“The bill to set up Great British Energy, that’s going to make a real difference, saving £300 on an average family’s energy bill.

“There’s immigration, we need to have a fair and effective immigration and asylum processing system, which is fair by everyone.

“Whether it’s use of our local hotels, whether there are people who should be in this country are actually contributing to our economy, so we do need to have that and that’s in there as well.

“Those are, I would say, our priorities.”

Let’s go a bit deeper into housing. In a previous interview, you told the Comet: “We need to give councils proper powers and funding to actually buy and, where they can, in the right places, build affordable homes.” Do you think enough is being done to provide social housing and particularly council housing?

“We’ve got a strong team in government, and that includes Stevenage’s own Baroness Taylor as a minister for local government.

“I’ll be working with her and making sure that we’ve now got a government that listens.

“I’m very pleased that we’ve also got a local government spokesperson in Number 10 which is new that we can actually work with.

“We need to work hand-in-hand with our councils. Nationally, we have a plan and we have targets, but we have to give our councils the tools to deliver on that.

“I will be speaking up to make sure that all our local councils are given the tools to be able to do that.”

In an interview you gave to a Maltese media outlet after the election, you said you hope “many” of Labour’s 1.5m new homes will be in Stevenage. Why do you want many of them to be in Stevenage, and where should they be?

“We need to have local homes for local people, so we do need to have some of those affordable homes in our constituency.

“It’s not for me to start coming up with a map and put in proposed homes here and there.

“I’m not the local decisionmaker, that’s down to our local councils.

“My role is to be a facilitator. So whenever there’s a new proposal, I will convene local stakeholders – residents, councils, construction companies.

“And I’ll do that through one of my campaign pledges, which was to hold a series of planning surgeries whenever it comes up.

“That’s how I’m going to do it. It’s not for me to make the decisions, but it is for me to bring people together.”

What do you think the cause of the housing crisis is?

“There are a number of factors.

“Let’s start with – we’ve got changes in our population make-up. We’ve now got an older population, and more single households as well.

“So the types of home we need has been changing quite a lot, and the provision of homes hasn’t changed for that.

“But it is also policy. We are now paying the price for decisions politicians made many years ago.

“The Conservative government in the 1980s introduced right-to-buy.

“That’s great if you want to aspire to have your own home, that’s brilliant, but I’ve spoken to people during the election campaign and before, who had bought their own council homes but were now living there with their grown-up children and their grandchildren because they cannot get their own homes – they can’t even rent their own homes.

“Clearly, something is broken in the system. We need to make sure that we reform our housing system and we provide those homes – those affordable and accessible homes.

“That happened in Stevenage all those years ago, we need to start giving people hope they can get their own home again.

Sir Keir Starmer has said he’s a Yimby [Yes in my backyard]. Would you say you’re a Yimby?

“I don’t go in for acronyms myself, but I would say this.

“I will always look favourably on the principle of new homes for our local population. That’s my starting point.

“If I see a potential for new homes, then my presumption is going to be that I’m going to see how we can make this work.

“Then my role is how do we help shape this in the best way for our residents? Residents that need these homes, residents who are lucky enough to have their own homes but want to see how the community around them will change.

“Everybody’s got an interest in this, whether you’ve got your own home already or you haven’t, and my job is to make sure everyone is listened to.”

Angela Rayner [housing secretary] said before the election Labour will build some New Towns. What lessons can they take from Stevenage’s history as a New Town?

“Well, here’s one big lesson.

“It was in 1980 that the Stevenage Development Corporation handed over ownership of the land, but it wasn’t given to the local councils – it was all parcelled up.

“Despite efforts at the time to do that, it never happened.

“And we are now paying the price for that because it means that if you want to reshape our town, or our town centre, it turns out the council doesn’t own most of the land.

“It’s doing what it can, to get what it can, but it makes it much, much harder to be able to adapt a new town for the changing needs of the population.

“It’s all about power and control. We need to make sure, not just for any new towns, but also for our existing new towns, we need to make sure that there is power and control for our local communities so they don’t feel like things can’t change – because they can.”

The government has spoken about giving power to local authorities to franchise bus services. Would you like to see that in Hertfordshire, and why?

“Yes, absolutely.

“One of the more common issues I was getting on the doorsteps was frustration in transport, whether it’s getting around our local area using the fragmented and frankly unreliable local bus service, or getting in and out of our area, whether it’s Stevenage or Knebworth, on the trains.

“The trains are fantastic when they’re working, but you can’t always rely on them.

“That’s why we need, at both levels, we are going to nationalise our railways through Great British Railways, and we’re also going to be giving those bus franchising powers to our local authorities.

“I’m very keen that our local authorities do use those powers, and I’ll be helping them as best I can with that.”

Another topic you mentioned earlier was immigration. Do you think too many people are moving to the UK?

“The issue is, have we got a system that can use immigration to the best for our own benefit? Frankly the current system isn’t working.

“For me, it’s not about exact numbers year on year, it’s – when people come to our country, are they actually being able to contribute to our economy, to our communities, in the best way they can?

“Unless you’ve got those systems in place, then many people are going to feel when things go wrong … that it’s because we’ve got too much immigration.

“We need to turn around that mindset, and we need to make sure we have an immigration system that people think ‘that’s fair, yeah, that’s right actually, we do need those skills in our country’.

“So we do need a system that promotes that, but also we need to make sure that we have a system that is going to deal with it quickly and fairly when we have people who shouldn’t be here, for whatever reason that is.”

Some local people are concerned about the use of hotels for asylum seekers. Will a Labour government stop those hotels being used for that purpose. I also wonder – you were a refugee champion when you were a councillor in Lewisham – what experience do you bring from that?

“I had responsibility for managing migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in my previous role, that was one of my responsibilities.

“My approach is to humanise the situation, and not treat it as ‘them and us’ and say, actually, when you’ve got human beings coming to our community, for any reason, how do you assess how they can contribute to our community, what can they do for us as a community?

“That’s always been my principle, rather than cooping them up in hotels which should be used for other purposes.

“This government is determined to end that system, but to do that means we have to have a fair processing system.

“We’ve got to get onto that as quickly as we can, and that’s one of the priorities of this government.”

The regeneration of Stevenage Town Centre is ongoing. A number of the projects involved in it are funded by the Towns Fund, and that money needs to be spent by the end of March 2026. Do you have any concerns about whether those projects will be completed on time?

“The regeneration is where I think there’s, shall we say … some unfinished business.

“This has been in the in-tray for any prospective Stevenage MP for a while now.

“So as our new MP, my role now is to pick up those issues from our councils and where there are deadlines, where there are concerns about decisions made by government, my job is to take that to government and say ‘look we’ve got some plans here, we need your help, we need those resources’, and we need to make sure that wherever there’s available resources, we are getting those resources.”

Does that suggest you’re looking for an extension?

“At the moment, I need to know what we need as a town.

“If we need more resources, then I will lobby for them.

“If that means lobbying for more time and resources, then I will do that, I will always lobby as best as I can for our town.

“But I have to see what’s needed first. If that’s what’s needed, then that’s what I will lobby for.”

The government has opted to keep the two-child limit on child benefit. Do you think it should be lifted?

“We have to tackle child poverty in our country.

“Being able to lift that limit is one of the tools that’s been put out there as a way of doing that.

“We’ve said as an incoming government that we’re not going to take any risks with our economic strategy, and we have to grow the economy before we can deliver on some things we’d like to do.

“That’s why I was really pleased that the government has announced a task force into child poverty.

“The previous Labour government had goals on child poverty, and it was meeting those goals – it was the Conservative government that took those away.

“I’m very keen that this will be a priority for this government.

“In terms of welfare changes we need to make, that will be part of any consideration.

“But one thing we cannot do, we cannot make promises and spend money we don’t have.

“That’s the golden rule for this government – economic stability and growth first, because then we can really deliver on all our ambitions for our country.

Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has said she’d like the UK to have the highest sustained growth in the G7. Do you think that’s realistic?

“Where there’s the political will to do that, I think it is realistic.

“There are many things that might be outside our control, but you can already see from the response from people involved in our economy across the country, that this is a government that is ruthlessly focused on delivering that growth.

“If we stick to our plans, we should be reaching that long-time goal.”

One of Labour’s flagship policies is to add VAT onto private school fees. You received a bursary to study at a private school yourself – do you think the policy risks taking away opportunities from people like yourself?

“Let’s use my personal example. I had a [publicly-funded] assisted place. My parents couldn’t have afforded for me to go to the school I went to, and I was given an assisted place.

“Now assisted places were part of a system that was removed by a Labour government back then and I remember, at the time, many private schools and the sector were saying that this could really damage their schools and put pressure on the state system.

“That didn’t happen. What actually happened was the private school sector adapted.

“Private schools are businesses. The state school sector has had to adapt with fewer resources, and private schools can and will as well.

“And I will support them in doing that because we need the resources to go to all our schools, and that’s got to be a priority for me.

“I want kids to have the quality of education I had, whichever school they go to in our constituency.

“And that is why we need those extra teachers.

“One of the biggest things I got on the doors was pressure on SEND [special educational needs and disabilities] in our schools, particularly in Hertfordshire – I was getting that every session on the doorstep, every session.

“We’ve got to provide those extra resources to our state schools and that is why we’re doing this policy, it’s not because we just want to hit [private] schools with a stick, it’s because we want to deliver for all our kids.”

Let’s turn to foreign policy now. Ahead of the 2019 general election, you signed We Believe in Israel’s Pledge for Israel. Do you stand by that pledge?

“I am very supportive of a two-state solution where we’ve got two secure, viable, independent states in Israel and Palestine, side-by-side.

“That remains my position. I think – looking at the tragedy of that area – that gives respect to all people who live in that region, and that’s something I still strongly believe in.”

So is that a yes to standing by the pledge?

“Yes, I do support that pledge, I’ve not changed my view on that.”

Do you think the UK should suspend arms sales to Israel?

“We need to look at the legal advice that was given to the previous government.

“Of course, that changes and it’s being constantly reviewed.

“As somebody from a legal background, I always believe in looking at the evidence first before making decisions.

“I’ve got full confidence in our new foreign secretary to be able to do that, on the advice of the Attorney General and whoever else may be involved.

“We need to keep doing that.”

How much did Middle East issues come up on the doorstep?
“It was there.

“Obviously, the biggest issues I was getting were the cost-of-living crisis and the NHS.

“But yes, some people did express their concerns about what has been happening out there.

“I’ve been very clear that we now have a Labour government that is going to work constructively, we’re calling for an immediate ceasefire.

“But that is what it says, it’s a temporary state of affairs.

“What we need is that long-lasting, two-state solution and I’m confident we’ve now got a Labour government that’s going to get stuck in and work for that two-state solution.”

The forthcoming American presidential election has been another big issue. Were you happy with Biden’s decision to stand down? Are you worried about prospect of a Trump presidency?

“Joe Biden has dedicated his lifetime to public service. Selflessly, he took the decision to make a massive personal sacrifice in standing aside and paving the way for others to serve.

"Putting your country before your own ambition is the strongest example of undying patriotism - and it forces us all to reflect on the fact that service is about the people we represent, not ourselves.

“The USA is a very strong ally of ours, and we will as a Labour govt work with whoever is in the Oval office.

“Whatever the American people decide, we will always have that special relationship.

“I once did an internship on Capitol Hill, and you don’t really realise until you get out there just how much American people do value that special relationship.

“Whoever the American people decide as their president, that is a matter for them.

“They would expect us, and rightly so, to work with whoever they decide should lead their country.”

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS

What’s your favourite pub?

“It’s got to be the pub with my biggest campaign banner! That’s The Poacher in Bedwell.

“It’s one of those examples we have of a well-known and well-appreciated community pub at the heart of its community.

“If you want to see people from all walks of life in our town, come to The Poacher.

“The conversations I’ve had, the things I’ve learned in The Poacher, have grounded me in a way that so many other things that I do as an MP probably never will.”

Who’s your favourite Stevenage FC player?

“It’s got to be the captain, Carl Piergianni.”

If you could put anybody into the House of Lords, who would it be?

“That’s a good question!

“That’s a matter for the King and the advice of his Prime Minister, of course.

“We’ve already got two in there who I’ll always say impress me.

“Obviously we’ve got our very own Baroness Taylor of Stevenage in there as a minister, and also somebody I see as a living legend, Lord Alf Dubs.

“He came over as a refugee in the Kindertransport in the 1930s and has done so much to look out for unaccompanied child refugees out there.

“We are looking to reduce the size of the House of Lords, so I think I’m going to duck that one for the moment because if I’m going to do any nominations I think I have to do that privately and let them know I’m doing it!”

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

“I’ve had it from different quarters throughout my life and since I was a boy, is believe in yourself.

“Part of the reason I became a lawyer and now an MP is because when I was at school, and I used to get involved in the class discussions and school council, things like that, somebody said ‘Kevin, you’re quite good at speaking up for other people’, and that gave me huge self-confidence, something that’s never left me.

“The thing I would say to anybody thinking about their future lives: believe in yourself, you can do it and don’t let anybody talk you out of it.”

Who would be at your ideal dinner party?

“One of my regrets is that my parents couldn’t be here during the campaign.

“My mum’s not been well enough to come along to the campaign, and my dad passed away many years ago.

“They believed in me, and it would have been great to ask ‘is this what you hoped for?’

“And I still ask for advice about what I should do going forward. So having my parents there would be amazing.

“And then, there’s another person I’d like to sit down with, and that’s Lewis Silkin, minister for housing.

“When he came to Stevenage, at the time, there was lots of opposition.

“I’d say to him look, this is your vision, how do you think this has played out, and what are the lessons you think we need to learn from what you tried to do all those years ago, building that town, for people’s dreams – have those dreams been realised?

“And now we face similar pressures again, how would you do things differently?”