(This article first appeared in the Chronicle here.)

It was a pleasant surprise to be asked to join Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet in the role of Shadow Attorney General last week, and I’m thrilled that I’m part of a Shadow Cabinet that – for the first ever – has a majority of women.

I know there’s been some criticism that Jeremy didn’t appoint women to what some describe as ‘top jobs’, but I happen to think that issues like education, our NHS, support for businesses, housing and tackling climate change – all areas now covered by my female colleagues – are pretty important. If my postbag’s anything to go by, my Newcastle North constituents do too.

Some have asked why I agreed to take on the position, when I didn’t back Jeremy for the leadership. My response is simple. He won an overwhelming mandate from all sections of the Labour Party in an election in which hundreds of thousands of people across Britain voted.

And, like him, my priority is holding the Tory Government to account for policies which are proving so damaging to so many across the North East and the rest of the country. Being able to do that from within the Shadow Cabinet is an immense privilege, and one I won’t take lightly.

My first week in the new role has been pretty hectic, but my legal background helped me to hit the ground running. After graduating in history from Edinburgh University, I studied postgraduate law at Northumbria University and then worked as an employment lawyer for several years in Newcastle before I was first elected as an MP in 2010.

And it was shortly after entering Parliament that I was appointed Shadow Solicitor General – so I gained a good understanding of the areas I now cover in my new role: the work of both the Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office, and the legal advice provided to Government by the Attorney General.

Indeed, as well as raft of meetings including my first Shadow Cabinet meeting and a briefing from the Government’s Attorney General, I’ve already responded to my first Commons debate in my new role.

It concerned allegations of malpractice within the banking sector and whether the Serious Fraud Office should be investigating this issue. I know from constituency cases how deeply affected businesses have been by the activities of some of the banks over recent years, and this issue must be treated with the gravity it deserves.

But the priorities for the wider Labour Party this week have been vigorously opposing two key Government policies which will have a significant impact on so many across our region.

Cuts to tax credits from April 2016 will effectively penalise people for going out to work, or taking on more hours. Little wonder that they didn’t feature in the Conservative election manifesto – but they will hit 116,000 working families across the North East, and over 11,000 in Newcastle alone.

And we voted against the Trade Union Bill which will severely restrict the rights of ordinary working people to challenge important workplace issues such as low pay, or health and safety concerns.

This Bill is a divisive and diversionary tactic by the Tories, which does absolutely nothing to tackle the key issues facing our economy such as productivity, low pay and skills.

My first week in the Shadow Cabinet ended on a high, when I spoke alongside my Newcastle colleague Chi Onwurah at a packed event for some of the thousands of people from the region who’ve joined the Labour Party in recent weeks and months.

It’s so exciting to be part of a re-energised party, with members passionately believing that politics really matters and wanting to get involved. So I have no doubt that alongside Chi, and so many colleagues from the region now serving as Shadow Ministers in the frontbench team, we will certainly be making sure the North East’s voice is heard.

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