Before becoming MP for Lincoln in Summer 2017 I’d spent 14 years working as a nurse in Lincolnshire, where I was born and grew up.

During that time I came to realise the real value of education. We all need hope (hope that we’ll be able to cope with changes happening at work, hope that things will get better and hope that our family will be OK) and it’s education which is the best way for us to gain hope.

Whilst working as a nurse I became a UNISON Union Learning Rep (ULR) which is a role I absolutely loved. I organised confidence and job search courses and visited workplaces to encourage staff to give it a go. And it was whilst being a ULR that I helped set up a UNISON fund to pay for courses which led to the launch of Learning Lincs Project.

Learning Lincs will support learning and skills development across the city and I’m proud to be speaking at the launch in September along with UNISON Assistant General Secretary Roger McKenzie and Gavin McCann, UNISON Regional Learning & Development Organiser.

Learning is very important to me and whilst I’m so excited to represent the people of Lincoln in Parliament I do miss the ULR role. It was a pleasure to work with other ULRs in schools, councils, police, care and other areas because we all wanted to support UNISON members to get the best opportunities. Better education means we can deliver better services to the people of Lincolnshire and union members can take control of their lives.

I would encourage everyone to find out more about union learning and have a think about what learning you would like to do. Contact your ULR for more info and, if you have a passion for learning like me, why not become a ULR yourself? Who knows where it will lead!