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“THE WORLD has changed, unbelievably really, on a personal and a political level.”

It is hard to argue with Thelma Walker as she sums up what has happened since the moment in the early hours of June 9 when she was declared the new MP for Colne Valley on a remarkable night in British politics. She speaks to

in the middle of trying to organise her new constituency office in Slaithwaite and get to grips with life in Westminster.

Her success, overcoming her Conservative predecessor’s 5,000-vote majority on a night when Labour was expected to lose seats, was emblematic of the wider election.

For much of the campaign Labour’s focus in West Yorkshire had been defending seats rather than winning them, but looking back at election night Mrs Walker maintains she was quietly confident about her chances.

“If I’m honest, I’ve kept it to myself, but I knew we could win. That last few weeks we did so much campaigning, we did street stalls in each ward, we knocked on doors, we talked to groups of people. There was a sea change.”

Mrs Walker points to the publication of the two major parties’ manifestos, which included the Conservatives’ controversial plans for elderly care, as the key moment.

“For the first time in a number of elections there was clear water between ‘what it is if I vote for a Conservative government’ and ‘what it will be like if I vote for Labour’.”

She admits to surprising herself with her response when she learned she had taken the seat by just 915 votes.

“I didn’t react in the way that I thought I would, I didn’t punch the air and I didn’t cry. I didn’t laugh.

“I felt numb actually, it was almost like it was happening to someone else.

“Because my politics is so important to me and social justice is so important to me I had this overwhelming sense of responsibility straight away.

“I’m my MP, if that makes sense, it’s that sense that these are people I really care for; some of them are my friends, some are my family, that responsibility is personal as well as political.

“It was ‘right, now the work starts, I’ve got to make this happen’.”

Winning the Colne Valley seat was the culmination of a process which began when Mrs Walker, then a headteacher, was motivated by her disillusionment with national education policy, particularly her concerns that the ‘Every Child Matters’ initiative started by Labour was being sidelined, to become a far more active political campaigner.

Having missed out on being a candidate two years earlier, the calling of a snap election presented a fresh opportunity.

And with her husband, Rob, also deeply involved in Labour politics as a Kirklees councillor, there was a discussion over which of them would put their name forward to represent Labour in the Colne Valley race.

“We share the politics, our two boys do as well. It’s a family thing. There are some lively family discussions about some things.

“We had the discussion and he said ‘no I love my council work but I will support you to do this’.

“It’s a massive decision and when you realise what it involves, that you are essentially setting up two businesses in two different places and all the rest of it, it is massive.

“My professional background is helping me a lot, how people do it without having worked in a stressful role I’m not quite sure, I admire them tremendously.”