Last week saw an unforgettable Labour Party Conference, wrapped in a real sense of optimism.

Not because the challenges facing our country have disappeared, or because the work ahead will be easy, but because there was a clear belief that things can be different.

Throughout the Prime Minister's and ministers' speeches, one message was consistent: power must belong to the people and communities it affects.

That came through clearly in the Prime Minister’s speech, which set out some significant announcements for the years ahead:

We will establish a National Care Service, free at the point of use for personal care, built on the same principle as our NHS: everyone contributes, and everyone is covered.

We will give people and communities greater control over water by removing the Thatcher-era restrictions on public ownership, strengthening the powers to hold water companies to account, and tightening restrictions on executive bonuses.

On energy, we will establish Great British Grid within Great British Energy. A publicly owned body designed to speed up connections, increase competition and bring down costs – while helping unlock the investment and industrial growth Britain needs.

On housing, we will take action against rogue landlords, deliver the biggest council housebuilding programme since the post-war era and continue reforms to make the housing system work better for people.

And we will establish a National Commission on Electoral Reform, looking at how we can give people greater power in every postcode and ensure our democracy better reflects the people it serves. We will also set out options for a stronger long-term relationship with Europe.

The Prime Minister emphasised power back where it belongs, away from Whitehall and into communities.

For me, this is particularly important here in the Forest of Dean. We have proud industrial roots, hardworking communities and enormous potential. But for too long, too many people have felt that decisions about their lives are made somewhere else, by people who don't understand the realities they face.

That must change.

Rebuilding our foundations means creating opportunities in places like ours. Devolution means trusting local people to know what their communities need. And rebuilding public services means listening to the people who rely on them every day.

The conversations you are having around your dinner table, at work, in the pub, at the school gates—about your bills, your children's future, your community and your hopes—should be the same conversations I am having in Westminster.

If we really want to put power back into communities, it has to start with listening to them.

And when we do, we hear something important: people have hope for what the future could hold.

And that’s why I’m fighting for a new school building for Forest High and putting Project Elton at the heart of my work: to turn hope into real change and improvements for our communities.

Hope that we can grow again, build again, and make politics matter in people's lives.

And hope that the best days for the Forest of Dean are still ahead.