Sheffield's first Conservative MP for a generation talks about politics during a pandemic

It's been less than a year since Miriam Cates became the new MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge and, as the area's first Conservative for more than 20 years, she was already breaking new ground.

Then Covid-19 swept through the country, three months after she started and with barely an office chair in place.

"It has been extremely challenging and so strange," Miriam says. "It's been such a whirlwind.

"We had a December election, which wouldn't normally happen, then the Withdrawal Agreement in Parliament at the end of January.

"By December 31 I had 3,000 emails and no office or staff so I was playing catch up from that moment forward.

"That first six weeks in the new year I started to find my feet but we didn't get an office in Stocksbridge until March.

"It was logistically challenging, and every new MP goes through that, but then lockdown hit.

"I have a fantastic staff and we had started to get on top of things but when lockdown happened it was a whole new set up again.

"Meeting constituents has been hard. We couldn't go out and about and we've had to be quite creative but people in lots of jobs are in a similar position."

Lockdown aside, does she feel isolated being the only Tory among Labour MPs in Sheffield and Barnsley?

"No, I don't, we sit on different sides of the Commons but there has been collaborative work, especially with Paul Blomfield MP.

"The Conservatives are in Government so I do have a different route into ministers, I have direct access and can talk one to one in private with them. I can approach matters in a different way."

"With the Tiers and lockdown, I didn't get any more advanced notice than any other MP.

"When we went into Tier 3 all the South Yorkshire MPs had a Zoom call with Matt Hancock so I was privy to the same private information on that call but I didn't get any advanced notice."

Born and bred in Sheffield, she's lived in Oughtibridge for 11 years and still remains a parish councillor.

She's obviously well known in the village but keeps her three children firmly out of the public eye and won't even allow their ages to be printed.

She is open though about how hard it was being a working mum during lockdown.

"Parliament wasn't sitting from March to June and it was nice to be home but it wasn't easy because there were no schools, childminders or family support" she says.

"Our workload tripled - one day we had 1,300 emails in one day. We've had enough policy in 12 months to last 10 years

"I was working from 5am to 11pm and trying to do some education with the kids. I managed two worksheets in the first week with one of my children and people said I must be in my element as a former teacher but I really wasn't!

"It's been so tough for everybody. People either had awful scenarios with furlough or their workload went through the roof."

Being on the campaign trail with the Prime Minister's girlfriend Carrie Symonds must seem a distant memory.

"I've not seen Carrie since February due to lockdown, there's no social side to things at the moment. I would normally relax seeing family and friends but it's not possible right now," she says.

One of the criticisms since she took office is a perceived lack of public profile and she's frank about her vehement hatred of Twitter.

She says: "Twitter is a bad place and encourages all kinds of destructive behaviour because it's anonymous and you can't relate to people in 140 characters.

"It causes so much harm and angst and it's just not a place I want to be. My firm belief is Twitter is bad for people's mental health.

"There's absolutely no obligation for an MP to be on Twitter, there are other routes to contact me and my email and phone numbers are published widely."

Conversely, she does have a public Facebook page. "I have a strong Facebook presence, it has a more community reach and tends to be people from your own constituency and you can write extended posts.

"Life is complicated and politics is complicated and you can't explain it on Twitter, it dumbs down the debate."

Social media aside, there are still traditional protests. Labour Party members angry she had voted against free school holiday meals demonstrated outside her office with paper plates.

She hopes it won't be a regular occurrence but says it's a free society.

"I'm very much up for deep political debate. What saddens me is this culture where we have a different point of view but people just want to say you are wrong or evil and that's really unhealthy.

"I'm happy to talk to people but let's respect each other. There are complex reasons for different points of view but they are all valid and we have a right to explain those views but let's be grown up. We don't have to cancel people because we don't like what they say."

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.