I remember my first day in Parliament straight after my election, walking through the voting lobbies and thinking, "this is where all the Brexit drama happened."

At the time after the decisive General Election victory, it was the prevailing view that this Parliament would be a lot calmer than the last one. I was looking forward to five years of steady delivery at both the national and local level.

Clearly it hasn't quite worked out like that. Sometimes I get the sense that if you were a book publisher and you received a draft simply outlining what's happened this Parliament, you'd probably send it back saying it’s over the top and too fanciful.

Ipswich Star:

The simple truth is that there has been far too much political drama, especially over the past few weeks.

That steady delivery and graft at both the national and the local level that is so important to improving the lives of the people of this country has been made that much more difficult.

It really does need to end now and when it comes to the Conservative Party the new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is right when he says it's "unite or die.”

As an MP instinctively I want to get behind my leader. However, even bearing in mind the extremely difficult circumstances the previous Prime Minister had to operate within, it’s difficult to characterise the premiership of Liz Truss as anything other than extremely disappointing.

Ultimately, I was pleased that it came to an end this week and in Rishi Sunak we have a Prime Minister ideally suited to the challenges ahead. 

In addition, the Conservative party has once again made history by electing the first British Prime Minister of Indian heritage and the first that follows the Hindu faith; significant milestones that should be celebrated.

As PM Liz Truss was right to base her economic decisions on medium to long term gains, not just the next day's polling.

She was right to want to cut taxes and she was right to show urgency in promoting growth and introducing the energy price guarantee. However, the way in which she and the Government went about introducing her policies was deeply flawed.

The sad reality was that the Prime Minister didn't take the country, the markets or the Parliamentary Party with her. By the time she started junking key elements of her leadership platform, it was clear she was Prime Minister in name only and her position wasn't sustainable.

She deserved some credit for realising the situation could not continue and took the decision to resign and minimised any further political instability.

Clearly the Conservative Party hasn't covered itself in glory over the past few months, but at least when we know it's clearly not working with a leader, we tend to do something about it.

This makes some contrast with the Labour Party who ended up being stuck with Jeremy Corbyn for years.

For me, the moment Liz Truss announced her resignation there was only one candidate for the job.

On the economy over the past few weeks Rishi Sunak has been absolutely vindicated. Virtually everything he's said, and all the warnings he made, were 100% on the money.

Add to this his record as Chancellor where he created the furlough scheme as one the most effective employment support schemes in the world during the pandemic, and you have someone who is uniquely qualified for the challenges ahead.

I spoke to the current Prime Minister on Friday and shortly after I announced my public support for him.  Looking at the array of options for me Rishi Sunak was the only sensible one.

The idea of a Boris Johnson return for me was a non-starter; particularly so soon after his exit. The Privileges Committee investigation still hangs over him and Party unity would have been incredibly difficult had he come back.

Although an admirer I stand by my view that towards the end of his premiership his position had become untenable. Despite his formidable strengths he'd lost the support of the Parliamentary Party and that fact hasn't changed. The thing we need is more political stability.

Over the past year I’ve had to make some really big judgment calls when it comes to the leadership of my Party.

I’d like to think I got some of these calls right, but sadly on reflection, and with the benefit of hindsight, I regret not throwing my support behind Rishi Sunak over the summer.

The economic challenges we face as a country are vast and the war in Ukraine shows little sign of ending anytime soon.

However, I hope and believe that when it comes to our politics, we might just be about to enter a calmer and more stable phase.

As I’ve already said earlier on in this column. The last few months have been incredibly difficult ones for the Conservative Party and I entirely sympathise with the deep frustration felt by many of my constituents, which includes Conservative voters and members.

But I will not be taking lectures from the local Labour Party who, on two separate occasions, fought to install Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister.

Heaven knows where we’d be as a country right now if they had got their way and a Putin apologist had been our Leader during these perilous times.

Already Rishi has left his mark. During his first few speeches, he has emphasised the importance of “compassion” in politics and ensuring this is at the forefront of decision making.

Alongside this, his emphasis on both a world class education system that focuses on apprenticeships and skills, as well as mentioning the importance of tackling illegal immigration on the steps of Number 10 is very much welcomed.

I am incredibly vocal on both those issues and it is encouraging to see strong direction being taken.

It is also worth noting that the new Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, is the first in history to be an Apprentice and I know will be a real champion for them. It’s difficult to put into words the contrast between the two administrations.

Since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister earlier this week there has been a transformation of the atmosphere within the Parliamentary Party.

For the first time in a long time we feel unified and buoyant. The Prime Minister’s performance at Prime Minister’s Questions this week made it clear to all viewing that we now have a leader and Prime Minister of the first order and he has my full and unwavering support.

As the new Prime Minister acknowledged in his speech outside Number 10, mistakes have been made, but in Rishi Sunak I truly believe we have every chance of putting them right.