Our three MPs must make sure it is ALWAYS Doncaster first - opinion

Generations were brought up with a deep anger with the Conservatives over the closure of the mines.

Yet last week, the Don Valley constituency elected its first ever Conservative MP.

Think about that – Don Valley. Yes, it has always had Conservative enclaves, like the Finningley ward on the council. But this was a stunning switch. It had been a staunchly Brexit area. In fairness to outgoing MP Caroline Flint, she recognised this and voted for all the Brexit deals that were put before parliament.

But voters seldom look at the individual when they place their cross on the ballot paper, tending more to think about who they are likely to be putting into Downing Street. So the conclusion that leads to, is that people did not want Jeremy Corbyn in charge.

Good luck to Ms Flint in whatever she does next – she worked hard for Doncaster in her 22 years in office.

And good luck to the new MP Nick Fletcher.

Traditionally, there has been a feeling here that the Conservatives look after London and the South East.

Mr Fletcher now will have to make sure that his party looks after our interests in the same way as it does those of the home counties.

The argument over Brexit is now surely over. The election means that Boris Johnson has the majority to move forward with his plans, however split the country may be over the issue.

But there is a lot that needs to be done, Mr Fletcher will need to pick up on a lot of the projects that Ms Flint has been championing.

We hope he can help address the traditional disparity over transport funding that sees our area lose out massively on funding per person, and move forward on projects like diverting to East Coast line to take in Doncaster Sheffield Airport. Work on some of our roads bottlenecks would also be welcome.

Ultimately, we want him to put Doncaster before the political party line. And that should go for all our MPs.