FIVE new Cumbrian MPs have made their way to Parliament this week - with the county's Labour MPs joining 335 other new MPs in their first day on the job.

Michelle Scrogham (Barrow and Furness), Lizzi Collinge (Morecambe and Lunesdale), Josh MacAlister (Whitehaven and Workington), Markus Campbell-Savours (Penrith and Solway) and Julie Minns (Carlisle) were all in the chamber on Tuesday as the Labour party took to the government benches for the first time in 14 years.

They were also joined by Cumbrian veteran MP Liberal Democrat Tim Farron.

The six saw the speaker elected for the Parliament and party leaders give their speeches for the first time in the chamber since the election.

Barrow and Furness MP Michelle Scrogham said: “It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, so much has happened from not knowing what your next five years are going to look like on Thursday evening to suddenly all of your life has changed, it’s quite a whirlwind change and difference.”

Lizzi Collinge MP, who represents areas of Cumbria such as Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh echoed the Barrow MPs remarks of the experience being an ‘absolute whirlwind.

She said: “It’s such an honour to be in Westminster but if I’m honest I feel like there has been a lot of procedure, a lot of inductions and I feel like I want to be getting cracked on and doing some actual work.

“We feel like we are at the beginning of something really important, the Prime Minister spoke today about public service and that is what this government is going to be about, that is what we as Cumbrian MPs are all about as well delivering for our constituents.”

Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister said he was ‘looking forward to raising issues’ he raised within his campaign, something he has already started to do writing letters to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority  and Great British Nuclear to try to bring new nuclear to West Cumbria.

Speaking of his first time in the chamber, Josh said: “It’s completely surreal, you are sat there with these really famous icons of Parliament from both the Labour benches and Conservative benches and then you have these moments of ‘Oh my Gosh I am sat a row behind this person’ it is incredibly special and is going to take a lot to get used to I think.”

Carlisle MP Julie Minns was blown away by the parliamentary proceedings which took place in the chamber.

She said: “It’s been a busy couple of days starting really early yesterday, catching the train down here with Josh and then it’s been back-to-back induction meetings, lots and lots of briefings, picking up our IT kits which has been an absolute joy because it all works- which I think is a little bit unusual when you start a new job.

“This afternoon has been a real highlight watching the new speaker be elected, watching what we have all seen on the TV about the speaker being dragged from his chair to the speaker’s seat, that is an amazing piece of parliamentary theatre but also really significant because the speaker is our champion as backbenchers in the house.

“It’s such a privilege to be here and I am absolutely delighted to be representing my home.”

A fuller report about the journey of Penrith and Solway MP Markus Campbell-Savours’ journey to Parliament will be available in this week's Times and Star, or online from July,11.