New Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans Daisy Cooper will be helping foodbanks and running her first constituency surgery in the run-up to Christmas.

Daisy is the first Liberal Democrat MP for St Albans - defeating Conservative opponent and former MP Anne Main by more than 6,000 votes in the General Election last week.

She said: "I'm delighted to be St Albans' first ever Lib Dem MP and I'm raring to go. My urgent priority locally is to tackle business rates, because while businesses are OK over the Christmas period, a number of them are very fearful about whether they'll be able to stay open from January onwards.

"Nationally, the Liberal Democrats will lead efforts to scrutinise the Conservative government's Brexit plans from day one.

"The government has indicated it's bringing the withdrawal agreement bill forward and is refusing to extend the transition period next year, which means there are only two likely scenarios - either we're going to get a bad deal or we're going to crash out without a deal.

"Liberal Democrats will continue to work cross-party to fight for a close deal with our closest partners in the EU."

When asked on election night what she would be doing during her first week as MP, Daisy said she wanted to help the St Albans and District Foodbank during the Christmas period.

Anyone who is able to donate £10 supermarket vouchers for Tesco, Sainsbury's or Morrisons is asked to drop them into the local Lib Dem office collection point at 9 Hatfield Road, above Veer Dhara.

After the election results were announced, Daisy made a speech thanking those who voted for her. She said: "To all of the voters in St Albans, you put your trust in me. Some of you have voted enthusiastically, some have voted tactically - I am aware of that. And I take your trust in me very seriously. So, thank you."

Daisy will also hold her first constituency surgery for residents at St Albans Library on Saturday, December 21.

The surgery is an opportunity for residents to raise matters of personal concern, either local or national, on a one-to-one basis.

The 15-minute meetings are being held, by appointment, between 10am and midday. To book an appointment email daisy.cooper.stalbans@gmail.com