Tom Gordon: meet the new Harrogate and Knaresborough MP who was inspired after his mother's breast cancer diagnosis

And it was Theresa May’s snap poll that year, which led to a hung Parliament and Brexit deadlock, that triggered Mr Gordon’s journey to the House of Commons.

“I finally thought that after a few years of sitting on the fence, shouting at the TV, generally quite unhappy with the country at large that I should do something,” he tells the Yorkshire Post.

Mr Gordon explains his motivating factor was that his mother, Adele Hayes, had suddenly been diagnosed with breast cancer, as he was about to start a masters degree.

Ms Hayes had brought himself, and his two younger sisters, up as a single parent in Knottingley, West Yorkshire, he says.

“I, somewhat naively, presumed that when things go wrong there was a safety net there to help people and look after them,” he explains.

“The realities of her being a single parent, trying to work a minimum wage job, pay the household bills, keep the mortgage and support her kids - trying to do all of that with cancer - led me to do my degree part time.”

Mr Gordon saysthis experience lit a fire in him: “Mum had always worked, played by the rules and when it came to it that help and support wasn’t really there for her. I thought we’re going through this on the family side of things, I should probably try and do something about it.”

While finishing his masters degree, he became a Liberal Democrat councillor in Newcastle, before moving home to be elected as councillor in Wakefield. Thankfully, his mother recovered from breast cancer, and she followed him onto the council. 

“It’s normally down the generations, not up,” Mr Gordon explains, beaming with pride. “I remember when she first got elected she was absolutely terrified of speaking in front of the council - it’s been great to see her growth politically.

“It’s nice that I can share the politics of my life with her. For me, I am where I am because of my Mum.”

He says during the general election Ms Hayes was “an absolute stalwart making sure the small army of activists were well fed”. And it worked, as Mr Gordon defeated Andrew Jones, who had been the Tory MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough since 2010.

He remembers visiting the constituency as a boy for the Great Yorkshire Show and marvelling at the beautiful houses: “It was the epitome of where you end up if you do well. Now I’ve got the absolute privilege of representing somewhere that’s been on my doorstep as I’ve grown up.”

Now he’s in Parliament, Mr Gordon is focused on healthcare, dentistry and the environment, particularly the sewage crisis. He also says he wants to improve social mobility, explains: “When you look at working class men and boys they don’t have the same opportunities, particularly in the North.

“One of the reasons I joined the Liberal Democrats is because we believe in giving power down to the people, and that’s certainly how I see my role as an MP.”