On my first day in the House of Commons I sat in the seat where Enoch Powell always used to sit, which felt appropriate.
Everything about parliament was designed to overawe and bring home to a young Black woman that somebody like me was not supposed to be there.
The architecture was intimidating: the building was constructed in 1870 in the gothic revival style, with 1,100 rooms, 100 staircases, three miles of passageways.
Despite the bravado of my outfit that day, in the weeks to come I sat on the green benches in the chamber of the House of Commons scarcely able to believe that I was an MP.
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