OXFORDSHIRE’s newest MP Nicola Blackwood took her place in the House of Commons for the first time this week.

The Conservative MP for Oxford West and Abingdon admitted feeling a little overwhelmed as she entered the chamber.

“I thought ‘my goodness, I’m one of the people making the big decisions now, so I had better get it right’,” she said.

“There was a really hopeful mood after all the uncertainty of the week before.”

And, despite not being able to bag a seat, Miss Blackwood said she had a great view of proceedings.

“I was sat on the stairs, squeezed in between quite a few MPs,” she said. “But it was a centre court seat.”

Miss Blackwood’s victory over former Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris by just 176 votes was one of election night’s big shocks.

Miss Blackwood said the past two weeks had been an amazing experience, if a little unexpected.

She added: “People are beginning to settle down and offices are being allocated on the basis of seniority. There’s a hot desk system in the committee rooms and we’re on wi-fi and doing emails and our case work.”