I said at the election that we would be a government for working people. In the 100 days since we haven't wasted a moment in demonstrating what that means – bringing in measures to make a real difference right across East Anglia.

The first thing working people need is training and apprenticeships are a proven route to a great career. In the last Parliament we created more than 2 million of them: mechanics, accountants, chefs, social workers. And in this Parliament, we've already started a drive to give 270,000 people in this region the chance to follow in their footsteps, to meet our national target of 3 million apprenticeships.

Working people need to be rewarded for the hours they put in. That means keeping more of their own money. We are an unashamedly tax-cutting government; we've raised and raised the amount you can earn before paying any tax. In the first 100 days of this Parliament, we've already legislated to put that allowance up, again, to £11,000. That alone will put more money in the pockets of over 2.8 million people in East Anglia.

Working parents need support for childcare – to know that they can take on that extra shift; go back to work after a break. That's why we're doubling free childcare to 30 hours a week for three and four year olds – giving thousands of families across this region peace of mind.

Those parents also want to know that their children will go on to get a good education. Not only that – they want them to have even greater chances than they had. In the last Parliament we overhauled failing schools. Today we have in our sights coasting schools – the ones that are just about scraping by. By introducing legislation to take them over, we will make sure every child has the tools they need to get on in life.

Working people need decent local transport, so they can get around and businesses can create jobs. Before the election we set out a series of pledges on this – and we're delivering on them. We committed to investing £4.2 billion in better transport across the East of England. We're backing the 'Ipswich in 60' and 'Norwich in 90' rail plans to improve journey times to London and have announced the shortlisted bidders for the new Great Eastern Main Line franchise to make this happen. Work on the Lowestoft Third River Crossing and Ipswich West Dock Crossing will be taken forward, with up to £4 million committed so far. And we're progressing with the £18 million scheme to make sure the Environment Agency carry out essential repairs and upgrade the flood defences along the River Yare in Great Yarmouth.

You can't build a strong economy for working people without a strong, basic Minimum Wage. And this government's been able to go further than any other by introducing National Living Wage, to reach more than £9 an hour by the end of the Parliament. It will be a pay rise of around £20 a week for the lowest paid when it's introduced in April. By the end of the decade, it will mean a wage increase for 250,000 people in this region, transforming the lives of some of the lowest paid working people in our society

We've only been able to do this because we've taken big, radical steps to cut taxes for business so they can expand and because we've reduced the cost of welfare. The purpose is clear: to make Britain 'One Nation', a country in which everyone can get on and get ahead. 100 days ago we said we were for working people; 100 days later, we've shown in East Anglia we meant exactly what we said.