If truth be told I’m a bit of a fitness fanatic. 5 or 6 mornings a week I go for a run or to the gym. So I thought a trip to the New Parks Community Boxing Gym would be a piece of cake.

I couldn’t have been more wrong! After a couple of minutes sparring I was completely exhausted. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I thought I might even be sick. Not exactly the impression I wanted to give as an aspiring politician.

But boxing has got me hooked (pardon the pun), as it has the many boys and girls who use this brilliant community resource every week. The Friday evening I went had kids of all ages, including children who are in the care system and from the local traveller community (obviously the younger ones just do the exercises and don’t actually fight). Its a great way to get fit and healthy, but it also keeps children off the street and out of trouble. Its run by Serina – a fantastic woman who’s making a real difference to families and children in the local community.

Collapsed on my sofa later that evening, I started thinking about what more we could do to help projects like this. Labour’s done a huge amount to help give children the best start in life: extending maternity leave and pay, increasing Child Benefit and tax credits, introducing Child Trust Funds and investing in new Sure Start Children’s Centres and local schools.

But life doesn’t get any easier as kids get older. In fact, most parents will tell you its tougher looking after teenagers, especially trying to find them things to do after school and in the evenings.

So, how about this as an idea for the next manifesto? A new Sure Progress programme – a kind of Sure Start for teenagers – which gives young people things to do like sport and music, and also has on hand help and advice about education, training and work, and looking after your health. (I should at this point hold my hands up and say this idea is shamelessly stolen from my former colleagues at the Institute for Public Policy Research.)

They key would be to make sure this isn’t run like a typical Government initiative but a bottom-up, grass roots programme supporting organisations like the New Parks Community Gym.

I know money is tight, and public spending is going to come under a lot of pressure. But investing in something like this could benefit young people, families and communities – and save us all money in the long run.

I think one of Labour’s proudest achievements is our investment in children’s early years. When I was Director of the Maternity Alliance, I saw the difference good quality help and support can make to parents and young children, particularly if it starts very early on in life.

We’ve now got Sure Start Children’s Centres in Beaumont Leys and Stocking Farm, Braunstone, Braunstone Frith, New Parks, Rowley Fields and the West End. These are brilliant services that help improve children’s life chances and which local parents really value.

Labour has also put much needed investment into our local schools. Leicester was one of the first places to get money from the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) fund. £235m is being spent on rebuilding and transforming every secondary school in the city. The first two schools to benefit from BSF in Leicester West are Fullhurst College and the award winning school at Beaumont Leys. We’re starting to see a real difference in school results too: last year Leicester’s GCSE results improved faster than the national average.

But there’s still a long way to go. Leicester is 129th out of 151 local authorities in terms of GCSE results, and this isn’t good enough. That’s why I’m pressing for faster improvements in our schools. I’ll work with parents, teachers, councillors and the Government to make sure all parents in Leicester West have the choice to send their children to a good, local school.

Housing is one of the most important issues in this constituency. I know people don’t like it when Labour politicians talk about the problems caused by the last Conservative Government! But the truth is we’re still dealing with their failed legacy on housing: their failure to build new council houses to replace the ones people bought, and their failure to invest in maintaining the houses that remained at a decent standard.

In stark contrast, Labour has put huge investment into repairing and refurbishing rented social housing in this area. Millions of pounds have been spent on putting in new kitchens and bathrooms, tackling damp and improving insulation.

We’re now also starting to build new social housing. In January, the Government announced £2.5m for Leicester Council to build more homes, including £1m to build 23 new houses on Birkenshaw Road in New Parks. Many of these will be 2 or 3 bedroom family homes and all of them will be energy efficient. As part of this scheme, the Council will also offer new jobs and apprenticeships for local people.

I think this is brilliant news, but it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the scale of the task. That’s why I’m campaigning for schemes like the one on Birkenshaw Road across Leicester West, in the communities that most need them.

I also want to make sure people who own their own home get help through the recession. The current repossession rate is running at half that of the last recession, because of the action the Government has already taken. But we absolutely can’t afford to be complacent. That’s why last month’s announcement that homeowners in Leicester will get more help and advice is really welcome.