Working class Eddie won't just toe the party line
He admits he felt like a tourist during his first few weeks in Parliament, but now Eddie Hughes says he is settling into life as an MP who challenges his own party as well as the opposition.
In June the Walsall North MP became the first Conservative to be elected in the constituency since 1976, when he brought to an end Labour's David Winnick's 38-year domination of the seat.
But entering Parliament after the snap General Election, the 48-year-old says he was like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
He struggled to get used to the 'equality' of the members' tea room, on one occasion worrying that he might 'say something stupid' when one of his political heroes John Redwood came and joined him for a cuppa.
Another time he was reading at mass in Westminster when he looked up to see Jacob Rees-Mogg staring back at him from the congregation.
But now 100 days into the job, he says he has entered what he calls the 'let's get down to business' phase.
WATCH Eddie Hughes give his take on parliamentary life 100 days after the election
And according to Mr Hughes, that means representing his constituents - if not always the wishes of the Conservative Party.
"I'm not just there to go along with the party line, I'm there to represent the people of Willenhall and Bloxwich," he told me, speaking at his constituency office in Willenhall.
"By the same token I owe my place in Parliament to the party so I don't want to continually overstep the line. I'd like to be known as a challenging MP, rather than one the party can always count on to do whatever they want."
Mr Hughes is anything but your stereotypical Tory MP, and in some respects he says it is a miracle he ever became a politician.
The son of Irish immigrants - his father was a bus driver in Birmingham - little Eddie was one of six lads and grew up wanting to be a car mechanic or a builder.
He passed the 11-plus and went to grammar school, which meant: "Instead of working on the building site as a bricklayer I got a job there as a civil engineer."
At university he had a passing interest in politics, but his passion developed after graduation when he went to night school to do A-levels in Economics and Politics.
"My politics lecturer told me I should be actively interested in politics," he said. "He told me to take three manifestos home and decide which party is for you."
The first time he voted was for Labour, but he said after reading the manifestos he realised he was a closet Conservative.
It was a decision that never sat well with his father, who Eddie says was always happier introducing his brother Des - a Labour councillor - at family functions.
"I'm not exactly the black sheep of the family but that's how it has felt at times," he said.
"I always thought the Conservatives were on the side of hardworking people. It seemed like a very straight choice to me."
Mr Hughes joined the party, bumped into 'the ball of energy' that is Walsall councillor Mike Bird, who got him out delivering leaflets and before he knew it he was standing as a councillor.
He was first elected to Walsall Council in 1999, but wanted to become an MP because he thought it would give him the chance 'to do more for people'.
Although his first crack at Parliament in 2005 was unsuccessful, he says he always felt he had a good chance of winning Walsall North this year from the moment he got the nomination.
He says that although he was conscious of the fact that he needed to 'defeat history' to win the seat, he always thought he was 'the right fit' for it.
"I'm a working class lad," he said. "There's nothing posh about me.
"I completely understand what life here is like and when I knock people's doors I think they just see me as one of them, because I am one of them."
Being 'one of them' means fighting for Brexit, he says, opining that most people are desperate for politicians to 'just get on with it'.
"What people call 'hard Brexit' is what the people of Willenhall and Bloxwich just call Brexit," said Mr Hughes, who campaigned for Leave in the EU referendum.
"I have incredible faith in our country. I'm backing the people of Britain. We are a great nation that will be able to cope outside of the EU.
"It will be bumpy, but I think when we look back in years to come we will reflect on the fact that we really did make the right decision."
Mr Hughes' early days in Westminster have seen him raise a 10-minute rule bill aiming to make carbon monoxide detectors mandatory in social housing buildings - an issue he is passionate about having spent years working for Walsall Housing Group.
He has also been outspoken in his views on the public sector pay cap, arguing that nurses already get a good deal compared with many working people in his constituency.
"I appreciate that nurses work really hard, but if we are going to pay them more we would have to raise taxes, which means taking money off plumbers, painters and hairdressers to give to the nurses.," he said.
"Let's make that part of the discussion. I want the Government to help everyone rather than focus on specific groups."
However, it's not all hard graft, although Mr Hughes said that up to now he has managed to avoid Parliament's famous bars.
"I'm much more excited about the fact that I've joined the Commons gym," he said with a smile.
"It's nice to be able to go there rather than be drawn to the bars too often."
