Matthew Hancock, Conservative MP for West Suffolk, looks back on his week — failing to see the Queen, the confusion and idiosyncrasies of Westminster and a “squirming” Liam Byrne.

The funny thing about the glorious regalia of the Queen's Speech is that most MPs never get to see the main part of the action.

I was hoping I might, for the first time, actually set eyes on the Queen.

So there I was, I'd made it to Parliament, the Queen was yards away delivering her speech, and we newly elected MPs were pressed in a pack half way down the corridor, with crowing necks and hands cupped over our ears.

Some tall ones stood on tip-toes and could see the action. But most of us had to read the speech later to find out what it said.

Such is the life of a new MP. We are gradually making some sort of rhythm in a bewildering process. Most people think that those of us who have worked in Westminster know our way around. Nothing could be further from the truth: nothing can prepare you for the confusion and idiosyncrasies of life here. IPSA aside, the whips and authorities have been very helpful. And the sheer scale of the new intake helps too as there are many others in the same boat. As the saying goes, we are all in it together.

Amid the chaos, the excitement is palpable. The Tory benches were packed for David Laws' first outing at the dispatch box. He certainly dispatched Alistair Darling and the other Labour attacks. You get much more of a sense of the raw politics in the chamber than on the TV. I will not forget the pained squirming of Liam Byrne on the opposition frontbench as we relentlessly reminded him of the truth he had told of the nation's finances — there is no money.

And then, on Friday, to Haverhill for my first Surgery. Released from the intensity of Westminster, I find this constituency work incredibly satisfying, directly helping people to solve sometimes desperate problems. It's rewarding stuff, and a privilege to use the famous green headed notepaper that can help people who are at the end of their tether. And it puts Westminster into perspective. It doesn't really matter after all that I still haven't set eyes on the Queen.