THE recess for the party conferences continues.

After spending a week in the constituency catching up with casework and advice surgeries, I am, as I write, midway through a week-long whirlwind four country trip.

Eight months into my role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, I am meeting senior business leaders and politicians in Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan to promote British financial services.

My schedule takes in more than 50 meetings, media interviews and speeches over six days – interspersed with more than 36 hours flying time.

It is pretty intense and leaves me no leeway for jetlag (!) but this is work that I feel very privileged to be doing. Memorably, I have met with the Finance Ministers of both Indonesia and Malaysia.

While the ultimate outcome of the Brexit negotiations remains unclear, no one can be in any doubt that, however things play out, it is in our interests to boost our ties with the rest of the world and to build on existing shared economic interests.

With 90 per cent of future global economic growth expected to take place outside the EU, there are fantastic markets for our world-leading financial services sector but we cannot sit at home and expect export opportunities to fall into our lap.

On my return to the UK, there will be no chance to catch up on sleep because, immediately, I will be off to Birmingham for the Conservative Party Conference.

I will be sticking with my ministerial brief and am due to speak at a number of events relating to financial services, high cost credit, Brexit and mortgage affordability.

The latter is a broadcast alongside Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert.

I will be somewhat relieved to get back to Salisbury at the end of next week for a few days of relative normality including visits and two surgeries – making sure that everyone who wants to talk to me can do so before the recess is over.