Edward Davey has pledged to continue campaigning on Kingston issues after landing his "dream job" in the cabinet.

He became Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when Chris Huhne resigned to fight charges of perverting the course of justice over a speeding offence nine years ago.

Mr Davey, who became business minister after the election, immediately found himself battling Conservative back benchers demanding cuts to wind farm subsidies.

Speaking to the Surrey Comet shortly after his first cabinet meeting on Tuesday, where he sat next to new transport minister Justine Greening, he said it was "very exciting".

Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt gave him a copy of Little Dorrit to mark Charles Dickens’ bi-centenary, but Mr Davey said he did not know what conclusions to draw from the choice.

Little Dorrit is a satire on the shortcomings of mismanaged government and blunders which led to the death of soldiers at the Battle of Balaclava.

Mr Davey has told civil servants he wants to keep his routine of twice-weekly constituency advice sessions, but cancelled a surgery on Monday to visit a testing site for green homes with Nick Clegg.

He said: "In opposition, the last reshuffle before the election I had asked Nick for the opposition spokesman role on energy and climate change, because it was one of the reasons why I joined the Liberal Democrats."

Both Mr Davey’s parents died when he was a child in Nottingham, and he said his background enabled him to empathise with people who suffer misfortune through no fault of their own.

At Oxford University, Mr Davey campaigned for increased recycling and against pot holes as part of the Student Ecology Group, which he rebranded Green Action.

He said he was always from the "hard headed" side of the environmental movement, and wanted to concentrate on creating a green economy with green jobs, and tackling high energy bills.

He said he was a "very different" person to his combative predecessor who battled with the Treasury to protect green priorities, but said he had a track record of securing funds to protect post offices.

See edwarddavey.co.uk for dates of future advice sessions.