A view from Clwyd South’s Member of Parliament

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South Members of Parliament and Assembly Members to write a monthly article with updates on their work in Parliament and the Senedd, and closer to home. This is the first in this new series!

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes writes…

It was the greatest honour of my life to be elected as the MP for Clwyd South just over two months ago and I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor Susan Elan-Jones. Susan served Clwyd South with distinction for almost ten years as our MP and I have always much admired her strong sense of integrity, kindness and concern for others.

For me these past two months have been eventful to say the least: settling into parliament, attending events and holding surgeries in Clwyd South combined with the unexpected death of my mother on 7th January. After a fall on New Year’s Day at her home in the north of Powys, my mother was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and died six days later. She was fortunate in going quickly and with little pain at the fine age of 87 but it was nevertheless a shock for all of us in my family. But this is an experience shared with many others in Clwyd South and the days that I spent in hospital with her at the end only increased my respect for the ability of the NHS to contend with sudden medical crises and for the kindness of the staff who looked after my mother.

Over the last two months Clwyd South has seen more than its fair share of exceptional events with the fire at the Kronospan factory in Chirk and the effects of Storms Ciara and Dennis. I have tried to make myself available to people affected by these events by, for instance, holding an 8 hour advice surgery in Chirk on 11th January to listen to residents’ concerns after the fire and by visiting on 14th February some of the areas worst hit by the storms such as Bangor-on-Dee and the Ceiriog Valley. There are lessons to be learned from these events and over the coming weeks I will continue to work hard, including across political parties, to make sure that real and substantial improvements are made to lessen problems in the future.

There is so much to celebrate in the businesses, organisations and communities of Clwyd South. As an MP my job is to listen to people’s problems and do my best to resolve them but it is also to support and promote people’s successes. I attended my first event in the constituency on the day I was elected, 13th December, which was the Esclusham Senior Citizens Christmas Party by kind invitation of local County Cllr Mark Pritchard who is also Leader of Wrexham Council. Since then I have enjoyed events across the constituency, including a visit to the Llangollen Steam Railway’s Corwen extension project and to the Overton Playcentre. I also try my best to visit small businesses such as Kerry Mackay’s workshop in Llangollen making Scrubbies, her very successful bio-degradable cleaning pads which she has invented. In parliament I attend events relating to Clwyd South such as the recent Macmillan Cancer Support event and the reception given by the Inland Waterways Association to which the Llangollen Canal belongs.

Looking ahead, we are opening this week my new Clwyd South MP’s office on the Vauxhall Industrial Estate between Johnstown and Ruabon. I have surgeries coming up on Saturday 29th February in Overton at the Village Hall (10am – 12pm) and Rhos at the Stiwt (2-4pm) and the programme of surgeries for March will be published later this week.

I am looking forward to making my maiden speech in the coming weeks which will focus on Clwyd South and to starting work as a member of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee to which I was recently elected. If you would like to visit parliament, please contact me and I would be very pleased to arrange this for you. I am here to serve everyone in Clwyd South regardless of their political affiliation so please don’t hesitate to contact me (all details below) if I can be of any help on any matter.

Simon Baynes MP

Email: [email protected]
Website: www.simonbaynes.co.uk

Unit 13
Big Padlock Business Centre
Vauxhall Business Park
Ruabon
Wrexham LL14 6HA

07826 711048 (we will provide a landline number very soon)

House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA
020 7219 3709