A view from Clwyd South’s Member of the Senedd

Wrexham.com has invited Wrexham & Clwyd South Members of Parliament and Assembly Members to write a monthly article with updates on their work in their respective Parliaments and closer to home – you can find them all here.

In his column for September, Clwyd South’s MS writes:

I was proud to represent Clwyd South when His Majesty Charles III visited the Senedd earlier this month on his first visit to Wales since becoming King.

The loss of Queen Elizabeth II has been devastating for many people in all parts of the United Kingdom, and my thoughts continue to be with her family during this incredibly difficult time.

I was pleased to have the opportunity to pay my own tribute to the Queen during a special sitting of the Senedd on September 11.

To unite people is perhaps the most important duty that anyone in authority can fulfil, and few have done it better than Her Majesty. The people of the UK, the Commonwealth and beyond have lost a Queen who was the rock of stability in our often troubled times.

You can watch my short tribute in full here.

I held my first advice surgery for constituents since the summer break at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre on Friday, and will be holding two more in October. More are planned after half-term.

North Wales Police will be joining me to discuss any police matters constituents would like to raise.

My October surgeries will be at:

• Plas Pentwyn, Coedpoeth on Friday, October 7 (10am-11am)
• Overton Village Hall on Friday, October 21 (3pm-4pm)

Appointments are not required, but please note these surgeries are only for those who live in Clwyd South. If you live elsewhere, you can find out who your local Member of the Senedd is here: https://senedd.wales/find-a-member-of-the-senedd/

I was delighted to be invited to speak at the Labour Party conference about the importance of cross-border collaboration.

Together with my Senedd colleague Carolyn Thomas MS, I outlined how important the Mersey Dee Alliance is in driving better transport links across the region. We desperately need an upgrade to the Wrexham-Liverpool line so that trains can run every 15 minutes. We also need investment in the industries of the future, including zero carbon aircraft development.

Working across borders, we can build a stronger economy and a better connected super region which would benefit the whole of North Wales and the North West of England.

Since my last column, my constituency engagements have included a police patrol with Sgt Nathan Harvey of the Wrexham Rural policing team.

The patrol included visits to Brymbo, Cefn Mawr, Coedpoeth, Johnstown, Penycae, Rhos and Ruabon. It was an interesting morning, and it was great to get out with Nathan and get an idea of what our frontline officers are dealing with day to day in keeping the public safe.

Thankfully, we weren’t called to respond to anything serious, but it was a really good opportunity to catch up and discuss some of the current issues officers are tackling in our area.

Last week, I attended the annual general meeting of AVOW (the Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham) along with my colleague Lesley Griffiths MS.

We heard a fantastic speech from First Minister Mark Drakeford, who highlighted the amazing work of those local groups and volunteers who went above and beyond so heroically during the worst of the pandemic. I was proud to be a part of the event.

I was also pleased to visit Micro Materials, an innovative and world-leading technology company based at Yale Business Village.

Micro Materials is a superb small business with an incredible global reach. While the company’s custom-built headquarters are in Wrexham, it has support bases all over the world – including the US, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, China and India.

This week I will be attending a cost-of-living summit at Plas Madoc Leisure Centre, organised by local organisation TCC (Together Creating Communities); speaking at a celebration event for disability charity Leonard Cheshire in Dolywern and joining the latest meeting of the Kronospan stakeholder group along with representatives of Wrexham Council, Chirk Town Council and Unite the Union.

If you need advice or support, please email [email protected] and include your home address and a contact number. You can also find regular updates on my Facebook page and subscribe to my regular e-newsletters here or email me.