I want to begin this week reflecting a little on the outcomes of the General Election and start by thanking my colleague, David TC Davies for his incredibly hard work representing the people of Monmouthshire. For nearly twenty years David represented the Monmouth constituency in Westminster helping thousands of people over those years for which we are extremely grateful.

 Being a public servant has a unique set of challenges, not least of all the disappointment that can come from losing the privilege of representing the people you care about. 

 I want to wish David and his family all the best in whatever comes next for them. 

 I also want to congratulate Catherine Fookes on being elected Member of Parliament for the new constituency of Monmouthshire. I wish her every success as the needs of our residents must transcend any political barriers. To paraphrase the gracious and moving speech that the former Prime Minister gave, “her success is our success.”

 I have reached out offering my support to Catherine to ensure that we work together for the good of our constituents. 

 I also want to wish the new Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer and his government well as he takes up this incredibly important role. 

I do not wish to play party politics as the people of Wales deserve so much more than that. I wanted to say that I totally accept the outcome of last Thursday. I recognise that my Party was found wanting and now it's important that I and colleagues reflect hard on what we heard on the doorstep.

 I sincerely hope that the Labour Governments here in Wales and in Westminster do manage to work together to build a better Wales, a job that has proved to be a challenge so far. 

 I also want to thank the former Prime Minister for his service to the country, both as Chancellor throughout Covid and as our past Prime Minister. Under his watch, the economy was brought back to stability, inflation hit the bank of England’s target and mortgage rates were beginning to fall. 

 He has done a lot for the country, and I thank him for that. 

 I want to echo Rishi Sunak’s sentiment and highlight the need for the Conservative Party to effectively rebuild and offer a strong opposition to the Labour Party in Westminster as a good opposition and good scrutiny is fundamental to good governance.