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On the anniversary of Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, Keir Starmer came to Cardiff to meet staff at BCB International who have increased their production of life saving protective equipment to support
the war-effort in Ukraine.
We met Ukrainians who came to safety here in Cardiff because of the war, who now work at BCB International.
After touring the factory and meeting with staff, we met with Ukrainian refugees who have made their home in Cardiff together with volunteers who have helped support them.
You can read more about their stories here.
One year on since Putin's illegal invasion, Wales’s solidarity with Ukraine and its people is unwavering.
Watch the video of our visit here.
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Cardiff’s Labour Council has announced its next budget, which will safeguard schools and education, create new jobs, build much-needed council homes, and is designed to help Cardiff become a Stronger,
Fairer, Greener city.
The funding includes:
• £510m investment in social housing including new council homes
• £282m on new school builds and £40.2m on existing school infrastructure
• £108.2m to improve transport infrastructure
• £38.3m to address flooding and coastal erosion
• £7.7m investment in parks and playgrounds
• £22.0m for neighbourhood improvements
• £3.7m investment in leisure centres
Read the proposals in full here.
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It was great to get the chance to visit ‘We Are Here, Because You Were There’, a photography exhibition focusing on the lives of Afghan interpreters living in the UK, with my Welsh Labour colleague,
Jessica Morden MP.
The exhibition combines the photography of Andy Barnham with the thought-provoking case-studies provided by Dr Sara de Jong of the trauma that interpreters and their families have faced whilst serving alongside
NATO forces and later when they were forced to escape their homes in Afghanistan.
The exhibition is being displayed at Ffotogallery in Cathays until March 25th.
Find out more here.
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I was invited to join students at St David’s Catholic College in Penylan who were celebrating their 30 different nationalities and cultures this month. Students dressed up, brought food and danced, sang
and celebrated. It was a fantastic, happy occasion that represented everything that is wonderful about our city and its future potential – all in one room!
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Every year I celebrate Heart Unions week with my Albany Road office team. The week is designed to showcase the benefits of being in a trade union.
Rights at work that we take for granted today have been hard fought and won by generations of trade unionists. From weekends to holiday pay, pensions to sick pay, union victories have benefitted us all.
Unionised workplaces are better paid and safer workplaces. If you’re not in a trade union you can find the union most suitable for you to join here.
Watch my heart unions message here.
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Since the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the support of the Welsh people has been incredible. So far, the Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal has raised more than £3 million in Wales alone.
Unfortunately, the need for humanitarian aid remains significant with many left homeless, without food or water. Please give (if able) a donation to help DEC member charities on the ground to reach more people.
Donate here.
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This month marks 100 years since the BBC first broadcast from Wales from a building on the junction of Womanby Street and Castle Street at 5pm on 13 February 1923.
I am incredibly proud that Cardiff Central remains the home of BBC Radio Wales and its tremendous talent both in front and behind the microphone.
Read more here.
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My advice surgery dates for March are now confirmed. These are an opportunity for anyone living in Cardiff Central to come and chat to me about any issue you might need assistance with or, to ask any question
you have about my work in Parliament and here, on your behalf.
You can see my full plan of surgeries dates online using the link below – please call my office on 029 2132 9736 – or email me at [email protected] to make an appointment.
• Friday 3rd March – Pentwyn
• Friday 17th March – Plasnewydd & Roath
My team and I can also help over email and telephone and you’re very welcome to get in touch.
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Please follow my social media channels to keep up-to-date with my latest work in Cardiff Central and Parliament.
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In case you missed it, our latest Welsh Labour Party Political Broadcast was shown on Thursday 16th February and it was great to work with Keir and our general election candidates in Vale of Glamorgan, Monmouth
and Wrexham putting it together.
You can watch it here.
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President Zelenskyy is the man of the moment with the message of the moment. It was a privilege to attend his powerful Westminster Hall address where he thanked the people of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern
Ireland for their continued support for Ukraine and its people.
The UK remains united in solidarity with Ukraine as they continue the fight against Putin’s aggression.
Watch the speech in full here.
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Labour’s five missions for a better Britain will form the foundations of the next UK Labour Government. They will help Britain break free from the cycle of sticking plaster politics which we have come
to expect from the Tories and will restore our confidence as a nation.
Our missions will be built on a foundation of a stable economy and will usher in a decade of national renewal. A UK Labour Government will:
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Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7
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Make Britain a clean energy superpower
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Build an NHS fit for the future
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Break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage
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Make Britain’s streets safe
Each mission is laser-targeted on the complex problems holding us back. To overcome them we will need a sharp break from business as usual and a new approach to government.
People are crying out for a new Britain with a new way of governing. Under Labour they will get both.
Read our plan in full here.
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It was such a thrill to welcome Ashley Dalton MP to Parliament alongside my Labour parliamentary colleagues after her victory in West Lancashire by-election.
Ashley will be a brilliant representative for her community and the Labour Party.
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The Tories have gone soft on crime, leaving millions of victims paying the price. Their failures have seen arrests, charges and cautions collapse. That’s because in 13 years of government they have cut
20,000 police staff including thousands of neighbourhood police from our streets.
Parents across Cardiff Central tell me they worry about their children playing in local parks or being targeted online. Pensioners worry about scams or being robbed in the street. Businesses worry about being
targeted by thieves or vandals. We see knife crime, women feel less safe in their communities and antisocial behaviour ruins peoples’ daily lives without consequence. We all deserve better.
Safer streets will be one of Labour’s five key missions. We will:
• Prevent crime by rebuilding policing with 13,000 extra neighbourhood officers and PCSOs on our streets.
• Punish anti-social behaviour by letting victims choose how offenders pay back their communities through Community Payback.
• Protect the public by introducing tougher sentences to deter crime.
Read our full plan here.
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Our young people are ambitious for their futures and want to learn new skills to get new jobs, or progress at work. But they are being let down, because the Tories have failed to equip individuals and the
economy with the skills to meet our national challenges, including transition to net zero and rising demand for digital skills.
To reverse this downwards trend Labour will give businesses the flexibility they’re asking for to train their workforce and deliver growth. We will start by turning the Tories’ failed apprenticeships
levy into a ‘Growth and Skills Levy’.
Read more about our plan here.
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The right to strike is a fundamental freedom in our country – but this government is determined to attack it. Their Minimum Service Levels Bill will mean that when workers democratically vote to strike,
they can be forced to work and sacked if they don’t comply.
As a life-long trade unionist and behalf of key workers across Cardiff Central, I joined my Labour colleagues in parliament to vote against this desperate and divisive attack on working people.
Watch
my recent Sharp End discussion on this issue on ITV Wales here.
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Football clubs are more than businesses. In my previous role as Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, I called for football to be put on a stable footing, with an independent regulator
and a proper say for fans.
Football reform has support across Parliament, and across the country but it has taken over 15 months for the Government to finally publish a football white paper. In this time, Derby County nearly went under,
Oldham Athletic was relegated, Chelsea changed hands and Manchester United, Newcastle, Liverpool and Bournemouth were all put up for sale. The Premier League and EFL still haven’t reached a deal on
finances. And now a European Super League 2.0 is back on the table.
As football fans we are desperate for a say on the future of our clubs and the game. We can‘t afford further delays. The Government should urgently bring forward legislation, or take responsibility for
any clubs that go under, spiral into decline or which are bought by unsuitable new owners.
Read Labour’s plan here.
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I met representatives from Cancer Research UK in Parliament to mark World Cancer Day and discuss the future of cancer care.
We’ve come a long way in the treatment of cancer, but there’s so much further to go. The work Cancer Research UK helps to fund is vital in unlocking new and better ways to beat the disease. It’s
also crucial that politicians work together to ensure the patients of today and tomorrow have the best possible chance of survival.
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There’s a fantastic exhibition on in Parliament at the moment. The Love Earth Project is a community textile project made of panels demonstrating things we care about and which are at risk through environmental breakdown. The project is open to all ages, and anyone can get involved. Of the textile panels on display, these were my favourites.
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