Music Tourism Boost for the Welsh Economy

Every year, Cardiff’s local economy is boosted by live music and the arrival of music tourists. I’ve campaigned to promote and protect our live music scene in Cardiff Central throughout my time as your MP.

UK Music’s annual report has just been published confirming that in the last year, over half a million music tourists came to Wales. This contributed £218 million to the economy, supporting nearly 2,500 jobs in Wales.

You can read UK Music’s report about music tourism’s contribution to the economy in full here.

Protecting Your Home During the Holidays

Now that the school term has drawn to a close, some families may be thinking of spending some time away. South Wales Police are running a campaign reminding people of simple tips to keep your home and belongings safe:

Never leave your front door unlocked.
Don’t leave windows open in unoccupied rooms, especially in those which are easily accessed from public areas.
Don’t leave valuables on show – a burglar likes to know that entering will be worthwhile.
When sorting the garden ready for the summer, don’t leave your equipment out when you are inside or aren’t at home - lock it up securely.
If you’re going on holiday and planning to post on social media, ensure your posts aren’t public. You may be advertising that your home is empty.
Also set your burglar alarm if you have one and consider setting lights and/or a radio on a timer.

Click here for more information on protecting your home from crime.

Adamsdown Primary School Inspection Report

As a regular visitor to Adamsdown Primary School with local Adamsdown Councillors
Owen Llewellyn Jones and Grace Ferguson-Thorne, I’m not in the least bit surprised to read their exemplary Estyn report.

“Staff create a warm and welcoming place where it’s diverse school community thrives.”

“Pupils are ambitious, respectful and very happy. The strong partnership with parents and nurturing ethos of the school ensure that all pupils feel safe and develop a strong sense of belonging. The thoughtful approach to meeting pupils’ individual needs improves their life chances and raises their aspiration.”

Congratulations to Headteacher Mrs Emma Thomas and all staff, pupils, parents, carers and governors on an excellent report. You should be rightly proud.

Read the report in full here.

Cost of Living Advice Hub

The cost of living crisis continues to hit families across Cardiff Central.

I want to make it as easy as possible for residents to access any help you may entitled to, so I've put together a cost of living advice hub. this includes links to support for gas, electricity and water bills, and any benefits or discounts you may be entitled to.

Cost of living advice hub

In Parliament

Welsh Questions

At this month's Welsh Questions, I took the opportunity to highlight the success of our Welsh Labour government and our Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething MS, for their success in boosting economic growth in Wales through attracting an additional 3,000 jobs here in the past year.

This is in contrast to the mismanagement of the UK economy by the Conservative UK government and their failures over thirteen years on delivering new energy infrastructure to create jobs, keep bills down and tackle climate change.

Watch my questions in full here.

Celebrating Women MPs

There have only ever been 561 women MPs elected since some women gained the right to vote in 1918. I’m the 426th woman elected to Parliament. Very few women have been elected in Wales and sadly, Ann Clwyd, the former MP for Cynon Valley recently passed away.

Ann was a trailblazer. As the first woman elected to a South Wales valleys constituency and at one stage the only woman MP in Wales, Ann was a powerful and principled campaigner both for her constituents and for the international humanitarian causes that she advocated so effectively for.

I will always remember Ann as a proud Welsh and European woman and will miss her wise and supportive advice.

Watch my tribute in full here.

75 Years of Our NHS

This month, we celebrated the 75th birthday of our National Health Service.

Those values that Aneurin Bevan held so dear - universal health care free at the point of use - are just as important today as they were in 1948.

Labour will always support our NHS.

Watch my tribute at the dispatch box here.

Tory Mortgage Bombshell

Households across the UK work incredibly hard to buy their own homes and pay off their mortgages only to find themselves clobbered by rising interest rates caused by the reckless Tory mini-budget in September.

Labour has urged the Tory Government to take responsibility for its recklessness and introduce mandatory measures on lenders to give mortgage holders the support and reassurance they need.

Watch my recent Politics Live appearance here.

Tenth Anniversary of the Same Sex Marriages Act

This month marks 10 years since the Same Sex Marriages Act received royal assent. Since then, over 42,000 same-sex marriages have taken place in England and Wales.

Everyone should be allowed to marry the person they love, and I was proud to sponsor an amendment to a Bill that extended this right to couples in Northern Ireland.

Whilst it's important to celebrate these important steps towards equality, the journey isn't yet completed. Labour will build on this legacy and deliver an equal society for all.

Restoring Trust in Politics

The stream of scandals we’ve seen from this Tory Government have undermined peoples’ trust in politicians.

Earlier this month, Labour’s Deputy Leader, Angela Rayner announced our plans to introduce an ethics watchdog that will clean up UK politics and restore integrity to our institutions.

Read our plans in full here.

Fixing Our Broken Economy

The Tories have failed to grow our economy over their thirteen years in power so it isn't really a surprise that we have the highest inflation in the G7.

The UK has low productivity, low wages and low growth but the Prime Minister and his government seems content to let us continue down their path of managed decline

Under a Labour government, we will have a consistent, stable government that will be good for the economy and interest rates, with strong fiscal rules, respect for economic institutions and our Office for Value for Money.

Listen to my recent contribution to Radio 4’s Westminster Hour here.

Selby and Ainsty By-Election

On 20th July, voters in Selby and Ainsty called time on Rishi Sunak's Tory Government by electing Labour candidate Keir Mather, in Sunak’s backyard in North Yorkshire, with an historic swing of more than 23% from the Tories to Labour.

Selby shows how far the Labour Party can go. We’ve seen people put their trust in Labour – many for the first time.

It's clear that there are no ‘no go’ areas for Labour. But there's no room for complacency, we stand ready to fight for every vote in constituencies everywhere.

Click here to hear my BBC Wales radio interview.

Windrush Day Commemorations

We owe the Windrush Generation a huge debt of gratitude. It was an honour to join Windrush families and Unison members at an event in Parliament this month celebrating the 75th anniversary of their arrival on HMT Windrush.

Many of the Windrush generation have been badly let down by the UK Conservative government’s flawed and inhumane immigration policy. In 2018, it emerged that the government had not properly recorded the details of people granted permission to stay in the UK, and many had been wrongly deported.

The next Labour Government will fix the flawed Windrush compensation scheme and ensure those affected by these injustices receive the compensation they are owed and deserve.

Plastic Free July

Last year, I took part in the Big Plastic Count and the results were astonishing. I try very hard to recycle as much as I can and to limit my use of single-use plastics - but sometimes it's unavoidable.

In one week, despite my best efforts, I still used 21 pieces of single-use plastic. That’s the equivalent of 1,092 pieces a year.

We’ve seen a lot of positive action, but the truth is we all need to do more to reduce our dependence on plastics. Small steps make a big difference.

Find out more about how you can reduce your plastic usage here.

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