My monthly newsletter for
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MY 2021-22 ANNUAL REPORT

THANK YOU FOR READING MY JULY NEWSLETTER.

 

Throughout July, I’ve been out and about in Cardiff Central
delivering my annual report to residents. It provides you with a
snapshot of my work as your Labour Member of Parliament over the past
year.

 

If you are yet to receive a copy, you will very soon – but you can
also read it online here:

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COST OF LIVING SURVEY

My cost-of-living survey will close over the next week.

I’ve heard from lots of Cardiff Central residents about how the cost
of living is really affecting people with many frustrated and angry
with the Tory UK Government for their lack of support.

Thank you to everyone who’s completed the survey so far. If you have
a few minutes spare to take part, I'd really appreciate it.

You can complete the survey here:

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SHADOW SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WALES UPDATE

WALES QUESTIONS

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It has been an eventful month in Parliament. At the start of July the
Secretary of State for Wales was Simon Hart and by the end of it,
Robert Buckland was in post. Who knows who my opponent will be by
September?

In Wales Questions this month I questioned the Secretary of State on
rail investment in Wales.

Despite the promises and talk from Tory ministers on supporting
infrastructure investment in Wales, we all know the reality is very
different. The Tories have denied  Wales  £4.6bn of funding from
the HS2 project.

HS2 will also hit the Welsh economy by  £150 million a year.

And as a result of the Spending Review, Welsh Government’s capital
budget will be 11% lower by 2024-25 compared with last year. Less
money, so less infrastructure spend.

Instead of focusing on his media appearances defending his
indefensible boss, I asked the Secretary of State when is he instead
going to focus on the people of Wales?

You can watch my Questions here:   

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FOCUSING ON FUNDING

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This month also saw a debate in the chamber on the funding Wales
receives from the Tory UK government. I spoke about how Tory promises
on funding to Wales have been broken again and again.

Wales is now set to lose more than £1bn in vital funding. Only 6
Welsh Councils will benefit from the first phase of the 'Levelling up'
fund, and the Tories are now trampling all over the devolution
settlement. Wales deserves better than more Tory broken promises.

ROYAL WELSH SHOW

It was a real pleasure to visit the Royal Welsh Show - which returned
this month to Llanelwedd after a 3-year absence due to the pandemic.

It was a good opportunity to meet again with NFU Wales, RSPB Cymru,
the Farmers Union of Wales along with others from across Wales'
world-renowned food, drink & agricultural sectors.

The show is a truly world class event - attracting 250,000 visitors as
well as food producers, competitors and exhibitors from around the
world.

 IN PARLIAMENT 

JOHNSON FINALLY RESIGNS

After more than 50 Government resignations, Johnson finally resigned,
but it should have happened long, long ago. As Keir Starmer said, the
sinking ships started leaving the rat.

He's been responsible for lies, scandal and fraud on an industrial
scale, trashing the UK’s reputation abroad.  Each and every
Conservative Minister and MP who defended him and kept him in post for
so long was complicit in that.

Every day he is in Downing Street he does more damage. He should have
left Downing Street when he resigned. We now have a situation where
his Tory MPs have allowed him to stay  over the summer when he will
have no Parliamentary scrutiny and be able to do what he wants.

Earlier in the month, Johnson broke more Parliamentary convention by
blocking our Labour motion of No Confidence in his Government and
refusing to allow it to take place. He then decided to table his own
Confidence motion in the Commons. His refusal to allow our no
confidence motion was totally unprecedented.

Of course, thanks to the large Tory majority in the House of Commons,
the Government survived their vote. Tory MPs who just days ago had
published resignation letters detailing their concerns,  lined up to
vote that they had confidence in Johnson and his Government and many
have stayed serving in his Government until he leaves. THEY’RE ALL
JUST AS BAD AS EACH OTHER.

In the weeks since he announced his resignation, we’ve not seen an
ounce of humility, sorrow or contrition from Johnson for the mess he
has presided over.

HE SHOULD BE GOING IMMEDIATELY, NOT IN THE AUTUMN.

We don’t have any confidence in him, his own MPs don’t and most
importantly the public don’t. The Tories can’t pretend to separate
the Prime Minister and the government he leads.

 

After 12 long years of economic stagnation, declining public services
and empty promises, people in Cardiff Central and across the entire
country need real change. Not another Tory leader.

 

TORY LEADERSHIP ELECTION

The fight to replace Johnson as Tory leader is underway, and has been
whittled down to either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak. Each trying to
out-do each other on their hard-right economic credentials –
floundering on promises to reach net-zero while the country was quite
literally on fire during the heatwave.

For all the talk of a 'fresh start' it's just more of the same from
the Tories.

Despite their attempts to trash the Tory record of the last 12 years,
both Truss and Sunak have backed every Johnson decision along the way
and both reliably parroted his lies when the whole country could see
the truth.

COST-OF-LIVING

Dire stats from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) this month showed that
the UK is set to face the biggest fall in wages (6.2%) in the G7. This
is in the same month that inflation has hit a staggering 9.4%.

We’ve barely heard a peep from Conservative leadership challengers
on how they plan to deal with this and help with the cost-of-living
crisis they’ve presided over.

USE OF AGENCY WORKERS DURING STRIKES

Remember just 2 months ago, Tory MPs howling with feigned outrage
about P&O risking safety by replacing skilled workers with agency
staff?

The Tory UK Government has now changed the law to allow employers to
temporarily hire agency workers during strike action. These plans not
only totally undermine the ability of workers to organise themselves
against unscrupulous employers – but also present safety risks to
the  public. Employer organisations and even the body that represents
agency worker recruitment firms were against the move. But the
Government went ahead anyway.

I obviously voted against the new regulations.

LABOUR WILL ABOLISH NON DOM STATUS

Some of the Tory leadership candidates have benefitted from non-dom
status whilst at the same time, raised your taxes.

The UK has over a thousand tax reliefs. Many of them are completely
justified, but some of them, like the private equity bonuses tax
break, are wasteful and inefficient.

Labour has already announced that we would end tax breaks for private
schools, private equity bosses and the unfair non-dom rules. We’ll
also crack down on hidden offshore trusts.

IN THE MEDIA:

Politics Live (PMQs) Discussing the Tory leadership candidates -
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Why Johnson should go now - on Sunday Politics Wales -
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BBC Radio Wales - [link removed]
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BBC Wales News – Boris should go now, not in October -
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CAMBRIAN WAY TRAIL

I attended a celebration with Ramblers Cymru to unveil the start of
the Cambrian Way long-distance trail.

The trail begins in the heart of Bute Park in Cardiff Central and
stretches right to Conwy in North Wales.  The trail is 479km (298
miles) in total with around 22,500m (73,700ft) of ascent.

Between Cardiff and Conwy lies glorious countryside with steep-sided
valleys, streams and waterfalls, picturesque rolling hills, an
abundance of high ridges and, in the north, rugged, cragged and
challenging mountains.

Much of the route runs through two national parks – Brecon Beacons
and Snowdonia.

Ramblers Cymru are the group who work to maintain the route - and you
can find out all about it, and them, via this link:

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WALES ART REVIEW

I really enjoyed listening to and meeting young writers at the Wales
Arts Review 10th Anniversary Reception in Parliament.

For the last 10 years, Wales Arts Review has sought to publish some of
the best critical writing from Wales and about Wales. To mark that
decade, an anthology of writing titled “Home To You” has been
published describing the intricate and not always obvious cultural
ties between Wales and the wider world.

Thanks to my friend and neighbour Jessica Morden MP, for organising
the event.

MAELFA WELLBEING HUB OFFICIALLY OPENS

In July, we celebrated the official opening of the brand new Maelfa
Wellbeing Hub in Llanedeyrn. 

The new centre is built onto the current Powerhouse Community Hub so
it makes use of the services provided from the Powerhouse with a
community café, shared community rooms and an advice area, where
health, local authority and third sector groups can provide advice,
education and wellbeing services.

Having the new Wellbeing Hub and existing Powerhouse Community Hub
physically connected and sharing the space integrates both health and
community services and provides a multi-functional service for
patients, staff and the local community of Llandeyrn, as set out in
Cardiff's Wellbeing Plan.

This project has been a real success – and the work of excellent
partnership working between our Cardiff Labour Council, Welsh Labour
Government and local representatives who’ve worked hard to secure
its future.

VISITING DELIO

I was pleased to visit Delio - a rapidly growing fintech company based
here in Cardiff Central.

I had a tour of the company's offices, and met with Gareth Lewis,
chief executive, and other members of the leadership team. It was
great to learn more about Delio's history, its international expansion
and growth plans into the future.

Growing businesses like Delio are key to our city's diverse economic
success. Thank you for inviting me to visit, and wishing you all the
very best for the future.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF PCSOS WITH UNISON

It was a pleasure to join trades union, Unison, for an event in
Parliament to commemorate 20 years of Police Community Support
Officers (more commonly known as PCSOs)

PCSOs from across Wales and England joined me, Unison General
Secretary Christina McAnea, Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper,
former Home Secretary David Blunkett and our Shadow Policing Minister
Sarah Jones MP to celebrate their contribution to keeping our
communities safe.

Last year, our Welsh Labour Government announced an additional £3.7
million for additional PCSOs across Wales - meaning an additional 100
PCSOs on top of the 500 already funded by the Welsh Government.

Welsh Labour have been forced to step in to fund these additional
officers due to the reckless cuts in policing services made under the
Tories and Lib Dems over the past 12 years.

PCSOs have quickly become part of our community here in Cardiff
Central, and in others across Wales.

BLOOD DONORS NEEDED!

Can you help?

🩸 The Welsh Blood Service need more people from the Cardiff area to
sign up as donors to help patients across Wales!

✨ Do something amazing today -  book to give blood 👉🏻
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HELP FOR WATER BILL WITH WELSH WATER

Parents of children on free school meals could be able to access Welsh
Water's discounted rate.

You could save £230 on your water bills by switching to their 'HelpU'
Tariff.

All the information is here 👇 and please share with any friends or
family that you know who may benefit.

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CAN YOU HELP CARDIFF FOOD BANK?

If you’re shopping this weekend and are able to make a donation to
Cardiff Foodbank these are the most needed items at the moment. Thank
you.

The Tesco stores in Cardiff Central will all now contain physical
donation points in their stores - another easy way to donate if you
are able to. I recently visited the Albany Road Metro store to find
out more about Tesco's work to helping Cardiff Foodbank.

25 YEARS OF SHOW RACISM THE RED CARD

Show Racism the Red Card are marking their 25th anniversary.

I’ve worked closely with Show Racism the Red Card for well over a
decade and seen the impact that their unique work brings to schools,
colleges and football clubs across the country. 

Congratulations to Ged Grebby and the inspirational team at Show
Racism the Red Card - and here's to the next 25 years of changing
attitudes for the better.

OFFICE APPOINTMENTS

As my constituency office is now fully back open following the end of
COVID-19 restrictions, we're operating on an appointment basis.

If you need help with an issue, please contact 02921 329736 or email
me at [email protected] for an appointment.   

You can also make an appointment to see me at one of my advice
surgeries - details of these can be found on my website here:

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