Eight months ago, I was elected the Conservative Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire. After about three hours sleep, I woke up the next day and thought about how much my life was about to change. Some changes I expected, even hoped for – some I did not.
Immediately after delivering the totemic policy the British people demanded at the General Election, rumours began to swirl of a virus from China. It started quietly but soon enveloped the entire world like a tsunami. Every single one of us has been significantly impacted by both COVID-19, and by the lockdown itself. Many of us have lost someone during the pandemic; many more have lost countless family moments and special events. There is no area of life that has not been affected.
But quietly, life has been going on in the background. As well as helping constituents with issues caused by the Coronavirus, I have kept up the pressure on day to day priorities such as keeping Brecon Barracks open and campaigning against a new supermarket opening in Crickhowell. I am battling with Openreach and BT on behalf of a number of constituents whose broadband is almost non-existent. I have piled pressure on Vaughan Gething MS to grip the lack of NHS dentistry in Powys. This is on top of the questions I’ve been asking in the House of Commons about more support for the Royal Welsh Show challenging BBC bias, encouraging the re-opening of the tourism sector in Brecon and Radnor, speaking in support of the Domestic Abuse Bill and calling out the Welsh Government’s appalling response to the Coronavirus.
Now that I can at last get around the constituency again, I’ve been highlighting areas of concern. I’ve met with residents suffering from the chaos caused by the land slip in Talgarth, and seen for myself the nuisance of the speeding motorbikes in Defynnog. I spent a day at Dan-yr-Ogof, the National Show Centre for Wales who were specifically prevented from reopening by the Welsh Government.
But I was particularly pleased to visit the Fedw Equestrian Centre in Trecastle. The owners contacted me in despair when they were told by the Welsh Government that their enormous outdoor shed was classed as an indoor gym and so unable to reopen for two months. When we were finally able to get the site reopened, I was delighted to invite the Prime Minister to join me on a visit there.
Fedw is a working family farm situated at the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Over the years, the farm has diversified to include an Equestrian Centre, an Equine Retirement Home and a Dedicated Tree field – a superb way to increase our tree coverage while marking special family moments. Not one to avoid getting his hands dirty, the Prime Minister got stuck in and mulched a new tree to mark his visit to the farm. He also met Fedw’s award-winning flock of Black Welsh Mountain sheep kept at the farm, before meeting a number of rural businesses including a young farrier who showed the Prime Minister how to shoe a horse.
It was fantastic to have the Prime Minister in the constituency once again. It emphasised the strength of our union and how being part of this family of nations has helped us weather the Covid storm. Across Brecon and Radnorshire, the UK Government has provided an unprecedented package of support for individuals and businesses; £31,843,951 has been made available to small companies as Bounce Back Loans while almost 11,000 jobs are protected through the government’s furlough scheme.
I have no doubt that the months ahead are going to be tough, but as the Member of Parliament for Brecon and Radnorshire, I will not wallow or shrink away from the fight. I am determined to ensure that this government’s levelling up agenda is going to deliver for Mid Wales in a way that no government has before.
