Ruth Jones MP on representing Newport West and Islwyn
It was also the sixth anniversary of another day I will never forget – my first election to Parliament on April 4, 2019.
Every day, I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the communities that made me who I am – growing up in the Gaer, going to Duffryn High School (now The John Frost School) and raising my family in Allt-yr-yn.
Last year, the two historic constituencies of Newport West and Islwyn came together and the legacy of Labour legends like Neil Kinnock and Paul Flynn.
We spoke to thousands of residents during the election, from Blackwood to Marshfield and everywhere in-between. If we didn't speak to you on the doorstep, hopefully you received a leaflet or saw our work on the campaign trail online.
The election did not just deliver a new, UK Labour government, the first in 14 years. It also produced the most female House of Commons in history. It is another source of pride for me to be one of 263 women MPs in this Parliament, and the first ever woman MP to represent the people of Islwyn.
I promised during the campaign I would find a new base in the constituency and on April 4, we officially opened our Newbridge office.
We have rooms dedicated to the Chartists and women in politics, including a replica Chartist mural and old-school political posters from the 19th and 20th centuries.
I would like to give special thanks to Newport councillor Dave Mayer for turning our Chartist idea into a reality. It was the star attraction of our office opening party and guests found it both beautiful and fascinating in equal measure.
I would also like to thank Don Touhig and Sam Flynn for cutting the red ribbon beside me. You are the best of our movement and exemplary representatives of Newport West and Islwyn.
I would like to thank my friends and colleagues for joining me on this memorable occasion and, last but not least, the people of Newbridge for a wonderfully warm welcome.
We are very happy to be here and I promise to fight your corner not just in our constituency office in Victoria Terrace but in Westminster too.
The fact an ordinary girl like me, from Duffryn High School, can represent you in the House of Commons is something I will never take for granted.
I am grateful to everyone who put their faith in me last summer as your voice for change in this decade of national renewal.
The work has just begun.
Ruth Jones is MP for Newport West and Islwyn
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