Here's the latest Argus column by Newport East MP Jessica Morden:

I WAS recently called to speak on the first day of the Queen’s Speech debate – a Queen’s Speech which will never be enacted given that the General Election has been called.

However it did give me an opportunity to speak about the issues constituents raise with me, including the impact of changes to the state pension age for 1950s women, increased rail fares and the poor quality of cross-border rail services between Newport, Severn Tunnel Junction and Bristol, protecting local jobs and our manufacturing industries, and highlighting the impact of cuts to our police and the criminal justice system since 2010.

At Home Office questions last week I raised the issue of police numbers.

MORE NEWS:

Since the start of the UK Government’s austerity programme in 2010-11, the Gwent police budget has been reduced by 40 per cent in real terms. Cuts have consequences, and now the Conservatives are trying to pretend the consequences have nothing to do with them.

The government’s proposed recruitment programme would only take officer levels back to where they were in 2010, if that, as the Tories have cut 21,000 officers over the last nine years. Ministers have still not provided any clarification on how it will fund the recruitment programme.

We need the government to address how increased pension costs associated with the programme will be funded and, equally importantly, we need a long-term commitment on police funding. Our police and communities have been let down badly since 2010, and we need a government which will show by its actions how much they really value the contributions of our police officers and staff and ensure that they are always properly resourced and protected.

- Thank you to everyone who joined us on the recent march through Newport organised by Community and other trade unions in support of Orb steelworks. It was great to see so many people there on the day and it was encouraging to see the strength of support for our steelworkers and their families.

Orb could and should have a future.

It is of huge strategic importance for the country as the only plant in the UK with the potential to produce the specialised steel needed for electric vehicle motors. I’ve raised this point directly with ministers, including the prime minister who has previously stated his desire for the UK to become a home for electric vehicles.

I led a Westminster Hall debate on the issue last month, and took the opportunity to highlight that losing Orb would mean losing the potential for a UK supply chain for electric vehicles, as well as losing an electrical steels skills base which has been built up over decades.

In other debates and question times in the Commons chamber I’ve been regularly calling on the government to take action to support Orb at this critical time, including making representations to Tata to ensure the plant stays open and forms part of a supply chain for the future.

I’ve been following up on these points during meetings with the Wales Office and the UK steel minister over recent weeks, and representatives from Orb recently joined me at a meeting of the All Party Steel Group in Parliament.

I will continue to work closely with trade union colleagues in the fight for a long-term future for Orb. It’s time for our government to show vision and act to support Orb and our steel industry.