Here's the latest Argus column by Blaenau Gwent MP Nick Smith:

I HAD the great privilege of joining my fellow parliamentarians to pay tribute to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday, September 10, hearing many wonderful speeches from both sides of the House and also saying a few words myself.

It was an opportunity to offer my condolences on behalf of constituents in Blaenau Gwent and remember Queen Elizabeth.

I talked about the Queen’s visit to Ebbw Vale in 2012, part of that year’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

As I noted in my speech, it was one of those days in our Valleys when the skies empty gallons, but Her Majesty saw through the programme. She knew that meeting our community leaders, hearing our choirs, collecting flowers from children - being with us - mattered.

She showered good will on the people of Blaenau Gwent as the water rained down on all of us.

In her speech that day the Queen said that her family had been coming to Wales “since the height of the Valleys’ industrial might” and had “admired the fortitude and resilience of Ebbw Vale” following the closure of the steelworks.

She said that in her 60 years she had travelled the length and breadth of Wales sharing “many of the joys and sadnesses of the Welsh people” adding that she had always been struck by our “sense of pride” and “undimmed optimism.”

Her Majesty’s tour of Wales that year also took in Aberfan.

Forty-six years earlier the Queen had travelled to the village following the terrible tragedy that struck, an emotional visit that greatly affected Her Majesty.

The gesture forged a bond with the families there that endured throughout her life. She visited the village many times over the years and in 2012 she returned to open a new primary school.

On reflection, I now realise that she was the constant. She was there when tragedy struck, standing alongside us when our nation mourned, but she was also there to usher in new beginnings.

Her Late Majesty once said: “I do not give you laws or administer justice, but I can do something else. I can give you my heart and devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood of nations.”

Queen Elizabeth dedicated her life to the greater good, and wove together the ties that bind us.