'The Welsh Government won’t be happy until we are stuck at home'

We now have a combination of scrapping all major road building projects in Wales, a default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads and plans to heavily cut a subsidy brought in to protect rural bus services during the Covid pandemic – which seems particularly ludicrous when citing “environmental” reasons as the main argument for getting people out of their cars and on to public transport.

This disastrous transport policy which ministers in Cardiff Bay seem hell-bent on pursuing risks untold damage to our economy, will stop the creation of new jobs and hinder opportunities.

At least Lee Waters, the deputy climate change minister, finally appears to be listening to concerns about the dangerous junctions crossing the busy A40 dual carriageway at Raglan.

After years of countless lobbying by Raglan Community Council and residents, we have been promised that traffic flow and pedestrian movements surveys will be carried out during this financial year to inform the next steps to improve safety. I am hopeful we will start to see some progress being made at long last to address this important local issue.

* I was delighted to attend the launch of ‘Red Light and Bell’, the second book in the showbiz thriller trilogy by Catbrook author Richard Cobourne.

Richard is an accomplished writer with a production background in the broadcast, corporate, music and global events industries.

He began his career at the BBC and has worked in the world of show business for more than 30 years, meaning he has a deep understanding and juicy insider knowledge of the shenanigans of the industry!

Richard’s first book, the highly acclaimed ‘Bandwagon’, was excellent and I am sure this will be a gripping read too. It was a pleasure to pick up a signed copy and my thanks to Matt Taylor at Chepstow Books for hosting a fantastic evening.

* The surprise visit to London of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month turned out to be a remarkable parliamentary occasion and what a tremendous privilege it was to hear his speech in Westminster Hall.

Friday (February 24) marked one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, a challenge to the global order not seen since the Second World War.

I joined Ukrainian families who are being hosted in Chepstow at a special exhibition in Beaufort Square and for the national minute’s silence. The Ukrainian people are fighting for freedom and the UK will stand with them for as long as it takes to defend their country from Russian aggression.