In February I was proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with steelworkers from Llanwern as they marched through Newport in protest of Tata Steel’s plans to restructure their steel production and make thousands of skilled workers unemployed in the process.

The potential impact of these job losses cannot be overstated, we all know far too well here in Newport and the surrounding Gwent Valleys that when these vital industrial jobs leave, without proper alternatives unemployment tends to persist. The fight isn’t just for the steelworkers of today, but for the future of the entire steel industry as a whole and its contribution to the wider Welsh economy.

In Parliament I’ve stood alongside my Labour colleagues Jessica Morden and Stephen Kinnock who have been vital voices in pushing for the UK Government to engage with the plan put together by our steel unions.

The union plan would minimise job losses and ensure that a just transition to cleaner steel production is achieved, but like with so many of our businesses, funding bids and initiatives here in Newport their proposals have been repeatedly ignored.

Another site in Newport that’s still finding itself similarly ignored by the UK Government is Newport Wafer Fab.

Where, at the time of writing this column, staff are still awaiting a conclusion to the checks required for the sale of the site to be completed.

At this point I’m at a loss for what more there is to say, over the past two years staff on site have been put through immeasurable emotional hardship as a result of the UK Government’s intransigence and unwillingness to engage with the uncertainty they’ve created on the factory floor.

I am also at a loss as to what message this sends to other semiconductor companies considering doing business in the UK.

We have world-leading research and development being done in our semiconductor clusters and universities, but with an unambitious semiconductor strategy delivered years behind schedule and the Newport Wafer Fab saga continuing to drag on, it’s not hard to see why firms might opt for the likes of the US and Europe.

No one would contest the need for national security checks to be completed in the proper manner, but it beggars belief that more is not being done to speed the process along at a time where redundancies have already taken place on the site and morale amongst the staff continues to suffer.

Government ministers will be sick of the sight of me, but I won’t stop badgering and asking difficult questions as to why they’re continuing to let down hundreds of skilled workers here in our city, it’s the very least they deserve.