There is still much uncertainty around the ever-evolving situation in the Middle East, but we can take reassurance from the steady and measured leadership guiding us here in the UK.
Despite pressure from the US, Keir Starmer has remained firm in his position, reiterating that he will not allow us to be dragged into war.
At home Labour is continuing to deliver on the promises we made – to improve the lives of working people across the country.
This month we have increased the National Living Wage by 4.1% to £12.71 per hour, benefiting around 2.4m low-paid workers and the National Minium Wage (18–20-year-olds) by 8.5% to £10.85 per hour.
This week, pensions have increased by up to £575 a year for 12 million pensioners.
This week we have introduced the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation including day one rights to paternity leave and unpaid parental leave, as well as statutory day one Sick Pay and the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit, so low earners will now qualify for Statutory Sick Pay.
We have also launched the new Fair Work Agency, bringing together existing enforcement bodies with new powers to enforce the new, and existing, rights at work.
These are real, meaningful changes that will improve lives. This is the difference a Labour Government can make.

Pride in Place
The Labour Government is delivering £20m Pride in Place funding for the Sirhowy Valley and £20m for Aberbargoed, Bargoed and New Tredegar. This is funding intended to make long term improvements, with the spending being decided by local people via Neighbourhood Boards that are currently being set up.
Both Blaenau Gwent Council and Caerphilly Council are seeking a board Chairperson to help steer the decision making and oversee this opportunity. This should be someone who is rooted in the community and passionate about bringing people together to make the most of this funding.
See here if you are interested, or know someone who may be interested, in applying:
Aberbargoed, Bargoed and New Tredegar
Sirhowy Valley

Royal Mail
I’m continuing to push for action over serious concerns around Royal Mail’s performance, in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, and nationally.
These concerns have now reached Parliament, where the Royal Mail Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and UK Operations Director were called to appear before the Business and Trade Committee to answer questions on these failures. I took part in the hearing on behalf of constituents here who are still experiencing unacceptable delays and disruption to their post. In some cases, this has meant missed hospital appointments—even for urgent cancer treatment. That simply should not be happening.
I followed up with a letter to the Royal Mail Chairman highlighting concerns around discrepancies in performance data and I’ve asked for data on how many individual complaints Royal Mail has received about missed medical appointments in the past year.
At the same time, I want to be clear that I fully support our posties. They are a hard-working group who continue to do their jobs in difficult conditions. They are being let down, and so are Royal Mail customers.
We all deserve a reliable postal service, and I will continue to push for answers and improvements.

Young people here are also benefiting from initiatives like Activate Blaenau Gwent, funded through our Trailblazer scheme, which is making a real difference to people’s wellbeing and confidence.
The results speak for themselves – I’m told that 168 young people have been supported into work in just 18 months since the Hub launched.
This shows the value of a more joined-up, well-rounded approach to employment support.
Looking to the future we also have our new £1bn youth employment drive to help create 200,000 jobs for young people. This includes a new Youth Jobs Grant, through which businesses will receive £3,000 for every young person they hire aged 18-24 who has been on UC and looking for work for six months.
We’re also expanding the Jobs Guarantee (fully subsidised six-month jobs to 18–21 year olds on UC for 18 months) to 18–24 year olds.
Together, these measures will open up more opportunities to get young people into work.

E-Harley
I attended an online meeting with Audit Wales to discuss their investigation into the handling and management of the E Harley GP contract under Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.
I was glad of this discussion because of the disruption this contract caused for patients and staff at our surgeries in Brynmawr, Aberbeeg, Tredegar and Bargoed as well as five others across Torfaen, Caerphilly, Newport and Cardiff.
Audit Wales’ draft report is now being finalised. I welcome this and made clear to Audit Wales that the community expects a thorough examination of what went wrong. People deserve answers and reassurance that lessons have been learned.

🎥 Miners’ Pensions
I asked a question in Parliament about the next steps for Mineworkers Pension Scheme and British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme members, following the pension boost they received thanks to our Labour government. I appreciate the Leader of the House thanking me for my role in this campaign and for offering to secure further discussions with Ministers to keep this important issue moving along.
Labour righted a historic wrong by returning the reserve funds to scheme members, but many former miners could still benefit from further action.

🎥 Banking Access
I raised the issue of local bank access in Parliament. I asked about Labour’s commitment to delivering at least 350 Banking Hubs over the course of this Parliament to help maintain access to essential services, when bank closures have affected so many communities.
We’re already seeing the benefits here, with a busy banking hub up and running in Abertillery and another coming to Ebbw Vale. It’s important that people who rely on face-to-face banking aren’t left behind.

🎥 British Steel
As Labour announced our new strategy for steel – a shot in the arm for steelmakers across the UK – I talked about the importance of backing our steel industry in Parliament.
I asked the Secretary of State to say more about the major infrastructure projects ahead and how refining public procurement rules for steel will work in practice. In response, he recognised my long standing support for the sector and confirmed that the Government intends to boost domestic steel supply from 30% to 50%, ensuring British producers benefit from the wave of upcoming infrastructure projects.

🎥 National Savings & Investments
I raised an important question with the Minister about National Savings & Investments reuniting families with their money following the operational failure that has taken place. I asked the Minister how the Government plans to make sure people are aware they do not need to pay claims management companies to get back money that is rightfully theirs.
The Minister confirmed that NS&I must contact affected estates directly — families should not bear the burden or cost; A formal delivery plan will be published in May explaining how NS&I will reunite families with their money; The onus is on NS&I, not the public, to put this right. If you or your family are affected, you should not have to pay anyone to reclaim funds. NS&I is responsible for fixing the error and returning the money.

🎥 Pensions
I put questions to Treasury Secretary Torsten Bell MP on his assessment of the positive impact pensioners will see when they get a 4.8% increase to their pensions from next month. I also asked for an update on Safe Hands Funeral Plans. This is the company that collapsed in 2022, leaving 46,000 customers more than £70m out of pocket, including constituents here in Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney. The Serious Fraud Office has recently charged two individuals in relation to the case.
I will take up the offer of meeting with the Economic Secretary to discuss this further.

Pension Credit Events
I’m really pleased to have put on two successful Pension Credit advice events in Abertillery and Bargoed. Lots of people came through the door for advice on claiming pension credit.
Thanks to teams from Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly Council, Citizens Advice and the DWP for coming along to offer advice. Also thank you to Cllr Christine Bissex-Foster and Cllr Dawn Ingram-Jones for joining me in Bargoed.

CAP award
It was a pleasure to present the Upper Rhymney Valley Community Alcohol Partnership (CAP) with the award for CAP of the Year for Wales at the 2026 CAP Awards in Parliament.
CAPs are community-led partnerships which bring together local police, councils, schools, retailers, and community groups with the aim of reducing underage alcohol consumption.

Over the past year, Upper Rhymney CAP has delivered a series of projects to provide safe, positive opportunities for children, young people and families, including themed movie nights and interactive workshops.
The Upper Rhymney Valley CAP team should be proud of the work they’re doing. They’ve managed to share important messages about alcohol harm while also creating fun, welcoming events that bring local families together. Well done.

Cymru Creations
It was great to have a look around the newly refurbished Queen’s Ballroom in Tredegar with Kevin Phillips from Cymru Creations.
Kevin has done an outstanding job reviving this historic building and the results are very impressive.
The downstairs space will serve as a new function room, while upstairs is now the home of Cymru Creations’ film studio – an inspiring and successful local charity helping young people with a passion for media to produce film and TV projects.
It’s fantastic to see such creative energy being nurtured here in our community.

Surgeries
It was good to hold surgeries in Brynmawr and Tredegar, with another coming up in Llanhilleth on Friday, April 24 (4pm – 5pm).
Please get in touch to make an appointment:
01495 313167 / nick.smith.mp@parliament.uk