Wales’ first World Cup campaign for 64 years ultimately ended in disappointment after failing to make the knockout stage of the tournament. Yet looking back, it was a massive achievement for our small nation to even be in Qatar on that global stage. Hearing the Red Wall belt out “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” loud and proud in the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium certainly made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. I was, however, very disappointed to discover the Welsh Government gave £18,000 to a group of nationalist supporters who were previously banned from Twitter for offensive content. This particular group has adopted an ultra-anti-English stance and uses appalling language against the Conservative Party and others. We live in a democracy and – within boundaries – have the freedom to say what we like. But spending taxpayers’ money to fly the group out to Qatar is quite wrong. The Welsh Government should not be encouraging sectarian and divisive behaviour within the world of football.
Last week was my first ever appearance on BBC Question Time from Aberystwyth. The questions were relatively predictable until someone asked about religion, which I hadn’t given much thought to in all honesty. A fair summary of my answer was that I believe politicians ought not to be using their position as a vehicle to promote their own religious values. At the same time, there are a few church leaders who might consider whether they should use their own position to get involved in politics!
There is a strong argument for governments to act together on matters of animal health, as shown by the heightened risk of avian influenza over the winter and the impact it is having on poultry farms. This was just one of the issues I discussed with Richard Williams, NFU Cymru Poultry Board chair, on Friday. The Welsh Government acted late (although better late than never) by ordering birds in Wales must be kept indoors or separated from wild birds from 2 December. In reality, it should have happened weeks ago when new rules to tackle bird flu were first introduced in England and then Northern Ireland.
I recently attended a Pancreatic Cancer UK awareness event in Westminster where I met Welsh representative Dawn Clayton. It was humbling to hear her story. As a nurse manager and survivor of this worst type of aggressive cancer, Dawn is campaigning to ensure more people have the good fortune to live a full and meaningful life by way of earlier diagnoses and rapid access to treatment through appropriate clinical pathways. I am delighted to add my support to raising the profile of pancreatic cancer to ensure it is a priority in Wales and throughout the UK.
*Published in the Monmouthshire Beacon on 7 December 2022 and Abergavenny Chronicle on 8 December 2022*