The Regional Monitor

“Although it is called the Monmouth constituency, the area I represent is much more than the market town from which it takes its name. Years ago, it was a sizeable part of south-east Wales. These days, the constituency is still large and includes the towns of Abergavenny, Usk, Croesyceiliog, Raglan and Tintern as well as countless small villages, great swathes of countryside, and a small section of one of the South Wales mining valleys.
As a border county, it is rich in both history and historians. Geoffrey of Monmouth chronicled the Arthurian legends in the 12th century and Adam of Usk gave us graphic accounts of the battles of Owain Glyndwr. Glyndwr was a Welsh landowner who fell out with King Richard II in about 1400, and much of the county was laid waste by the battles that subsequently raged as he tried to set up an independent republic of Wales. He was defeated near Usk by the future Henry V, who was himself born in Monmouth.
Henry VIII caused further problems when he decided to embark on an early form of local government reorganisation. Deciding that Monmouthshire was more prosperous than the rest of Wales – a mistake that, unhappily, continues to be made today – he decided to make it part of the Oxford court assizes while the rest of Wales remained a separate area for judicial purposes. Official documents then began to refer to ‘Wales and Monmouthshire’, which gave rise to the mistaken belief that the county was actually a part of England. A few people believe that the 1974 Act which clarified the situation was nothing more than a conspiracy to drag the inhabitants back into Wales from England.
As an almost lifelong inhabitant of the area it was a great pleasure to be elected to represent Monmouthshire, first to the Welsh Assembly in 1999, and subsequently to Parliament last May. There are endless reasons why I love my county and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Slightly traditional values abound, people bid each other “good morning” and my family live on a street where we all know each other and our children play and run in and out of houses without anyone worrying.
People get involved in community issues; petitions, protests and public meetings as well as locally organised charity events form a major part of my working life. I wouldn’t want it any other way. This is a place of character, whether it’s the tiny stone-built pub where bikers and ramblers happily engage in conversation with locals, or the ancient traditions which still continue in remote valleys.
I feel a sense of pride every time I turn off the Severn Bridge and drive up the Wye Valley; as an MP I want to ensure that Monmouthshire retains its character and remains a county we can all be proud to live in.