WELL now that the dust has settled after the elections to the National Assembly for Wales I wanted to express my thanks to everyone in Brecon and Radnorshire for affording me the privilege of serving as your Assembly Member for the next Assembly term, and I want to acknowledge the contribution of my fellow candidates to the debate conducted.
There wasn’t an awful lot of consensus, but when you look to events around the world where people are fighting for the simple right to vote and live in a democracy, I am thankful that we are able to conduct campaigns in the way that we do.
My offices are open again at 4 Watergate, Brecon, LD3 9AN and in the National Assembly for Wales, Cardiff Bay, CF99 1NA. You can get in touch by writing to me, telephone to either Brecon (01874) 625739 or Cardiff (029) 2089 8358 or by e-mailing me Kirsty.Williams@Wales.gov.uk.
As always, if there is any way that I can be of help to you or your local community, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
The Assembly is in the process of getting back down to business, and this week we had our first return to First Minister’s Questions. This Assembly term is going to be different to the last in many ways, not just with all the new faces, but also working with a minority administration.
Labour secured 30 of the 60 seats, and so they are one short of an overall majority. This will mean that the government will have to reach out and build a consensus with other parties to get legislation and votes through.
This is a great opportunity for politicians of all parties to reach across the political divide and work together in the best interests of the people of Wales.
There are so many areas where over the last four years Labour and Plaid Cymru together let Wales down, from our underperforming Economy to our NHS that costs more and delivers less. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with others to ensure that the Assembly starts to deliver what it was supposed to, a better deal for people across Wales.
Brecon and Radnorshire is a beautiful place to live, and I am so very proud to live and work here. I promise to continue my fight for a better deal for our area, for the ability to give our children a proper education, for the ability to access health services as close to home as possible, and to fight to continue to make sure the National Assembly works in the best interests of local people.
This next Assembly term will last until 2016, and we have five years to make sure that we fight for the best local services. I want to thank the people of Brecon and Radnorshire once again for placing their trust in me.