IT WOULDN’T be possible to write this week’s column without referring to the result of last week’s US election - which readers will probably know was not the one I’d hoped for.

Personally, I am deeply disappointed that we did not see the election of the first woman president of the United States - and that instead the president-elect is a man who dragged the campaign into the gutter with sexist, racist and divisive remarks.

I found the hateful and deliberately divisive language that was the hallmark of Mr Trump’s campaign completely unacceptable and deeply distasteful, and I’m so disappointed that despite winning the popular vote, Hillary Clinton lost out as a result of electoral college votes.

We must all hope that Mr Trump will now more soberly reflect on what he has said and threatened, and realise that he has responsibilities to all Americans - as well as on the global stage - which require statesmanship not populist rhetoric.

But the result should also be a wake-up call for anyone who seeks office or public support, that 'business as usual' is simply not enough and won’t inspire those in our societies who feel economically excluded and left behind. We need to understand and address their concerns – because failing to offer any answers or hope leaves some voters prey to the siren call of populist yet deeply flawed solutions.

I have also been supporting the efforts of the Stop Funding Hate campaign – I’d recommend looking this up online.

I had a busy few days in the constituency, dealing with casework; meeting the Vale of Glamorgan and Cardiff Councils; visiting Ty Hafan to see the incredible efforts they make for children and their families; celebrating the 30th anniversary of Techniquest; and joining Penarth and District Lesotho Trust at their fundraising lunch at Stanwell Road Baptist Church on Friday.

I also attended a number of Remembrance services - the Vale of Glamorgan Armistice Service outside the Civic Offices in Barry on Friday; the Merchant Navy Association (Wales) Service at the Seafarers’ Memorial in Cardiff Bay on Saturday; and I paid my first visit to the community Remembrance service in Grangetown on Sunday.

It was a very moving occasion, and although it meant I could not be in Penarth this year for the Remembrance Sunday service, there are close links between the communities and readers may be interested in grangetownwar.co.uk – an online memorial with detailed histories of local men and women.