I RECENTLY had the pleasure of visiting the Golden Lion on Glebe Street in Penarth and I was delighted to learn it had won CAMRA’s Vale of Glamorgan ‘Pub of the Year’ for the second year running.

Meeting owner, Jon Bassett, and landlord Paul Harper, I could see the hard work and dedication that is poured into the establishment and it has been rightly recognised by the ‘Campaign for Real Ale’.

In its judgement, the group paid tribute to the superb quality of the well-chosen ales from Welsh breweries and described it as a "genuine pub” with a fantastic layout.

Jon, Paul and the team have built an atmosphere which is the envy of many others and has grown into a focal part of the community. The locals play a huge part in this and if you’ve not had the pleasure of a tipple from the Vale of Glamorgan’s finest pub, do make sure to pop in.

Moving onto the national scene, I was extremely disappointed the Welsh Government’s Public Services Minister declined my invitation to meet with Vale residents to discuss his proposed merger of local councils.

For those who might not be aware, the Welsh Labour Government would like to force the Vale Council to merge with its Cardiff neighbours, with little to no consultation with those who matter – you.

A vast number of constituents have contacted me to express their concern at the proposal with many fearing the potential of second rate services and being used as a dormitory for Cardiff and their challenging house-building requirements.

I share those fears and the unique identity of the Vale of Glamorgan is very much at risk. Communities across Penarth, Barry, Cowbridge, Llantwit Major and the Western Vale value the county’s distinctive character but the Minister is simply not interested in listening to your views.

My party, the Welsh Conservatives, has been steadfast in our opposition to the plans – we are fighting to save the Vale. End of story. That is one of our pledges to you as we head into May’s vitally important Assembly election.

However, there has been welcome news on the political front with a further drop in unemployment across the Vale of Glamorgan with a 10 per cent decrease in comparison to the same time last year.

The figures in the Vale of Glamorgan demonstrate the success of the Conservatives’ long-term economic plan but there is still plenty of hard work to be done to secure the economic recovery.

Since 2010, we have looked to tackle the problems left by the Labour Party and with unemployment in Wales now at its lowest rate since 2008, we’ll continue to work hard to deliver economic growth for communities across the Vale.

Our long-term economic plan of security, stability and opportunity for people across the Vale is in stark contrast to Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party who will put all of this at risk with high-tax, crash and burn policies dating back to the 1970s.