I WAS disappointed to see the Vale of Glamorgan Labour Council Group voting to oppose moving Council meetings to a hybrid format. As it stands, councillors go to meetings remotely via video link, and aren’t allowed to go to the council chamber.

The Conservatives brought forward a motion to have hybrid meetings, whereby councillors can choose whether or not to attend in person. But Labour voted against that motion.

Only two councils in Wales have not moved to hybrid meetings; Vale residents elect councillors to county hall, not to the sofa.

To serve in elected office is a privilege and, in this instance, is also remunerated. I see no reason why there shouldn’t be provisions for members to attend meetings in person.

Meeting in person allows for better debate, scrutiny and decision making. This blanket, stay at home approach from Vale Labour is out of date and bad for democracy.

Data seen by my office has revealed that temporary and permanent school exclusions in the Vale are on the rise.

This year, more than one in 100 pupils in the Vale have been temporary excluded from school, and the percentage of pupils who were permanently excluded has doubled since 2020.

The impact of school exclusions is lost learning, lost opportunities, and lost potential.

There’s no doubt that school exclusions can be caused by a range of issues, inside and outside schools.

But, given that the council leader used to be the Cabinet Member for Education, I had hoped that there would be greater focus on tackling exclusions.

Rather than posing for photos, and trying to cultivate an image as a freedom fighter, the council leader should use her experience with the education portfolio to tackle exclusions head on.

As we all watch the contest between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss to become the next Prime Minister, I’ve been setting out the sort of commitments for Wales I want to see from the new PM.

To begin with, Wales’ transport infrastructure is poorly lacking. The Labour Government’s road building ban has put up a sign saying Wales is closed for business. And their 20mph speed limit rule is slowing Wales down.

But the UK Government can improve our rail network in Wales, and so I’m calling on the new PM to invest HS2 consequentials in Welsh rail.

I’m also keen to be assured that, under any new cabinet, there will be no further devolution of powers to Cardiff Bay. The tools are already in the box to get on with the job.

And finally, I want to see St David’s Day made a bank holiday.