St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs

Debate between Ben Lake and Andrew Ranger

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Ranger (Wrexham) (Lab)]

Diolch yn fawr, Madam Deputy Speaker. It is a real pleasure to speak in my second St David’s day debate in this Chamber. I begin by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones), Chair of the Select Committee, and the hon. Member for Ceredigion Preseli (Ben Lake) for securing this debate today.

The story of St David began about 1,500 years ago, when, in the wake of the Roman empire’s departure from Britain, a unique Welsh identity began to take shape—one identity around community, language, culture and a resilience that lives on today. There is no better place to see that identity in action than Wrexham this weekend. At 12.40 on Sunday, the bells will ring out from St Giles church, marking an end to the traditional St David’s day church service and the beginning of our now regular St David’s day parade. The parade will be led by the Cambria band. It brings an array of colour and music to our streets, with community groups, schools and other organisations all playing their part. All weekend, there will be special events, including St David’s day markets in Queen’s Square and the surrounding area, where our fantastic local businesses and independent traders offer delightful products, food and drink, including what I am sure are the best Welsh cakes across the whole of Wales.

[Ben Lake]

indicated dissent.

[Andrew Ranger]

It’s a close-run thing.

There is also a range of interactive and engaging cultural and educational activities for everyone to enjoy and take part in. Wrexham is bidding to become the city of culture in 2029 and our annual St David’s day celebrations, which are now embedded in our city and growing every year, demonstrate so much about what makes Wrexham a welcoming place for everyone.

Last summer, Wrexham was the very proud host of the National Eisteddfod, reportedly attracting around 160,000 visitors over its week-long celebration of Welsh arts and heritage, drawing people from across Wales and the UK to enjoy all that Wrexham has to offer, as well as the plethora of fantastic events on the Maes. This year is also Wrexham’s “Year of Wonder”, marking 150 years since a significant number of events happened in what was then our town, back in 1876. That included the establishment of the Football Association of Wales. There was an art treasures exhibition, which shone a spotlight on Wrexham for the rest of the country. The first National Eisteddfod to be held in Wrexham also happened in that year.

You would not expect me to speak about Wrexham, Madam Deputy Speaker, without mentioning a certain local football team that you may have heard of. Another reason to celebrate: this year, it has reached the fifth round of the FA cup for the first time in 29 years. We will be welcoming Chelsea in the next round, in a week or so’s time. We have past history of causing upsets against top-tier teams from London—I won’t mention which.

We are also sitting in the play-off spots of the championship. It is a real football fairytale story, if ever there was one—back-to-back promotions and all that success. That has made a real difference to Wrexham: how we think about the place where we live and how we welcome people there from all over the world. We cannot walk around Wrexham now without bumping into Americans, Australians, South Americans or people from Europe. It is absolutely fantastic; things have changed in the last four or five years.

Beyond the pitch, the Wrexham Association Football Club Foundation is impacting young lives through its programmes such as the Street Dragons and the Young Leaders programme. To continue this sporting theme, I also welcome recent confirmation from the Welsh Minister for north Wales, Ken Skates, that north Wales will be joining discussions alongside the northern mayors in England about a possible joint Olympics bid for 2040, in which Wrexham’s very own StōK Cae Ras would be a possible venue, along with many other venues across the whole of north Wales, north-west England and right across the other side. Let us go for that bid—we can do it, with the north of England and north Wales working together in partnership. We can build on the success of 2012 in London and do it even better.

I turn back to 500 A.D. As many Members have mentioned today, one of St David’s most notable remarks was about doing the little things. In 2026, that phrase still holds dear in Wales: a nation of community, where people look after not just themselves but their neighbours too. People may try to divide us, but they will fail. That is at the core of our Welsh Labour politics. We believe in partnership working, which we saw at its best only last week with the announcement of the seven new railway stations across Wales—including the one at Deeside industrial park, which will make such a difference to people in Wrexham getting to and from work and other places.

Alongside the improvements to the Wrexham-Liverpool line, there is the electrification of the north Wales main line and ambitious plans for North Wales metro. The £14 billion investment from the UK Government will be truly transformative for communities, our economy and the future of Welsh rail. We have seen many other further investments in Wrexham and across north Wales; they are transforming jobs, education, opportunity and north Wales as a whole. We talk about the AI zones, the small modular nuclear reactors in Ynys Môn, the Flintshire and Wrexham investment zone and Pride in Place, through which a total of £21.5 million has been invested in Wrexham. Local people will decide how money is spent, for the best of Wrexham.

A big key to our Welsh identity in Wrexham and north-east Wales is our very proud links between north-east Wales and north-west England. That is about work, family, social life and culture—a two way relationship that we are stronger for, not poorer. At the heart is how the Welsh Government have delivered since devolution: small things—maybe big things—such as free prescriptions, keeping and not cutting student maintenance grants, the bus fare caps discussed today and the first wellbeing of future generations Act in the UK, never forgetting that a decision, however big or small, is important for what it does for the people of Wales. As we once again gather to celebrate our national day, I will remember to do all those little things. Of course, I wish everyone a dydd gŵyl Dewi hapus—a happy St David’s day.