St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

I wish a happy early St David’s day to all. I congratulate my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones), on an excellent opening contribution to the debate.

We will all say it:

“Be joyful, keep the faith and do the little things”.

Those were the final words of our patron saint. The Prime Minister repeated them in his remarks at the St David’s day reception at No. 10 on Monday, which was an excellent event. It afforded us the opportunity to invite people who do extraordinary things in our constituencies. I brought along Mark Seymour, who, alongside his team in Newport, runs the Sanctuary project, which works with refugees and asylum seekers.

In that vein, I want to begin by recognising some more extraordinary Newportonians who perform small, kind and positive acts that help make our community what it is. First, I pay tribute to my constituent Martyn Butler, who sadly passed away last weekend. Martyn was a co-founder of the Terrence Higgins trust, setting up one of the first AIDS helplines in 1983 using his home telephone. His tireless work, right up until his death, to raise awareness of HIV testing and pre-exposure prophylaxis helped to contribute to the 20% fall in new HIV cases in Wales in 2024. More people than ever before are being tested. That legacy will be felt for generations. We send our love to his family—he was a lovely, lovely man.

Emma Webb is a bereaved mother whose daughter took her own life in 2020 aged just 16. From the depths of her grief, Emma has spent every day since campaigning to raise awareness of suicide prevention. She has walked hundreds of miles with a life-size model pony, raised thousands of pounds and worked relentlessly to save lives. I thank her from the bottom of my heart.

I have also had the pleasure of welcoming 11-year-old Sophia from Newport East to Westminster this year. She lives with juvenile arthritis and uses her incredible energy and infectious positivity to raise awareness and improve support for children like her. She will clearly rule the world; she is a brilliant example to us all. The great privilege of this role is meeting and working with such remarkable people who show so much resilience.

It is that resilience that has carried out city through challenging times. After more than a decade of austerity, I am glad to see that the damage done by the Conservatives is beginning to be undone. The recent announcement that work will begin this year to build two new railway stations in Newport East has been warmly welcomed by businesses and residents alike.

[Catherine Fookes]

Will my hon. Friend give way?

[Jessica Morden]

I will, and I know what my hon. Friend is going to say.

[Catherine Fookes]

My hon. Friend mentioned her new railway stations. She used to be the MP for part of my constituency, and I want to pay tribute to her. Will she join me in welcoming the new Magor and Undy railway station? I want to say a big thank you to her for all the work she has done with the Magor Action Group on Rail to make that station a reality.

[Jessica Morden]

I thank my hon. Friend for being so generous, and indeed for the work she has done to carry that on—she has been relentless in this Chamber, at every single opportunity—and the fantastic Magor Action Group on Rail, which it is a privilege to work with. Well done to them.

I was also pleased to see the proposed Caerleon station included in the rail vision for Wales. My hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn has been very supportive of that, as has our MS, Jayne Bryant. I commend the TRACS—Towards Restoring a Caerleon Station—group for its commitment to securing a station for the town, and I support it all the way.

This investment of many millions of pounds—part of a £14 billion commitment to rail in Wales—is just one example of how the people in Newport East are feeling the benefit of two Governments working together. That is really important. Another example of that, due to a good settlement, is the fact that the Labour-run council in Newport, under the energetic and resourceful leadership of Dimitri Batrouni, has this week announced the biggest investment in roads, infrastructure and schools in living memory, with a £40 million commitment. That includes £15 million to repair and resurface our roads and pavements, all of which are showing the impact of 14 years of Tory austerity. There is also half a million pounds for our city centre’s invaluable grassroots sports clubs, match funding for teams like Newport County and the Dragons, more funding to tackle fly-tipping and much more. Those are the kinds of priorities that residents tell us matter to them, and this action is due to the massive 6.1% funding increase from the Welsh Government, thanks to the Chancellor’s decisions flowing down to them. That partnership working is really important.

Crime and antisocial behaviour in our city centre remains one of our top concerns, so I was really pleased to hear from Gwent police that reported crime has fallen over the past year, with shoplifting down 20% across our city and antisocial behaviour seeing a steep decline during November. That is due to increased investment from the UK Labour Government, the hard work of Gwent police and the extra measures it is deploying, including the new Project Vigilant scheme, which will help to protect women and girls who are out and about in the night-time economy in our city centre. I commend that really good initiative. Gwent police has also confirmed that, by the end of March, every single neighbourhood policing team in Newport will be up to full establishment, delivering on a key and very important manifesto pledge, so I commend that.

The news of £20 million of Pride in Place money for Newport has been warmly welcomed, allowing us to invest in regeneration of the city centre and surrounding areas. That complements the work already going on in the city centre around the leisure centre, which I think my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn would agree is going up at an alarming rate, and the ongoing restoration of our Newport transporter bridge, which benefited from a further £5 million of UK Government funding. It is the Friends of Newport Transporter Bridge annual general meeting tonight, and my hon. Friend and I hope to get there in time.

I support Newport city council’s expression of interest for the town of culture competition, and particularly Caerleon’s bid. As one of the most significant and best understood Roman legionary sites in the former empire, with a strong community, it would be a really worthy winner, so let us hope that happens. [Interruption.] I hear a bit of competition there.

Turning from Newport’s significant history to its really promising future, the UK Government’s announcement of the AI growth zone represents a really exciting prospect for our city that we want to grasp. As my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn said, we have globally significant tech companies already based in Newport, including KLA and Vishay, which were here yesterday for an event. Further investment in sites and jobs is really welcome, particularly given that we are the fastest growing and the youngest city in Wales, with the fastest growing population of under-16s.

Sitting at the heart of cwm silicon, Newport is not just part of the new industrial revolution; it is driving it. With a strategic location, vital grid connections and a talented workforce, we have all the assets that modern industry is competing to secure. Of course, all this development and new infrastructure needs steel—I always have to mention steel—so I look forward to seeing the Government’s steel plan when it is published in the next few weeks. As always, I pay tribute to those who work in the steel industry in Newport East.

Its people, its geography, its grit and its determination set Newport apart from anywhere else, but it has something else: momentum. Under the inspired leadership of our council, and with support from the UK Government and the Welsh Government, we are seizing the opportunity of the moment. Newport is ready for this moment. Huge investments are coming, innovation is accelerating and the city’s strong communities are leading the way. We are not looking back. We are not about the politics of grievance and division; we are positive and ambitious for the future of Newport, and we will take every opportunity to build it.

Flooding: Monmouthshire

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Wednesday 19th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

My constituency neighbour and very diligent representative, my hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes), is as we speak in Abergavenny and will join the Secretary of State in Monmouth shortly, meeting and listening to those affected by the devastating floods which hit Monmouth, Abergavenny, Skenfrith and the villages. She has asked me to say a very big heartfelt thank you to the emergency services, all the authorities and all those who have helped for the incredible community effort and many kindnesses shown over the past few days, which have included offers of beds, homes, donations and more. Hundreds and hundreds of businesses and homes will be affected and it will take many months to clear up. I know that my hon. Friend is liaising with the Prime Minister, Departments and the Welsh Government—this is a devolved issue and there will be many asks—but may I ask on her behalf that we continue to offer support in the many ways that will be needed in the period? I am also mindful of other areas impacted by flooding, including my own.

[Anna McMorrin]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. My hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire (Catherine Fookes) has been so diligent. I was on the phone with her over the weekend, and I know that she has been speaking to the Welsh Government. I was also on the phone to the Deputy First Minister over the weekend, and I have been in contact with Natural Resources Wales and local community groups. My hon. Friend the Member for Monmouthshire has been out there in her wellies, helping with the clean-up. I know that she feels this as deeply as those who have been impacted. The support we will be there, and we will continue to work together. Although flooding is a devolved matter, it reaches right across the country. Wherever we can help, we will. We are working together to ensure that we resolve this at pace and help the people who need it.

St David’s Day and Welsh Affairs

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

Diolch, Madam Deputy Speaker. I wish everyone a happy St David’s Day for Saturday.

As always, it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to speak in the Chamber about our wonderful city of Newport, and to see my constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn (Ruth Jones), who is certainly a very proud Newportonian, open the debate so ably—just as ably as she chairs the Welsh Affairs Committee.

For generations, Newport has been known for its rich industrial heritage. It was once central to the world during the industrial revolution, when iron and coal were shipped globally from its docks. On a point of trivia, those docks were disguised as the port of Southampton in the recent “Gavin and Stacey” Christmas special, when Nessa—a very close friend of my hon. Friend—tries to head off to Panama. Today, a new industrial revolution is under way in city. It is bringing well-paid and highly skilled jobs, fostering innovation, and marking a significant shift in Newport’s economic fortunes. I am speaking about this today as we look to the UK Government and our excellent Secretary of State to help us.

Newport is rapidly becoming a hub for data and technology, attracting global businesses and securing billions of pounds of investment, both in my constituency of Newport East and in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn. From the decades-long work of KLA in Ringland, to the Vishay site, Vantage and Microsoft at the other end of the city, which my hon. Friend represents, we have a globally significant semiconductor cluster. Newport is still a steel city—more of that later—but is also evolving into a “cwm silicon”: a Welsh silicon valley.

Powered by renewables, innovators such as SAE are leading the way, repurposing the former coal-fired power station at Uskmouth into one of the UK’s largest battery energy storage plants. This will store energy from renewables—it is right next to the Severn estuary, so any investment in tidal technology is welcome there—and feed it directly into the grid, ensuring that Newport steps into this new industrial revolution with the environment at its heart, protecting our unique natural surroundings.

At the centre of all this sits our city’s port. As the UK’s largest steel port, it is leading the way in becoming a port of the future, with an ambitious plan by Associated British Ports to decarbonise. That will not only sustain the port’s long-term viability and provide a source of renewable energy for the city but create more jobs in the industries of the future for the people of Newport. I hope my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will ensure that a strategy for Welsh ports is very much part of the industrial strategy.

The city has come a long way since 1962, when Llanwern steelworks became the first place in the world to use a computer to control a hot strip mill. It continues to produce world-class automotive steel, thanks to its dedicated and highly skilled workforce, represented by excellent unions, and in recent months it reached a new output record of 14 kilotons in a week following the introduction of new technology. With the ongoing work by the Government to establish a long-term and ambitious vision for the UK steel industry through the industrial strategy and the steel strategy, Llanwern has the potential to maintain an exciting future on the cutting edge of steel making.

However, it is important that the steel strategy addresses the major challenges the industry faces. We appreciate the £2.5 billion of support for the industry, but ahead of the expiry of the existing steel safeguards next year, the industry is calling for robust quotas that will protect the UK market from global excess capacity and trade diversion, especially in the light of US tariffs. The strategy also needs to address the persistent issue of energy costs and procurement, and an update from the Secretary of State on any conversations with the Cabinet about steel would be most welcome.

As in the last industrial revolution, when Newport was key to getting black gold to the world, the city is once again essential to the industries of tomorrow. Without all the vital components—wafers, data centres for hyperscalers, semiconductor manufacturing equipment and renewable energy capacity—the UK risks missing out on this AI and data-driven industrial revolution. With support for and investment in Newport from the UK and Welsh Governments, working in partnership with industry, we can move forward with the ambitious plans outlined in our manifesto, with the industrial strategy now coming together.

Newport sits at the heart of all that is vital to transforming public services and driving economic growth across the UK. Our Newport city council leader, Dimitri Batrouni, would love to pursue plans for an AI growth zone, to make use of our strengths and assets and to take advantage of the incredible opportunities that lie ahead for our city. My hon. Friend the Member for Newport West and Islwyn and I would welcome a meeting with the Secretary of State about supporting these plans. As Newport representatives with our councillors and Members of the Senedd, we have big ambitions for our city in this field.

In closing, I invite all Members to pick up their mobile phones or tablets—if they are allowed to. Without the research and development work happening at KLA in my constituency, we would not be able to do everything we can on our devices. Every day, each of us interacts with hundreds of devices that would not exist without the cutting-edge R&D carried out by KLA, which builds the equipment needed to manufacture semiconductors. Newport is right at the heart of all that. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to raise this today. I look forward to the Secretary of State’s reply and to working with colleagues in Government at both ends of the M4 to pursue this ambitious vision for our city.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Oral Answers to Questions

Jessica Morden Excerpts

Wednesday 11th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

5. What steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support the steel industry in Wales.

[The Secretary of State for Wales (Jo Stevens)]

Under my chairmanship, the transition board has moved from discussion to delivery. Last month, I announced £13.5 million for supply chain, skills and employability funds. I also announced our business and community pledge scheme, bringing together over 50 organisations in support of affected workers.

[Jo Stevens]

The two funds that have been announced are specifically for people in businesses and in the supply chain, because we know that they have already been affected by the uncertainty of the situation at Port Talbot. They will help people to retrain and reskill into new employment, and will help businesses to diversify and go into new markets if they are a primary customer of Tata Steel.

[Jessica Morden]

I know that my right hon. Friend will serve Wales admirably in her new role.

Llanwern steelworks in Newport is a key strategic site that manufactures world-class automotive steel and more, and it has so much potential. We all await the statement later, but can she outline what she has been doing, alongside the Department for Business and Trade, to secure future investment in Llanwern as part of ongoing discussions with Tata?

[Jo Stevens]

The Government absolutely understand the importance of Llanwern as a key manufacturing facility for steel products. We have worked with Tata Steel UK to ensure that Llanwern is clearly considered in plans for the future of steel in south Wales. My hon. Friend is a dedicated advocate for the workers at Llanwern, and I know that that she will follow closely the upcoming statement from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

We are absolutely committed to the transition to renewable energy, because it gives us energy dependence. It lowers bills and, of course, the next generation of jobs are tied up with it. We have to do it in a cost-effective way, but we will make those decisions in a cost-effective way.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

The UK steel industry needs a serious Government who work in partnership with both businesses and trade unions to secure a transition that is right for the workforce and delivers economic growth in Wales. We know that deindustrialisation can be devastating for communities, so can the Prime Minister tell me how the Government are safeguarding jobs and securing the future of steelmaking communities like ours for generations to come?

[The Prime Minister]

We are taking every step we can in relation to the steel industry because it is vital that we give it the support that it needs. We need steel in this country. We need to steel made in this country, and our plans and our missions mean that we are going to need more steel, not less. It is the duty of the Government to ensure that jobs, communities and people are not ignored in the transition and that jobs are protected. The Business Secretary will provide an update to the House this afternoon.