Jessica Morden

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.