It was an honour to be re-elected as the MP for Newport East, and I look forward to continuing my work for constituents in Newport, Caldicot, Magor, Undy, Rogiet and the villages in 2020.

Please find below an update of my work since the start of the new Parliament following the General Election. Please do get in touch if you have a case you wish me to raise or would like to let me know your views. My contact details are listed below.  Please ring or email for details of my advice surgeries. For updates on my work please follow me on twitter @jessicamordenmp or facebook.

Standing up for our manufacturing industry

I was pleased to be elected as co-chair of the Steel APPG in January. At this very important time for our industry, the group will be getting to work straight away with fellow MPs, UK Steel and steel unions Community and Unite to fight for measures to support steel in advance of the budget.

Steel should be at the heart of an industrial strategy. It’s a tragedy that Newport’s Orb works – the only plant in the UK making the electrical steels which could be used for electrical vehicles – was mothballed before Christmas, and last month there were further job losses at Liberty in Newport (I raised this in Parliament here),We simply can’t afford to lose these jobs and skills. This goes for other industries too and the sudden closure of Enersys and the proposed closure of Caldicot Tinmasters are of great concern and I have been talking to unions about both these sites.

That’s why in Parliament I’ve been challenging the Government on these issues, you can read my contributions in the Queens Speech here, the Clean Growth – new jobs debate here and the Global Britain debate here.  I also spoke in the Green Industrial Revolution debate.  In addition I arranged meetings with Business and Wales Office ministers to put forward the case for a steel sector deal and greater government support for the industry.

Also in January I attended the funeral of Paul Horton, Orb steelworker and Senior Community Union representative. Paul passed away on New Year’s Day. A kind & modest man, Paul would fight your corner without looking for recognition & was passionate about the industry. He put his heart and soul into fighting for the future of Orb and all who worked there.I am grateful to him for helping to inform me to represent our steel industry in Parliament.

Police issues

I spoke in the debate on Policing this week to highlight concerns on future funding and resources for Gwent Police and other Welsh forces. You can read my contribution here. Two years on from the passage of the Assaults on Emergency Workers Act, I also emphasised the importance of the Government enforcing this legislation to protect the protectors.

I have also been liaising with police following contact from many residents and this includes anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving issues at Spytty Retail, here’s an update on my website. 

IR35

Many constituents have contacted me with their concerns about the new update to IR35 regulations being implemented from April 2020.  I have spoken twice about the issue in Parliament here and here

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Brexit update

• Protecting workers’ and EU citizens’ rights after Brexit;
• Preventing no deal at the end of the implementation period;
• Negotiating an agreement with the EU on protecting unaccompanied child refugees.

Some of my other recent work in Parliament:

• Met constituents at Voices Network UK and Red Cross event, discussing the right to work for refugees and family reunion.
• Attended meetings with the State Pension Equality for Women APPG; Loan Charge APPG; British Steel Pensions Group; RPSB; Animal Welfare APPG; Human Gut APPG; Sarcoma UK; RED Community UK and Long Live the Local.
• Joined Welsh Labour MPs, led by Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan, in calling on the Welsh Rugby Union to do all it can to keep Wales matches – and in particular the Six Nations – on free-to-view television.
• Supported Usdaw campaign for improved protections for shopworkers, and voiced support for ban on credit card gambling.

I was pleased to have been voted the 14th most responsive MP out of 650 MPs in the People Power Index.  The index tracks which MPs have listened to, and engaged with, their constituents over the last two years.

In the constituency

• • Met with Lord Burns for an update on work of the South East Wales Transport Commission
  • Newport East Litter Pickers session on SDR
  • Surgeries in Lliswerry, Caldicot and Clarence House constituency office
  • MPs and AMs meeting with Newport City Council leader Jane Mudd
  • Caldicot Musical Theatre Society Oscars Night
  • Working with police and local authority on anti-social behaviour and dangerous driving issues at Spytty Retail Park
  • Raised issues around the future of Caldicot Leisure Centre squash courts with Monmouthshire County Council
  • Met with constituent about the publication of a book on human trafficking for young children
  • Attended the enthronement of the Bishop of Monmouth
  • Raised problems with rail services from Severn Tunnel Junction with GWR
  • Meetings with Magor Action Group on Rail and Community Union