Read below my June 2026 Newsletter, which was sent on 30 June 2026.
You can sign up for future editions by clicking here.
Sgroliwch i lawr am y fersiwn Cymraeg.
Since my last newsletter at the end of May, the Prime Minister has resigned, Andy Burnham has returned to Parliament to take his place, with Ed Miliband, Wes Streeting, Rachel Reeves, Shabana Mahmood and Yvette Cooper all tipped as possibilities to become the next Chancellor. What has not changed is I am writing this during yet another historic heatwave.
If our energy secretary gains the keys to No 11 and brings the approach he has taken at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero with him, that will be hugely significant for the political direction Burnham’s government goes in.
As such, we are yet to escape the gravitational pull that energy policy has British politics at the moment, so I will have to subject readers to more on that again this month. It really is the theme of the year.
In this edition, I will share my statement on Keir Starmer’s resignation, offer my thoughts on what Burnham’s choice of Chancellor will mean for the direction the government goes in, before finishing up as usual with a roundup of visits in the constituency.
Keir Starmer resigns
The UK’s sixth Prime Minister in ten years resigned on Monday, 22 June, uncannily only a day before the ten-year anniversary of the Brexit referendum. I shared the below statement with constituents:
In under two years in office Labour has lifted half a million children out of poverty, delivered the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation, raised the minimum wage and the National Living Wage, overhauled renters’ rights, launched a state-owned energy developer, removed hereditary peers from the House of Lords, and is renationalising rail and steel, to name but a few achievements. There has been much to celebrate.
We have thus far failed as a party, however, to radically rebalance the economy in favour of the working class, to stand decisively against the genocide in Gaza, or to pursue a foreign policy that reflects the reality of the United States turning its back on the free world.
We lost the trust of many pensioners, farmers, and disabled people, and took for granted those who share our traditional Labour values. We lost the trust of Welsh voters, too, and paved the way for nationalist parties to hold four fifths of the Senedd.
The pace of change has been insufficient. Successful government requires relentless energy, optimism, and radicalism. These were not qualities present in Keir Starmer’s leadership.
I know many constituents will meet another change of Prime Minister with trepidation. The truth is that governing the country is as much about politics as it is about policy. They are mutually dependent. Managerial incrementalism has – self-evidently – not commanded the support required to sustain a government in office.
Andy Burnham has shown he possesses what Keir Starmer lacked, namely the ability to inspire hope, to create a compelling narrative, and to overcome political obstacles. By winning in Makerfield as convincingly as he did, Andy Burnham has offered a blueprint for the party to replicate up and down the country. In that, he has my support.
What remains to be seen is whether he can match this with a serious, root-and-branch programme of policy reform to tackle the problems facing the country, while rebuilding trust in a democratic Labour Party that respects dissenting voices.
Without competence in both politics and in policy, we will remain adrift.
My priority remains the same as on the day I was elected: to speak boldly for my constituents from the backbenches and do everything I can to ensure this Labour Government delivers for the people of Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr.
All political careers end in failure
Firstly, I think it is important to say why Keir Starmer resigned despite what I know some constituents will see as another unnecessary change at the top.
Politicians have to consider the political situation when making decisions. Any leader has to factor in how rivals, allies, and opponents will react to whatever strategy they choose to take.
This is to say, it to neglect something fundamental about politics to assume you can be perceived to fail badly at being Prime Minister for two years without running the risk of being ousted. That has to be part of any leader’s calculation. Any job, regrettably, is subject to ‘office politics.’ Sir Keir’s inability to play the political game helped accelerate his departure (as did the terrible inheritance from the Conservatives, a cutthroat media environment, and one of the most challenging international backdrops in the best part of a century).
Burnham’s return
Readers who follow me on social media will know I spent a few days up in Makerfield this month campaigning for our successful Labour candidate, Andy Burnham.
The campaign he and his team ran there set a precedent for how the Labour Party must speak to the country, with optimism and respect. That is a message everybody can get behind and one I wholeheartedly endorse. I look forward to sharing it with constituents.
It will, however, be useless without a fresh policy approach. That is why the Socialist Campaign Group has set out its programme for change in the Tribune Magazine last week, including tax and fiscal justice, public ownership, emergency action on the cost of living, strengthening workers’ rights, tackling the housing crisis, action on the climate emergency, an ethical foreign policy, restoring party democracy, and rejecting the politics of division.
You can read the manifesto by clicking here.
Burnham’s choice
Much of the talk around Burnham has understandably centred on who he chooses to be his Chancellor of the Exchequer. It will do much to signal in which direction he decides to govern.
The relationship between 10 and 11 Downing Street matters greatly if we are going to see the kind of strategic plan for government that did not always appear to be present under Starmer. It needs to be built on trust and there needs to be intellectual alignment, or we will fall victim to the orthodox ‘Treasury brain’ thinking that has acted as a brake on growth since time immemorial.
Climate politics
It is fitting that this comes during the second heatwave of the year. We have seen the hottest ever days recorded in both May and June within weeks of each other. As I write, the June record has been broken three days in a row. Train services are being cancelled as tracks buckle in the heat, schools have been forced to close, motorways have shut as overhead cables collapse, hospital wards are reaching temperatures of over 30 degrees inside and making life intolerable for staff and patients alike. The London Ambulance Service reported that cardiac arrests in the capital have increased by a third during the heatwave as people’s bodies work harder to beat the heat.
This has nothing to do with people’s changing attitudes towards risk. A lot of the problems actually have nothing to do with people at all, but everything to do with materials: physical infrastructure is failing because it was designed for a cooler climate. The French have been forced to shut down several nuclear reactors because liquid coolant has become too hot to prevent nuclear meltdown, for example.
These are just that, examples. But they demonstrate that if we do not move to mitigate the effects of climate change, we will continue to suffer when heatwaves of this intensity, or worse, start to come around every other year.
This heatwave will end soon, and people will go back to worrying about something else. But the science is blatantly clear, and our own experience of recent history has already proven it: our climate has already changed irreversibly, and it will worsen. We need to take that incredibly seriously now or we will pay a greater price in the years to come.
That is why Burnham’s choice of Chancellor is incredibly important. Wes Streeting has said he would support new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea, a fallacy which I have covered in detail in previous newsletters this year. It would not lower prices, it would not make us energy independent, and it would signal that the Labour Government does not make serious, evidence-based decisions for the long-term wellbeing of the population. That would be a fatal mistake.
If the new government does not keep up the same commitment to tackling climate change and starts putting serious money into mitigation – that is, adapting to how the climate has already, and will continue, to change – then future generations will pay the price. There is no easy alternative to this. The good news is that Britain has already made huge progress on decarbonising the economy, transitioning to renewables, and cutting our emissions. The moral and economically sound thing to do is to stay the course.
June in Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr
On a cheerier note, I have had a series of very pleasant visits around the constituency this month.
I visited the 45th Birthday Celebration of Montgomeryshire Family Crisis Centre, Llanfair Caereinion Carnival, the Penycae Summer Fete, an event about the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct UNESCO World Heritage Site, hosted by the Canal and Rivers Trust, Ysgol Rhiwabon’s Graduation Ceremony, Welshpool Town Council’s Hub, Chirk Carnival, Berriew’s Nature Day, a Charity Football Match in Newtown, St Myllin’s Day celebrations in Llanfyllin, Montgomery’s mayoral inaugurations, Broughton’s Airbus factory, and many other things that I’m sure have slipped my mind for now.
That’s all for this week. Have a good one and see you next time.
S.
Ymddiswyddiad Keir Starmer
Ymddiswyddodd chweched Prif Weinidog y DU mewn deng mlynedd ar ddydd Llun, 22 Mehefin, yn rhyfeddol dim ond diwrnod cyn dengmlwyddiant refferendwm Brexit. Rhannais y datganiad isod gyda’r etholwyr:
Mewn llai na dwy flynedd yn y swydd, mae Llafur wedi codi hanner miliwn o blant allan o dlodi, wedi cyflawni’r uwchraddiad mwyaf i hawliau gweithwyr mewn cenhedlaeth, wedi codi’r isafswm cyflog a’r Cyflog Byw Cenedlaethol, wedi ailwampio hawliau rhentwyr, wedi lansio datblygwr ynni sy’n eiddo i’r wladwriaeth, wedi cael gwared ar arglwyddi etifeddol o Dŷ’r Arglwyddi, ac mae’n ail-genedlaetholi rheilffyrdd a dur, i enwi dim ond ychydig o gyflawniadau. Mae llawer i’w ddathlu.
Hyd yn hyn, fodd bynnag, rydym wedi methu fel plaid i ailgydbwyso’r economi’n radical o blaid y dosbarth gweithiol, i sefyll yn bendant yn erbyn yr hil-laddiad yn Gaza, neu i ddilyn polisi tramor sy’n adlewyrchu realiti’r Unol Daleithiau yn troi ei chefn ar y byd rhydd.
Collom ymddiriedaeth llawer o bensiynwyr, ffermwyr, a phobl anabl, a chymerom yn ganiataol y rhai sy’n rhannu ein gwerthoedd Llafur traddodiadol. Collom ymddiriedaeth pleidleiswyr Cymru hefyd, a pharatoi’r ffordd i bleidiau cenedlaetholgar ddal pedair rhan o bump o’r Senedd.
Mae cyflymder y newid wedi bod yn annigonol. Mae llywodraeth lwyddiannus angen egni di-baid, optimistiaeth, a radicaliaeth. Nid oedd y rhain yn rhinweddau a oedd yn bresennol yn arweinyddiaeth Keir Starmer.
Rwy’n gwybod y bydd llawer o bleidleiswyr yn ystyried y posibilrwydd o newid Prif Weinidog arall gyda phryder. Y gwir amdani yw bod llywodraethu’r wlad yn golygu cydbwyso gwleidyddiaeth a pholisi, ac mae’r ddau yn ddibynnol ar ei gilydd. Mae’n amlwg nad yw canolbwyntio ar reoli wedi ennill y gefnogaeth sydd ei hangen i gadw llywodraeth yn ei swydd.
Mae Andy Burnham wedi dangos bod ganddo’r rhinweddau nad oedd gan Keir Starmer: y gallu i ysbrydoli gobaith, creu naratif cymhellol, a goresgyn rhwystrau gwleidyddol. Drwy ennill yn Makerfield mor argyhoeddiadol ag y gwnaeth, mae Andy Burnham wedi cynnig glasbrint i’r blaid ei efelychu ar hyd a lled y wlad. Yn hynny o beth, mae ganddo fy nghefnogaeth i.
Yr hyn sydd ar ôl i’w weld yw a all ef gydweddu hyn â rhaglen ddifrifol, wreiddyn-a-changen o ddiwygio polisi i fynd i’r afael â’r problemau sy’n wynebu’r wlad, wrth ailadeiladu ymddiriedaeth mewn Plaid Lafur ddemocrataidd sy’n parchu lleisiau anghytuno. Heb gymhwysedd mewn gwleidyddiaeth a pholisi, byddwn yn parhau i fod ar goll.
Mae fy mhrif flaenoriaeth yr un fath ag ar y diwrnod y cefais fy ethol: siarad yn feiddgar dros fy hetholwyr o’r meinciau cefn a gwneud popeth o fewn fy ngallu i sicrhau bod y Llywodraeth Lafur hon yn cyflawni dros bobl Maldwyn a Glyndŵr.
Mae pob gyrfa wleidyddol yn dod i ben mewn methiant
Yn gyntaf, rwy’n credu ei bod hi’n bwysig dweud pam y gwnaeth Keir Starmer ymddiswyddo er gwaethaf yr hyn rwy’n gwybod y bydd rhai etholwyr yn ei weld fel newid diangen arall ar y brig.
Mae’n rhaid i wleidyddion ystyried y sefyllfa wleidyddol wrth wneud penderfyniadau. Mae’n rhaid i unrhyw arweinydd ystyried sut y bydd cystadleuwyr, cynghreiriaid a gwrthwynebwyr yn ymateb i ba bynnag strategaeth y maent yn dewis ei chymryd.
Hynny yw, mae’n esgeuluso rhywbeth sylfaenol am wleidyddiaeth i dybio y gallwch chi gael eich gweld fel rhywun sy’n methu’n wael wrth fod yn Brif Weinidog am ddwy flynedd heb redeg y risg o gael eich diswyddo. Rhaid i hynny fod yn rhan o gyfrifiad unrhyw arweinydd. Mae unrhyw swydd, yn anffodus, yn destun ‘gwleidyddiaeth swyddfa.’
Helpodd anallu Syr Keir i chwarae’r gêm wleidyddol i gyflymu ei ymadawiad (fel y gwnaeth yr etifeddiaeth ofnadwy gan y Ceidwadwyr, amgylchedd cyfryngau llym, ac un o’r cefndiroedd rhyngwladol mwyaf heriol yn y rhan fwyaf o ganrif).
Dychweliad Burnham
Bydd darllenwyr sy’n fy nilyn ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol yn gwybod i mi dreulio ychydig ddyddiau ym Makerfield y mis hwn yn ymgyrchu dros ein hymgeisydd Llafur llwyddiannus, Andy Burnham.Gosododd yr ymgyrch a gynhaliwyd ganddo ef a’i dîm yno gynsail ar gyfer y ffordd y mae’n rhaid i’r Blaid Lafur siarad â’r wlad, gydag optimistiaeth a pharch. Neges yw hon y gall pawb ei chefnogi, ac un rwy’n ei chymeradwyo’n llwyr. Edrychaf ymlaen at ei rhannu gyda’r etholwyr.
Fodd bynnag, bydd yn ddiwerth heb ddull polisi ffres. Dyna pam y mae’r Grŵp Ymgyrch Sosialaidd wedi nodi ei raglen ar gyfer newid yng Nghylchgrawn y Tribune yr wythnos diwethaf, gan gynnwys cyfiawnder treth a chyllidol, perchnogaeth gyhoeddus, camau brys ar gostau byw, cryfhau hawliau gweithwyr, mynd i’r afael â’r argyfwng tai, camau gweithredu ar yr argyfwng hinsawdd, polisi tramor moesegol, adfer democratiaeth plaid, a gwrthod gwleidyddiaeth rhaniad.
Cewch ddarllen y maniffesto drwy glicio yma.
Dewis Burnham
Mae llawer o’r sgwrs ynghylch Burnham wedi canolbwyntio, yn ddealladwy, ar bwy y mae’n ei ddewis i fod yn Ganghellor y Trysorlys. Bydd yn gwneud llawer i nodi i ba gyfeiriad y mae’n penderfynu llywodraethu.
Mae’r berthynas rhwng rhifau 10 ac 11 Downing Street yn bwysig iawn os ydym am weld y math o gynllun strategol ar gyfer llywodraeth nad oedd bob amser yn ymddangos yn bresennol o dan Starmer. Mae angen ei adeiladu ar ymddiriedaeth ac mae angen cydlyniad deallusol, neu byddwn yn dioddef i’r meddwl ‘ymennydd Trysorlys’ uniongred sydd wedi bod yn brêc ar dwf ers talwm.
Gwleidyddiaeth hinsawdd
Mae’n briodol bod hyn yn digwydd yn ystod ail don wres y flwyddyn. Rydym wedi gweld y dyddiau poethaf erioed wedi’u cofnodi ym mis Mai a mis Mehefin o fewn wythnosau i’w gilydd. Wrth i mi ysgrifennu, mae record mis Mehefin wedi’i dorri dridiau yn olynol. Mae gwasanaethau trên yn cael eu canslo wrth i draciau blygu yn y gwres, mae ysgolion wedi gorfod cau, mae traffyrdd wedi cau wrth i geblau uwchben ddymchwel, mae wardiau ysbytai yn cyrraedd tymheredd o dros 30 gradd y tu mewn ac yn gwneud bywyd yn annioddefol i staff a chleifion. Adroddodd Gwasanaeth Ambiwlans Llundain fod ataliadau ar y galon yn y brifddinas wedi cynyddu o draean yn ystod y don wres wrth i gyrff pobl weithio yn galetach i guro’r gwres.
Nid oes gan hyn ddim i’w wneud â newid agweddau pobl tuag at risg. Nid oes gan lawer o’r problemau ddim i’w wneud â phobl o gwbl, ond popeth i’w wneud â deunyddiau: mae seilwaith ffisegol yn methu oherwydd iddo gael ei gynllunio ar gyfer hinsawdd oerach. Un enghraifft yw bod y Ffrancwyr wedi gorfod cau sawl adweithydd niwclear oherwydd bod oerydd hylif wedi mynd yn rhy boeth i atal toddi niwclear.
Dim ond enghreifftiau yw rhain. Ond maen nhw’n dangos, os na fyddwn ni’n symud i liniaru effeithiau newid hinsawdd, byddwn ni’n parhau i ddioddef pan fydd tonnau gwres o’r dwyster hwn, neu’n waeth, yn dechrau dod o gwmpas bob yn ail flwyddyn.
Bydd y don wres hon yn dod i ben yn fuan, a bydd pobl yn mynd yn ôl i boeni am rywbeth arall. Ond mae’r wyddoniaeth yn hollol glir, ac mae ein profiad ein hunain o hanes diweddar eisoes wedi’i brofi: mae ein hinsawdd eisoes wedi newid yn anwrthdroadwy, a bydd yn gwaethygu. Mae angen i ni gymryd hynny o ddifrif nawr neu byddwn yn talu pris mwy yn y blynyddoedd i ddod.
Dyna pam mae dewis Canghellor Burnham yn hynod bwysig. Mae Wes Streeting wedi dweud y byddai’n cefnogi trwyddedau olew a nwy newydd ym Môr y Gogledd, camsyniad yr wyf wedi’i drafod yn fanwl mewn cylchlythyrau blaenorol eleni. Ni fyddai’n gostwng prisiau, ni fyddai’n ein gwneud yn annibynnol ar ynni, a byddai’n arwydd nad yw’r Llywodraeth Lafur yn gwneud penderfyniadau difrifol, yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth, er lles hirdymor y boblogaeth. Byddai hynny’n gamgymeriad angheuol.
Os na fydd y llywodraeth newydd yn cadw at yr un ymrwymiad i fynd i’r afael â newid hinsawdd ac yn dechrau buddsoddi arian sylweddol mewn lliniaru – hynny yw, addasu i sut mae’r hinsawdd eisoes wedi newid, a bydd yn parhau i newid – yna bydd cenedlaethau’r dyfodol yn talu’r pris. Nid oes dewis arall hawdd i hyn. Y newyddion da yw bod Prydain eisoes wedi gwneud cynnydd enfawr ar ddatgarboneiddio’r economi, newid i ynni adnewyddadwy, a thorri ein hallyriadau. Y peth moesol ac economaidd gadarn i’w wneud yw cadw at y cwrs.
Mis Mehefin ym Maldwyn a Glyndŵr
Ar nodyn mwy llawen, rydw i wedi cael cyfres o ymweliadau dymunol iawn o amgylch yr etholaeth y mis hwn.
Ymwelais â Dathliad Pen-blwydd yn 45 oed Canolfan Argyfwng Teuluol Sir Drefaldwyn, Carnifal Llanfair Caereinion, Gŵyl Haf Penycae, digwyddiad am Safle Treftadaeth y Byd UNESCO Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte, a gynhaliwyd gan Ymddiriedolaeth y Gamlas a’r Afonydd, Seremoni Graddio Ysgol Rhiwabon, Hwb Cyngor Tref y Trallwng, Carnifal y Waun, Diwrnod Natur Aberriw, Gêm Bêl-droed Elusennol yn y Drenewydd, dathliadau Dydd Sant Myllin yn Llanfyllin, urddo maer Trefaldwyn, ffatri Airbus Broughton, a llawer o bethau eraill.
Dyna’r cyfan am y mis hon. Pob hwyl a welwn ni chi’r tro nesaf. S.