NEWPORT born. Newport bred. Newport educated. Now Newport inspired.

Dan Llewelyn Williams is a unique Talent. Actor, writer, choreographer and chronicler of Newport’s folklore. Those who saw his one man show on Houdini will hotfoot it to the Riverfront on Saturday March 5 at 7.15pm to witness his new work on Chartists.

Dan’s Houdini show was based on stories that his Pillgwenlly grandfather told him. All were spellbinding, authentic and precious treasures of Newport’s heritage.

The ambitions of the Chartists are still worth promulgating. Last week in the Commons proved that.

*Labour and the Tories are not alike. There is a widening chasm between us. Tory health minister Ben Gummer told a select committee that his and the committee’s chairman’s view of the NHS were different to mine-because I am a ‘socialist’.

I told them the difference is because Ben and the Chairman are both sons of cabinet ministers. Top health care was certain in their homes. For the first 13 years of my life, there was no NHS. I have vivid memories of the cruel suffering of parents tormented by the choice of spending money calling the doctor or risking their child dying from diphtheria or other childhood diseases.

Empty desks in my school usually meant a child had died for want of a free NHS. That did not happen often at Eton or Harrow.

*Labour and Tories have different priorities. Tory toff James Grey MP asked me to back his plea to spend £80,000. The same day he voted three times to cut the already paltry income of the disabled and the poorest. Even the House of Lords were against hammering the poor again. James Grey’s priority was to keep spending £80,000 printing laws on vellum. The digital age is slow in reaching Grey’s Wiltshire’s constituency.

* Keith Vaz MP told me he has demanded an answer from Government to an immigration question I have repeatedly raised.

When will asylum seekers be fairly distributed throughout the UK? Newport has coped magnificently with an excessive number. Inevitably this has put extra unfair burdens on our fine local schools and excellent NHS.

The Tories have changed nothing. We still have about 500 asylum seekers. The Prime Minister and the Chancellor’s constituencies still have none. Immigrants are still put in areas where there are few jobs.

It’s a policy for chaos and resentment. Reforms must come – in Newport and throughout the EU.