On being awarded a CBE

I am surprised, moved and most grateful to be awarded a CBE for “public service” in the Kings birthday honours today.

I have been fortunate to have been able to make made some real and lasting changes over my career, while Director at the Bevan Foundation as well as earlier in local government and in various voluntary roles. From all the primary school pupils who now get a free lunch after the Bevan Foundation proved it was affordable, to the learners who get an extra £10 a week in Education Maintenance Allowance when we put the issue on the agenda, to the factory units, roads, stations and creches at I helped to get EU funding for.  Those achievements are sufficient reward in themselves, but I am nevertheless grateful that they are appreciated.

Many other people have helped to make these changes happen. At the Bevan Foundation, its funders and supporters, trustees, and small but perfectly formed staff team, have all helped to create a lasting impact.  It was sometimes really tough, but we did it.  Credit too to politicians of all parties who had the courtesy to listen, even if what they heard was uncomfortable, and – surprisingly often – taken action based on the Bevan Foundation’s ideas.

I am grateful to my family for their support. They’ve tolerated my late night work habits, cooked me lovely meals, and helped out in a myriad of practical ways. My late mother would have been proud of me.

I thought long and hard about whether to accept the honour, given its links with the injustices of empire. But in the end, I decided to do so because the award is not just personal – it is recognition that tacking poverty, inequality and injustice in Wales matters. I have promised myself that I will use my award as platform to continue the fight for social justice in Wales as best I can.