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Peredur Owen Griffiths, who represents Plaid Cymru, is one of four regional Senedd Members serving the South Wales East region.

The death of Hefin David has been a huge shock to everyone who knew him. We may have held different beliefs and hailed from different political parties – parties that often lock horns with each other on Caerphilly County Borough Council where Hefin cut his political teeth – but he often looked for common ground. While he could be passionate and combative in the Siambr, an environment where he certainly was not afraid to intervene in a debate if he disagreed with what you were saying, you saw a different side to him in one-to-one situations.

I recall fondly a public hustings ahead of last year’s General Election which was at the Parish Trust church in Trethomas. Hefin was eager to find common ground between us, especially with a Tory and a Reform candidate sharing the platform with us. Despite our differences, there was much we had in common in terms of our political philosophy.

Hefin’s desire to explore and find shared goals was a sign of political maturity that I respect. The Senedd will be a poorer and quieter place without him.

My heart goes out to his family and friends but especially his two children who I know he doted upon. I hope this tragedy reminds people of the importance of mental health and the vital need to reach out if you are struggling. When in a moment of despair, it is imperative that people pick up a phone and speak to someone. If people are not comfortable speaking to people they know about their problems, then there are a number of suicide prevention charities that can help such as The Samaritans and CALM. 

Hefin’s untimely death has now triggered a by-election that nobody wanted in such circumstances. 

I will of course be supporting Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle between now and the by-election at the end of next month. Many former Labour voters are doing the same, not least the former Labour leader of the council, Sean Morgan. Not only has Lindsay been a great servant of the people in the county borough from his decades of political experience on the local authority and from a stint in the then National Assembly for Wales, but he is the best chance we have of repelling Reform.

The difference between Plaid Cymru and Reform – who lest we forget were a private limited company owned by its leader until earlier this year – is stark. 

Plaid Cymru has the policies and the vision to provide solutions to the biggest problems our communities are facing. During the street surgeries I have conducted regularly since my election to the Senedd, health, education, and the cost of living are the issues that get brought up on the doorstep regularly.

When it comes to policy and solutions, the Reform cupboard is bare. They have a simplistic message which is not only impractical but will do nothing to address the long-standing problems we face here in Wales, such as poverty affecting one in three children. 

Unlike Reform, Plaid Cymru is not in the pockets of wealthy donors – whose interests are perhaps reflected in Farage’s views on tax cuts for the super-rich and the introduction of an American-style insurance system for healthcare, which would remove the founding NHS principle of providing treatment free at the point of delivery.

Plaid Cymru is the first to recognise that our NHS is in a poor state due to mismanagement but we have proposed a number of solutions to make it better for patients and staff alike. Abolishing the NHS will only make things worse for our communities, particularly the most vulnerable. I urge people to remember this at the ballot box for the Caerphilly by-election on October 23.