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Wow. That was some election result for Plaid Cymru. To be honest it went even above my expectations.

It seems we have never stopped talking to people on the doorstep which is so, so important. Those conversations are crucial and, I believe, voters recognised the stark choice before them this month.

It has been a really hectic time but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. First, there was the run-up to the Caerphilly by-election last October, then a council by-election in my old Penyrheol council ward, followed by elections in the Van ward and then, of course, the Senedd elections.

Now we are on course to have another council by-election in the Hengoed ward following the election of my former council colleague, Donna Cushing, as a Senedd Member for Sir Fynwy Torfaen.

Clearly, people wanted change after 27 years of stale Labour government in Wales. In my last Caerphilly Observer column before the Senedd elections, I wrote that it was a choice for voters between a Plaid government and one led by Reform UK – and it was a question of what sort of society did we want to live in – a society offering hope or one that would lead to division?

So in the Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni constituency, I was thrilled that Plaid Cymru received the highest number of votes and Delyth Jewell, Niamh Salkeld and myself were elected. I would like to thank the people of the constituency for putting their trust in us. We will not let you down.

We were sworn in as Senedd Members on Saturday and the huge crowd that gathered outside the Senedd made it a hugely emotional day.

Now the hard work starts and I pledge to work full out to deliver improvements for people in this new constituency as well as Wales as a whole.

There is, of course, much to do – on our precious National Health Service, where so many of you have had to endure issues such as long waiting lists for treatment, longer than our English neighbours. Plaid Cymru aims to tackle that with the creation of surgical hubs.

There are significant other issues that need attention such as improving education outcomes, delivering a childcare scheme from the age of nine months to four years, creating jobs – and as a former housing manager I want to see more work done to tackle the shortage of affordable/social housing and the long waiting lists for council homes.

Over the next four years I also hope Reform Senedd Members, as the main opposition, will offer constructive, rather than destructive, opposition. The people of Wales deserve that.