A surprise message from a world-famous Welsh opera star helped send off a retiring Wrexham politician praised as a \u201ctrue champion\u201d of the city\u2019s business community.<\/p>\n
Lesley Griffiths will step down as Wrexham\u2019s Member of the Senedd ahead of the May 7 elections and was invited as guest of honour at the latest meeting of Wrexham Business Professionals.<\/p>\n
During the event at Maesgwyn Hall she was thanked for years of backing local firms before being treated to an unexpected video tribute from legendary bass baritone Sir Bryn Terfel.<\/p>\n
In the message Sir Bryn praised her dedication to Wrexham and said he looked forward to standing alongside her and singing at matches of her beloved Wrexham AFC.<\/p>\n
Fellow North Wales politician Ken Skates, the MS for Clwyd South who is the Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, gave a heartfelt thanks to Ms Griffiths for her personal support to him during the \u201cgood and the bad\u201d times in politics, saying it was often a brutal business.<\/p>\n
And leading members of Wrexham Business Professionals also thanked Ms Griffiths for her work in promoting Wrexham and its companies.<\/p>\n
Ian Edwards from the organisation said: \u201cLesley has been a keen supporter of Wrexham Business Professionals and the work we do from the very start.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd more widely she has been a true champion for businesses in Wrexham throughout her time as the city\u2019s Member of the Senedd.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has attended our meetings many times and her input and interest has helped the organisation grow and thrive.<\/p>\n
\u201cLesley is a keen Wrexham AFC supporter and you will bump into her at most home games if you\u2019re there.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd with a football analogy, Lesley retiring is a bit like when James McClean left to go back to Derry – you think well, we\u2019re gutted that you\u2019re going, we understand why, and thanks for what you\u2019ve done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Louise Harper from the group added: \u201cWrexham Business Professionals was set up by Gill and it\u2019s gone from a meeting of a couple of accountants and solicitors to what we have today, and Lesley has played her role in that development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sincerely thank Lesley for all her support and the work she has done to help businesses and improve Wrexham.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gill Kreft\u2019s husband Mario Kreft MBE, of the Pendine Park care organisation, added: \u201cI just wanted to say, and on behalf of everyone who has worked with Lesley, she is undoubtedly the best First Minister we never had.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe deserves our thanks for everything she has done for Wrexham and for the support she has given to businesses and the Wrexham Business Professionals organisation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Griffiths paid tribute to the work of Wrexham Business Professionals and the work it has done in bringing leaders together.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI have attended many of the Wrexham Business Professionals meetings.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always enjoyed the events, there have always been amazing speakers, you\u2019ve managed to get First Ministers here to speak to you, and a variety of other government ministers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that it is really important that you can ask questions of those ministers and it is always a real pleasure to come along and listen to those who you have attracted here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Griffiths said it was a privilege to serve as Wrexham\u2019s Member of the Senedd since 2007.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cIt is quite difficult coming to the end of a career, but I it is time to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitics has always been a real passion of mine, I joined the Labour Party when I was a student when I was 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really consider myself very fortunate to have the opportunity to have such a long and rewarding career in politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do say that every politician\u2019s career ends in failure, so it\u2019s good to have been able to choose to stand down.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me to represent Wrexham, where I live, where I went to school, where I worked, where I have brought up my daughters, has been the greatest honour of all.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said there had been tough moments as well as rewarding moments during her political career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI look back at my time in government as a huge privilege, but it is unrelenting, it is never-ending.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for me, in the majority, I have been treated with respect and kindness by constituents at all times.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said her proudest achievements were getting legislation through which made it law for food establishments to display their hygiene rating, and ensuring the NHS in Wales paid for patients to have dangerous PIP breast implants removed.<\/p>\n
And she said the Covid emergency proved her toughest time in government.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cCovid was without a doubt the most challenging time to be in government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were making decisions rapidly as scientific evidence and medical evidence was changing constantly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember thinking the Maelor was probably like a warzone, and there was me in Coedpoeth making these decisions with my colleagues that were a matter of life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Griffiths, a Wrexham AFC season ticket holder who first stood on the old Kop at the Racecourse ground as a 12 year old, said the club\u2019s continuing success under the ownership of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac was a huge opportunity for the entire city.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Alistair Aldridge, Wrexham County Borough Council\u2019s project manager for the \u00a3100 million Wrexham Gateway Mold Road project, also spoke at the meeting, outlining what the transformation will mean for the city.<\/p>\n
And young members of the North Wales Music Cooperative Emily Stephenson, Mali Tudur and Llio Lloyd Salisbury performed at the meeting.<\/p>\n