The Cambrian News has received fewer emails and phone calls since the Senedd election and I am trying to work out why...

There was correspondence aplenty in the run-up, and a few afterwards from successful candidates thanking voters for their support and outlining their individual plans and hopes for the future.

Since then, however, there's been radio silence between our newly elected Plaid MSs for Gwynedd Malddwyn, and I haven't heard from the Reform party's representatives either. If I hadn’t had comments from MP Liz Saville Roberts’ office I’d have wondered if my internet had gone down.

At best I feel left out. At worst I feel completely used, but my emails are always open so I hope Plaid’s Mabon ap Gwynfor, Sian Gwenllian, Beca Brown and Elwyn Vaughan, and Reform’s Andrew Griffin and Claire Johnson-Wood won’t be strangers for long. I must admit, I don’t know how to contact Andrew and Claire for comments. Do you have a press officer working on your behalf I can speak to, or can I contact you directly? Do let me know, because it would be great to hear from all six of you when I’m working on Gwynedd stories.

Stories like the horrendous traffic chaos in Llanbedr and Barmouth over the bank holiday weekend. These were once hot topics for Mabon ap Gwynfor but now, much to my dismay and the residents of those areas, his position as Minister for Health and Care means, apparently, that he is no longer able to comment on these matters. I am not sure why this is the case, but Mabon must be incredibly frustrated too.

He did respond to Paul Davies, MS for Ceredigion Penfro, when asked what action he intends taking to protect stroke services at Bronglais Hospital, but campaigners striving to save the services seem to be as disappointed by his response as those hoping for a bypass around Llanbedr are by his lack of one. Lisa Francis said on Facebook that his reply was “anodyne, disappointing and unfortunately very much in the vein of what we had come to expect from his predecessor”.

Oh dear… As I said in a previous column before the election, I don’t have a strong affiliation to any party, but now that Plaid are in power, I hope they will follow-up their words with actions by securing a bypass for Llanbedr, and keeping vital health services in local hospitals like Bronglais. The people of Tywyn will also, no doubt, be looking for Plaid’s help to reopen Dyfi Ward, another passionate subject for Senedd members who, now that they are in power, will surely be able to help. Or will they be disappointed, like many who gave up voting years ago because they feel that there is literally no point if the people in power clam up once they secure enough votes to win their seats.

I appreciate it’s relatively early days for our newly elected representatives, and they’re getting used to their roles.

I know they have lots of paperwork to read about the Senedd and how it works, and they have these new, much larger constituencies to govern and have to work out who should comment on what issues and in which areas, but I would have expected a plan to have been put in place by now when it comes to talking about the really hot topics affecting constituents.

I first noticed there was an issue when I asked for comments on the bank holiday traffic chaos in Llanbedr and Barmouth and was told Mabon could not comment.

I emailed Sian Gwenllian’s representative about the matter, and enquired how to contact Beca Brown, but did not receive a response.

My colleague Dylan Davies who covers Ceredigion says he is facing the same problem.

Although we are feeling slightly snubbed by the recent wall of silence, it is not too late to reach out to me and the Cambrian News to see how we can rectify the situation, because your constituents need to hear from you. They need to know you are still out there, and that you still care about the issues you have spoken about so passionately in the past.

If you cannot speak about them, can you at least get your fellow Members of the Senedd up to speed so they can carry on fighting for the issues you fought hard for previously, and which, in all likelihood, got you elected?

We have had press releases through, of course we have, but requests for comments have gone largely unanswered, so here I am, reaching out to all the MSs for Gwynedd Maldwyn and Ceredigion Penfro. Let me know what you think about traffic chaos in Llanbedr and Barmouth, the “temporary” closure in 2023 of Tywyn Hospital’s Dyfi Ward and the threat to stroke services at Bronglais Hospital. We’d all love to know what you think and how you are going to help us.