Just as huge crowds gathered to celebrate the end of war in 1945, commemorations and celebrations will be held in Llanelli and the rest of the country this week to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
I will be attending events in Llanelli, Pembrey, Dafen, Swansea and Cardiff to give my thanks for those who made such great sacrifices throughout the six years of war.
Almost 384,000 British soldiers were killed in combat in the Second World War and 70,000 British civilians lost their lives. So many did so much to defend our nation and we must never forget those who risked their lives to secure our future.
At a time of uncertainty and division around the world, this anniversary is a timely opportunity to come together, remember those who fought for our values and our freedoms and redouble efforts to prevent similar conflicts occurring again.
It is essential that we continue to deliver the defence and armed forces our country needs.
Since entering Government, I am proud that Labour has given service personnel the largest pay rise in over 20 years and ensured all Armed Forces personnel are paid the national living wage for the first time.
We’ve set new targets to tackle the armed forces recruitment crisis and launched a Strategic Defence Review to modernise our defences.
Ministers have started work on a new Defence Industrial Strategy to boost defence jobs across the country, secured a deal for over 36,000 military homes to improve housing for forces families and introduced the Armed Forces Commissioner Bill to improve service life.
I hope we will all enjoy the events taking place this week. This UK Labour Government will continue to ensure our Armed Forces, our security and the values and freedoms that we hold dear, remain a top priority.