Eighty years ago, bells were rung to celebrate the allied victory in Europe. Most of us can only imagine the huge relief this peace must have been then.

People danced and partied, but also grieved for all who were lost, the huge waste of life and widespread destruction. People must have felt a tumult of emotions after the exhaustion of years of war.

This week, almost every community in Monmouthshire has taken part in the national commemorations of VE day. A big thank you everyone who has helped make these events so successful. Songs have been sung, bells have been rung and people have come together.

For some of our oldest residents, in their later eighties and beyond, there are real memories of lost friends and difficult times, while for younger people there is an important history lesson. So apart from the fun of dressing up, 1940s style, jive and jitterbug, there is a more serious purpose.

Many of us have family members who served during the Second World War, either in the forces or on the ‘home front’. The war forced millions of people across Europe to flee their homes and homelands. Commemorations remind us that wars cast a long shadow. Sadly, the world has rarely been at peace since.

But I am so proud that Monmouthshire has welcomed people fleeing from war and tyranny in Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan and other conflicts. We have so many people living here who are working for peace and international justice.

After WWII, people were determined to build a better world. But now we see that many of the international institutions established then – like the United Nations and human rights bodies - are now under greater threat than at any time in the last 80 years.

And here in the UK, many of the duties we have as a county council were given to us by the postwar 1945 government, who established the welfare state, the NHS, social services and such innovations as school meals, national parks and rights of way, as well as building millions of homes.

Today we face a very uncertain global situation. The rise of online abuse, political and financial manipulation, lies and deception, are ever more pervasive and dangerous, not unlike propaganda that enabled the rise of fascism.

Once again, democracy and peace around the world is fragile and threatened.

How do we, in our generation, resist these forces, and also address the new crises we face, like the destruction of our climate? The very best tribute we can pay those who gave their lives in the fight for freedom is to always demand candour and honesty and to refuse to allow our communities to be divided by hatred, misrepresentation and false solutions to complex issues.