WITH THE general election for July 4 just around the corner, we recently sat down with one of the parliamentary candidates standing for the new constituency of Newport West and Islwyn, Labour's Ruth Jones, to find out more about her campaign. 

Ms Jones, who was previously the member of Parliament for Newport West in 2019, is now standing as the parliamentary candidate for Newport West and Islwyn, one of the newly created constituencies. 

As someone with a background in medical care and trade unions, as a former physiotherapist, Ms Jones believes she can relate to the people she is representing as she knows what it means to really advocate for people. 

She said: "It's really important to get to know people and their issues. People cane be proud and not want to share their issues, so it is really important to me that people feel they can trust me to represent them honestly.

"My favourite thing about this constituency is getting out to meet people and seeing how the communities interact, and being able to find out what their issues are. People here are always really open and honest, they tell it like its is,  which is crucial for me - I want to be able to refer to people's issues directly on the benches because it's all about my constituents and I want to get their concerns heard." 

For Ruth, she believes the biggest issue facing the people of the UK right now is the cost of living crisis as all bills have "gone up massively" with many feeling the pinch. 

She says Labour is committed to "helping everyone", particularly working people who have been "unjustly struggling" in recent years, and hopes to stop a potential increase in evictions and homelessness in the next year if the current economic climate continues. 

She continued: "If Labour gets into No.10, I have every faith that Rachel Reeves as Chancellor will have a tight hand on the budget and will be fully aware we have to help everyone.

"Having the same political party at both ends of the M4 will provide a much more cohesive and joined up way of thinking for areas that are devolved but need attention here, like health and education. 

"Wales may be small, but we need attention too."

According to Ruth, Labour's main focus would be on creating Great British Energy, a publicly-owned clean energy company that would help to create new jobs and make the most of the country's wind, solar, and tidal energy sources. 

She also believes, as a member of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) for many years, that using clean energy would help to bring prices down and help bring economic stability back to the UK. 

She added: "We need to get the economy back on an even keel and stop the current stagnation. We should grow the economy and and get gross investment to support areas like Newport West. It's important that all of these areas have the confidence and ability to grow."

Ruth believes it is crucial that people "exercise their democratic right" in this election and get their voices heard. 

She concluded: "It would be a great honour to represent the constituency of Newport West and Islwyn."