European Election 2019 - the parties running in Wales put their cases forward

WHEN the UK voted to leave the European Union in June 2016 no one would have predicted we'd be going to the polls almost three years later to elect a new set of MEPs.

We were supposed to have left at the end of March - but MPs have been unable to agree the type of deal we'll be leaving with. The EU agreed to push back the exit date to the end of October - but only on the condition the UK took part in Thursday's European Parliament Election.

So here we are, about to elect four more MEPs to represent Wales in an organisation we apparently don't want to be part of.

Unlike in most other elections, voters going to the polls on Thursday will cast their votes for parties rather than candidates.

The four seats are then allocated on a proportional basis, with each party putting forward a list of up to four candidates.

While it is possible for one party to win more than one seat, due to the way the votes are allocated, all four going to same party is extremely unlikely - barring a massive surge of support in one direction.

We'll find out when the results are declared late on Sunday, May 26.

Eight parties - the newly-formed Change UK - The Independent Group, the Conservatives, the Green Party, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, The Brexit Party - also one of the newest players on the scene - and Ukip have all put forward candidates for the four Wales seats.

We asked each of them to explain why they believe you should vote for them.

Here's what they said:

Change UK - The Independent Group

Change UK has a clear message: we demand a final say on Brexit and the right to remain in the European Union. We are the party of the People’s Vote.

Our candidates are drawn from every corner of the country and include former Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Green and SNP members and activists, as well as people who have never stood for political office before.

Our politics is broken. The main parties are divided, and are failing to provide the leadership our country needs. The Tories are controlled by their right wing; Labour by the hard left. Both are failing to speak up for the kind of open-minded, tolerant Britain we want to see.

Brexit is the biggest symptom of our broken system. It is undeliverable in the way it was promised by the Leave campaign in 2016. We now know that there is no form of Brexit that will not leave us poorer, weaker and less secure.

Brexit will not address any of the problems in our country which helped drive the vote to leave the EU. We will campaign to remain in the EU and put a stop to Brexit, so that we can once again focus on tackling the real challenges we face as a country.

We need to invest in the next generation, support business to boost investment in our public services and defend our world-class NHS, ensuring access to the best medicines. It’s vital we work with our European partners to tackle climate change and defend our shared values for an open and tolerant society. We need to keep Britain’s voice around the top table.

There is a clear choice here: Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party’s harking back to the past or Change UK’s alternative positive vision of Britain’s future. Where our broken main parties offer division, we are united. Where they put their own narrow political interest first, we will put the country first.

At this election, voters have the chance to send a message: it’s time for change. Vote for Change UK.

Candidates:

1 Jonathan Owen Jones

2. June Caris Davies

3. Matthew Graham Paul

4. Sally Anne Stephenson

Conservatives

On 23 June 2016, 17.4 million of us voted to leave the European Union, participating in the biggest democratic exercise of our history.

If this vote is not honoured it will break our politics for generations.

We cannot afford to let that happen.

It is, therefore, shocking that Labour, Plaid, the Lib Dems, the Greens and Change UK are all talking about having another referendum rather than honouring the people’s vote we have already had.

At the same time, it is equally concerning that the Brexit Party and UKIP are saying: ‘vote for us and we will give you Brexit.’

They can’t.

They don’t have any MPs in Westminster and this election won’t change that.

Although delivering Brexit without a majority in Parliament is taking longer than we would have hoped, with 313 MPs, the Conservatives are the largest party and best placed to rise to this challenge.

Rather than helping Brexit a shift in support from the party best placed to deliver Brexit to one that is incapable of doing so, is likely to give momentum to the other parties (that unlike the Brexit Party) are in Westminster, and are looking at a second referendum.

We need to get Brexit delivered so that we can move beyond this painful period of uncertainty to fully exploit the opportunities presented by Brexit for Wales and the UK.

The best way of securing this will be by voting for the party that wants to deliver Brexit and that with the largest number of MPs in Parliament is in the best position to do so.

Wales would be particularly well served by Dr Dan Boucher, the lead Conservative candidate who, having worked in the EU institutions and also taught EU politics to undergraduates, campaigned and voted for Brexit.

Vote Conservative on 23 May.

Candidates:

1. Daniel Stephen Boucher

2. Craig James Robert Lawton

3. Fay Alicia Jones

4. Tomos Dafydd Davies

Green Party

Wales Green Party are excited to be standing in these European elections.

This is a moment when we can restore hope, celebrate the potential that Europe has to improve all our futures, and start looking forward again. This is an opportunity to get our strong Green message heard in Wales and across Europe. We are the largest ‘Remain’ party in the European Parliament, and in these times of uncertainty and climate emergency that Green representation is more vital than ever.

The Green Party has a comprehensive plan to tackle the major issues of our time – to get us out of the Brexit mess, to stop climate change before it is too late and to rebuild our communities.

A vote for the Green Party in these elections is a vote to:

• Remain in the EU, through putting the question of Brexit back to the people and mobilising a positive, pro – European movement to win the People’s Vote for Remain.
• Recharge the fight against climate change, by electing MEPs who know we need to act now to save our wildlife, our environment and ultimately our planet from catastrophe.
• Rebuild our communities through dedicated work in the UK and across borders, to restore opportunities and address inequality. While our public services were dismantled by privatisation, our communities hollowed out by corporations and our wallets emptied by bankers, Europe was wrongly presented as the cause of these problems by the Leave campaign. These problems are very real, but leaving Europe is not the answer. Europe is part of the solution.

A vote for the Green Party is a vote to say:

• Yes to Europe
• Yes to investing in our communities
• No to climate chaos

Candidates:

1. Anthony David Slaughter

2. Ian Roy Chandler

3. Ceri John Davies

4. Duncan Rees

Labour

On May 23, voters will go to the polls in a European election that nobody expected.

The UK Tory Government’s botched handling of Brexit has caused division and uncertainty, and they are putting jobs and industry in Wales at risk.

Whatever the future holds, Welsh Labour will retain a close relationship with the EU and all of its members. We support a Brexit deal that protects the economy and ensures that Wales does not lose a single penny of funding. Just as we were promised during the referendum.

If Labour cannot secure changes to Theresa May’s deal or a general election, the decision must go back to the people.

A vote for Welsh Labour is a vote for a strong voice for Wales. We are the party that has fought for and secured, fundamental employment rights and protections from discrimination across Europe.

However long they sit in the European Parliament, Welsh Labour MEPs will turn up and work hard to respond to our climate emergency; protect food and animal welfare standards; and commit to continued peace and stability across Europe.

In the last decade, the Welsh Labour Government has invested EU Funding to support jobs, investment, infrastructure and training. That’s thousands of lives changed for the better.

Every vote for Welsh Labour is also a vote to stop far right parties from winning more seats and representing you. Voting for minor parties in this election risks letting the far right making further gains in Wales.

Welsh Labour is the only party trying to bring our country back together – because whether you voted to Leave or to Remain we need to resolve Brexit and address the major issues facing our country.

Vote for Welsh Labour this Thursday.

Candidates:

1. Jacqueline Margarete Jones

2. Matthew James Dorrance

3. Mary Felicity Wimbury

4. Mark Jeffrey Denley Whitcutt

Liberal Democrats

We are the party of remain, in Wales and across the UK. We were the first party to call for a referendum on the final Brexit deal. Even on June 25th 2016 we were loudly and proudly fighting for Britain to remain in the EU. In 2017 we were calling for the people to be given the final say and the opportunity to choose an Exit from Brexit. A time when other parties were supporting a soft Brexit.

For almost three years we have consistently, passionately and effectively argued that there is no Brexit deal that could be better for Wales than our continued membership of the EU. We’ve led the People’s Vote campaign, taking it from a fringe idea to one that now enjoys the support of a clear majority of people.

Local election results in England and poll after poll across the UK show that the electorate values our clarity and consistency. Whilst voters punish the Conservatives for their incompetence and Labour for their indecision, we’re being rewarded for standing up for our values.

These values of liberty, equality and community have repeatedly come under attack over the past three years, threating our vision of a free, fair and open society. But we will not stop fighting for these values and we are not alone. The increasing numbers on our side show that our values are still widely shared across Wales and the UK.

We know Brexit will be devastating for Wales. We know it’ll leave us poorer, less free and less able to shape our destiny. We know we can and must stop Brexit. We can elect a Welsh Liberal Democrat MEP to fight Brexit and influence the future of Europe for years to come; but we need your help. Stop Brexit, vote Welsh Liberal Democrat.

Candidates:

1. Sam Bennett

2. Donna Louise Lalek

3. Alistair Ronald Cameron

4. Andrew John Parkhurst

Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru is the only pro-Remain party that can win in this European election.

We are appealing to voters from across the political spectrum to back us in order to secure a majority for Remain. Liberal Democrats and Greens simply can’t win in this election, so the only way for Remain to win is to vote for Plaid Cymru.

Disillusioned and disenfranchised Labour supporters, who feel let down by their party leadership’s attempts to facilitate a Tory Brexit, can also help secure a Remain majority by lending their votes to Plaid Cymru.

We have been consistent from the very beginning: there is no such thing as a Brexit that is good for Wales. Even the softest Brexit risks 14,000 jobs across Wales including here in the South East. A no deal Brexit would be even worse.

That is simply not a risk we’re willing to take.

That is why we were one of the first parties to support the idea of a People’s Vote. What’s on offer now was not what was on the ballot paper, so putting this back to you in the form of a Final Say referendum is the right and democratic thing to do.

In that People’s Vote, we are clear: we will campaign to Remain. We’ll do that because we believe that Wales’ brightest possible future is as a nation at the heart of Europe – not at the fringes of a broken British state which consistently and repeatedly ignores us, neglects us, and forgets us.

In this European election, Plaid Cymru’s mission is to make Wales matter. We are the only party that is unequivocally pro-People’s Vote and pro-Remain that can actually win seats in this election.

Please help us secure a majority for Remain by backing Plaid Cymru on Thursday 23 May.

Candidates:

1. Jill Evans

2. Carman Ria Smith

3. Patrick Robert Anthony McGuinness

4. Ioan Rhys Bellin

The Brexit Party

The Brexit Party is the only credible party standing up for democracy in these elections. Our first and main aim is to deliver the 2016 democratic

mandate that was expressed by a majority of people in Wales and the UK.

We represent both leavers AND remainers who understand that democracy cannot function if politicians in Westminster ignore the result of the largest democratic vote in our nation’s history.

We believe the UK should have control of its borders and waters and that is why our second aim is to introduce an intelligent and fair immigration system that works for everyone. This will also allow us to ensure that our fishing fleets get more access to the fish in our waters.

We have four fantastic candidates in Wales who will work tirelessly to ensure we leave the European Union so that our laws are created by elected representatives that are accountable to you.

Nathan Gill is a sitting MEP and former entrepreneur; James Wells resigned as Head of UK Trade at the Office for National Statistics to stand; Gethin James is a local business owner and fluent Welsh speaker; Julie Price has worked in both the public and private sectors.

Labour and the Conservatives promised to honour the referendum result, but it now falls to the Brexit Party to fulfil this promise.

Theresa May has negotiated a deal that satisfies nobody, leaving the country in limbo; and Labour is sitting on the fence, pretending it will honour the vote, while also suggesting it will hold a second referendum.

The Brexit Party will fight to uphold the democratic choice made by the people of Wales so that we can all get on with our lives and let our MPs start to address the many issues that need urgent attention in our communities.

Candidates:

1. Nathan Lee Gill

2. James Freeman Wells

3. Gethin James

4. Julie Anne Price

Ukip

These European elections should not be happening. In the EU Referendum, we were asked a simple question. Did we want to remain in the EU, or did we want to leave? The result was decisive, and Wales, along with the rest of the UK, voted to Leave.

In that Referendum, you gave our political Establishment an instruction. David Cameron said “If we vote to leave, then we will leave.”

We are almost three years since the Referendum, and we still haven’t left.

All we have now is Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement which, if implemented, would mean that we leave the EU in name only. Your Members of Parliament voted to trigger Article 50, the mechanism by which we can leave the EU. But they refuse to implement it. They have lied to us. They have betrayed the 17.4 Million people in the United Kingdom who voted to leave the EU. They want us to believe that it is “too difficult” to leave the European Union. Let’s face the facts. It’s not “too difficult”. They just don’t want to do it. They have betrayed the British people.

UKIP has been campaigning for a sovereign UK for over 25 years. A UK free from external interference, able to make its own laws, a Nation able to stand on its own two feet. A Country free from international shackles. UKIP fought for the Referendum, and you spoke. You voted to Leave the European Union, but the Political Establishment has failed you. The only way to send Westminster and Cardiff Bay politicians a message is to Tell Them Again. Tell them that you don’t want to be harnessed by the EU. Tell them that they have let you down. Tell them that you want to leave. Vote UKIP on Thursday.

Candidates:

1. Kristian Philip Hicks

2. Keith Callum Edwards

3. Thomas George Harrison

4. Robert Michael McNeil-Wilson