WITH the 2021 Senedd Election just over a week away, here the candidates for Islwyn explain why they believe you should vote for them.
Gavin Chambers - Conservative
No more powers, no more taxes. Enough is enough.
I will ensure that Wales has a strong economy so Wales can prosper once again.
The importance of Wales remaining in the United Kingdom is paramount to Conservative values and prevent constitutional chaos.
I believe Islwyn has been forgotten about for many years.
Islwyn has been ignored and has been taken for granted.
This will stop if I’m elected.
I will ensure that Islwyn will come first and residents will not be ignored.
Almost 10,000 people voted Conservative in Iswlyn last time, so attitudes are changing and people are waking up to the broken promises.
Kevin Etheridge - Independent
Having given my priority to the residents in every community since my first election to the council in 1999, and contesting the previous Islwyn seat a number of years ago at a Senedd Election I have always fought injustices believing all people matter regardless of their politics.
That is why I'm standing in Islwyn as an Independent voice for the community.
I believe a candidate should install trust, engagement and confidence in their communities by consulting the electorate putting their needs first as political colleagues if elected will tow the party line.
I shall raise my voice and speak on behalf of all communities in every village and town.
On policy matters I have already raised concerns directly to ministers: Vaccination process, track and trace with health ministers at the Senedd.
Regular contact over the business grants payments with the minister, and council representing individual constituents throughout Islwyn.
Discussions with the education minister in regard remote working as all our children matters.
Raising issues with local government minister on scrutiny and engagement.
All our communities matter with the interests of the whole of Islwyn counting equally as everyone matters with protection of leisure centres at Pontllanfraith and Cefn Forest.
Also raising questions about the recycling plant at Cwmfelinfach for residents.
Michael John Ford - Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party
Full time book-keeper for Newport business.
Mostyn Neil Hamilton - Ukip Scrap the Assembly/Senedd
Scrap the Senedd.
Transfer power from out-of-touch politicians in Cardiff Bay to directly-elected local NHS boards and directly-elected local school boards.
Devolution has failed.
We’ve gone backwards since 1999.
Welsh Government cancelled the M4 improvements around Newport and torpedoed the £450 million privately-funded Circuit of Wales project which would have transformed Blaenau Gwent.
Under Labour/Plaid's One Party State, Wales has become the poorest part of the UK.
Twenty per cent live in poverty. Five of our seven NHS boards have been in crisis, under direct control by Welsh Government.
School results are the worst in the four UK nations.
Wales is too poor to pay for all government services.
A Tory government in Westminster will never give more money to a permanent Labour government in Cardiff.
Labour governments under Blair and Brown were no better between 1997 and 2010.
Wales needs politicians to fight for Wales like Northern Ireland’s DUP, who got an extra £1 billion for helping get Brexit done against Labour/Plaid’s betrayal of the referendum result.
The Labour/Plaid elite despise people who voted for Brexit as ignorant and stupid.
Labour/Plaid prioritise migrants and minorities, not the majority of ordinary people.
Take your revenge on the Taffia.
Vote Ukip and take back control.
Rhys Mills - Plaid Cymru
Islwyn is more than a constituency to me; it is my home.
I am a town councillor in Blackwood and currently serve as the deputy mayor.
I have dedicated my time in office to giving a voice to people who feel they have no voice.
I believe that everyone should be able to shape the decisions that affect their lives, and our institutions should reflect the people they serve.
I am a planning manager in the food manufacturing industry. I believe that my experience outside of the usual route into politics will serve me well in gaining better outcomes for the people I hope to represent.
The pandemic is not just a public health crisis. It is an economic crisis too.
The economy is now facing its biggest challenge for a generation with unemployment predicted to reach 120,000 by the summer.
We need to start planning for the recovery. That means creating jobs, supporting businesses get back on their feet, and ensuring a brighter future. Approximately 600,000 children live in Wales: of those, one in three, or 200,000, are in poverty. This is simply unacceptable.
We need ambition and innovation to remodel our economy so that it works for everyone.
Rhianon Passmore - Labour
I feel honoured and privileged to serve my constituency, as the Member of the Senedd for Islwyn.
The biggest issue for me remains living standards for people and their families.
People want decent jobs so they can pay their bills and provide for their children.
I know very well indeed the hard struggles of modern life myself from bringing up my four children in the biggest council estate in Caerphilly, in Risca.
Once we move beyond this crisis it will be essential that people have jobs and we can move the economy forward.
The Welsh Labour Government has provided over £2.4 billion in support for business during Covid - the most generous offer across the UK.
My priority is to ensure that the Welsh NHS continues to stay true to Aneurin Bevan’s vision.
Prescriptions remain free in Wales but fees continue to rise in England and now stand at £9.15 per item.
Parking is now free at all hospitals in Wales.
Labour will continue with the £3.7 billion capital investment in schools that runs up to 2024.
In Islwyn schools such as the Islwyn High, Newbridge School and Blackwood Comprehensive have all received investment.
Oliver Benedict Townsend - Liberal Democrats
I have worked for charities for over a decade, campaigning and fighting within housing, social care and now mental health.
As a disabled man, I have grown up needing support from the NHS, and I know just how important this is to all our communities across Wales.
I have worked hard to overcome my challenges, and I will bring this stubborn, hard-working nature to help everyone across Islwyn.
The communities of Islwyn have been rocked by Covid.
We need a razor-sharp focus on putting recovery first.
We shouldn’t be distracted by debates on independence or abolishing the Senedd.
I want to be the representative that works for all of you, however you voted on Brexit and whatever your views on independence.
I want a £1 billionn fund of public and private money to create green jobs, clean and cheap energy, right here in Islwyn.
In places like Navigation Colliery in Crumlin, we can transform our industrial past into our energy future. I want to fund the Real Living Wage (£9.50) for social care workers, putting more money in your pockets.
And I want to focus on our economy getting back on its feet.
James Freeman Wells - Reform UK
Many of you put your trust in me and The Brexit Party.
We delivered on that trust and now we’re asking you to do the same again.
Our new name is Reform UK.
Our national policies include raising the threshold at which people start paying income tax to £20,000; faster, more efficient public services, including zero NHS waiting lists; scraping the BBC TV license fee; and introducing PR (proportional representation) voting to end the two-party system that embeds the status quo.
Devolution isn’t working, but we believe it’s because of third-rate Labour politicians.
We will reform devolution to ensure government is leaner and more decisive.
Cancelling devolution would hand power to the Tories in Westminster which would be a huge step backwards for Wales.
Wales has 22 councils delivering similar services at a great cost to taxpayers. We will reduce the number of councils and chief executives earning up to £180,000 by half and use savings to freeze council tax.
No more lockdowns. Now that we have vaccines, new treatments and knowledge of who is at risk from Covid, we must use this information to manage the disease.
We must not damage our communities further by shutting schools and businesses again.
Find statements from candidates standing for other constituencies here:
Statements from parties standing in South Wales East region will be published next week.
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