Meet your candidates for the General Election
CARDIFF North is a marginal seat and is a straight fight between Labour and Conservative in most elections.
This week, as part of our General Election coverage, we are running profiles of each of Cardiff’s four Westminster seats.
All candidates have been contacted via their party.
At the last election, then-councillor Craig Williams took the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 2,137 from Labour. The turnout was 76.1%. Ukip also polled almost 4,000 votes.
Before him, fellow Conservative Jonathan Evans held the seat. In the 2010 election his majority over Labour’s Julie Morgan (who is now the Assembly Member for the constituency) was 194.
In this year’s campaign, the seat was one of the first stops for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on his election tour. And, at the local elections on May 4 , the Conservatives made four gains in the Whitchurch ward and two in Llanishen.
In the Assembly elections last year, Julie Morgan was re-elected, beating local Conservative councillor Jayne Cowan by more than 3,500 votes.
The candidates in Cardiff North are: Matthew Hemsley (Liberal Democrats), Anna McMorrin (Labour), Gary Oldfield (Ukip), Steffan Webb (Plaid Cymru) and Craig Williams (Conservative).
“I’m 32, which is reasonably young to be standing for Parliament and I now work for an international charity that works to tackle poverty both here in Wales and right across the world. Previously, I worked for Sustrans, an organisation promoting a green transport.
“I’ve had a mildly nomadic existence – born in St Helier in Jersey, I grew up in Dorset and then studied in Aberystwyth. After some time in Bath, I moved to Cardiff for work in 2013.”
What kind of a deal would you like to see at the end of the Brexit process? “I’m an internationalist and an optimist, so I’m still hoping to find a way for Britain to remain members of the EU.
“The Lib Dems are the only party offering a second referendum at the end of the two-year negotiation process, to give the British people the final say.
“For our small businesses we need to protect our place in the single market and I will fight to maintain people’s right to work, study and retire abroad. Jeremy Corbyn may have given up on retaining free movement, but I haven’t!”
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing your constituency which you can help with if you are elected MP? “People in Cardiff North want decent public services – so it’s good that the Lib Dems are proposing extra money be invested in both our NHS and education.
“Of course, that will only apply in England, so as an MP I’d be campaigning for the Welsh Government to pass that extra money on into those public services.
“And we need better transport in Cardiff, more and better quality cycle lanes as well as improved rail and bus services.
“People are fed up of hearing about the South Wales Metro, they’d actually like to see something happen. Improving transport is important for so many reasons, including tackling air pollution, which statistics show is actually claiming lives in our towns and cities.”
What inspired you to enter politics? “I’ve been passionate about so many issues for almost as long as I can remember. Civil liberties really got me early on, I was concerned by the increasing amount of CCTV coverage and these days am alarmed by Tories and Labour voting together to store all our internet history for a year. It’s a troubling state of affairs, really. I was at school when the last Labour government decided to try to introduce ID cards.
“Luckily, they were forced to back down, but I was it made me particularly passionate in opposing authoritarian government – there are enough examples from around the world! More recent passions involve the need to build more houses, it’s just so difficult for young people to get on the housing ladder these days, we must build more.”
“Growing up near Brecon, I came to Cardiff University and live here with my partner and two teenage daughters. I ensured both daughters learned to speak Welsh; they both went to Ysgol Gymraeg Melin Gruffydd in Whitchurch and are now at Ysgol Glantaf and Radyr Comprehensive.
“I was brought in as an adviser at the heart of the Welsh Government by Rhodri Morgan in 2008 and then served under Carwyn Jones, advising and helping deliver policy on energy, climate change and taking measures to combat poverty and grow our economy.
“I have since worked and represented governments on a world and global platform, negotiating agreements on climate change at the UN in New York, speaking with and leading debates and discussions with governments from across the world to help reach the global climate agreement.”
What kind of a deal would you like to see at the end of the Brexit process? “As someone who campaigned passionately for remain, I believe that we have to get the right deal for everyone – not just one side or the other. We must work with our neighbours to ensure our economy prospers and jobs market grows.
“We must hold on to the hard-fought employment rights and work with everyone – UK citizens and EU countries.
“We must look to the future and create the best deal for Cardiff, Wales and the UK.”
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing your constituency which you can help with if you are elected MP? “The biggest challenge facing Cardiff North and the rest of Britain is Brexit.
“We must fight for the best deal so that we can protect jobs, protect our economy and ensure we can fund high quality public services – our schools and our hospitals. The Tory cuts threaten all we’ve achieved in Cardiff and in Wales. I will work hard to stand up for all of our communities here in Cardiff North.”
What inspired you to enter politics? “I joined the Labour Party because of the poverty and inequality I saw as a child and that disfigures our communities. I grew up in Thatcher’s Wales – with our