Meet your candidates for
WITH just one day to go before Britain goes to the polls again, today we profile the candidates running in Cardiff West.
Every candidate has been contacted via their party and Independent candidates offered the chance to submit their answers.
Cardiff West is a traditionally safe Labour seat. The last time it was not Labour was in 1983 when Stefan Terlezki was elected for the Conservatives in the Thatcher landslide.
Former holders of the seat include the late Rhodri Morgan.
Kevin Brennan has been MP since 2001. Two years ago, Mr Brennan secured 17,803 votes. The secondplaced candidate was from the Conservative party with 11,014 votes.
In the equivalent Assembly seat in 2016, Labour’s Mark Drakeford retained the seat despite a strong showing from Plaid Cymru, with Neil McEvoy slashing the majority to just 1,179. In 2011, Plaid came third with just 20% of the votes. Tomorrow’s candidates are: Kevin Brennan (Labour); Michael Deem (Plaid Cymru); Richard Lewis (Ukip); Alex Meredith (Lib Dem); Matt Smith (Conservative). “I’m 57 and have lived in Canton in Cardiff West for 30 years, and my wife and I have raised our daughter here.
“I was a teacher at Radyr Comprehensive for 10 years, as well as being a councillor for Canton. I ran Cardiff’s ‘Yes for Wales’ devolution campaign in 1997 and worked for the late Rhodri Morgan for seven years before succeeding him as the Welsh Labour MP for Cardiff West in 2001.”
What kind of a deal would you like to see at the end of the Brexit process? “I campaigned to Remain and I voted against triggering Article 50 in the House of Commons.
“Cardiff West voted to remain by a greater margin than the UK voted to leave, and Theresa May is determined to pursue a hard Brexit which will increase inequality, reduce workers’ rights, and create a more divided society.
“While I respect those who have reached different conclusions, I believe giving carte blanche to a Tory Government would endanger the values we all cherish, so it is vital that there is a local MP prepared to stand up for Cardiff West’s interests.”
What do you think are the biggest challenges facing your constituency you can help with if you are elected? “If I am re-elected, I will continue to fight in Parliament and through casework to ensure that the people of Cardiff West get the best possible support from our public services.
“I will also continue to fight to protect Wales from the Tories’ savage cuts to and creeping privatisation of the NHS in England. We cannot afford to take our public services for granted, and the Tories are hoping for a landslide majority so that they can continue to dilute and privatise our welfare state.
“We also need to keep building the future. In 2015 I pledged that Cardiff West would get a new high school and lobbied hard for it to be built. Cardiff West Community High School is now scheduled to open in 2018.
“For many years, I campaigned for a housing development on the brownfield Ely Paper Mill site, and the 800 new homes are soon to be under construction. This election, I have promised to fight for a new train station to serve the Ely Paper Mill site and the Victoria Park area.”
“I’m 31 years old, single and was born and raised in Cardiff. Although I have no children just yet, I do have two beautiful nieces, and a nephew who loves to campaign with me. I work as office manager and senior caseworker to Neil McEvoy AM.”
What kind of a deal would you like to see at the end of the Brexit process? “Access to the single market, free movement of people to work, but I’d also support a vote on the terms of any deal. I don’t think it should be a simple question of yes or no though.
“Next year we should use the American Constitutional Amendment model to vote on a number of key clauses, giving whoever will lead the negotiations time to adapt the direction of talks in line with the will of the people.”