The women vying to replace Carwyn as AM for Bridgend
THE process of choosing who Labour want to succeed Carwyn Jones as Bridgend’s Assembly Member has now begun.
Mr Jones, who stood down as First Minister last year, has said he planned to vacate the seat which he has held for Welsh Labour since 1999.
The next Welsh Assembly elections are due to be in 2021.
There are currently six people with their names in the running to get the candidacy for Labour. Its list is an all-female affair and features a leave voter, a mumof-five and a former Thai boxing champ.
A final shortlist will be announced next month before party members cast their votes – with a winner announced on October 20. As it stands, the candidates are...
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Born and bred in Bridgend, now 46, she lives in the city centre with her two teenage sons.
A councillor for Bridgend county council, Ms Burnett said: “I’m a councillor and I’m studying a full-time PhD at Cardiff University in teaching.
“Because it’s an all women’s shortlist, we have got fantastic candidates and we’re all Labour friends together and I think Bridgend deserves to have the best selection. I have loved being a councillor, it’s been the best two years.”
A leave voter, Ms Burnett says Brexit has split her town.
“During the 2016 referendum I was an ordinary resident of Bridgend, I wasn’t a Labour Party member.
“I voted to leave the EU – I have never hidden this fact and as a result, I have been insulted and derided within my own party and I know that it will be used as a reason for me not to selected as a candidate for AM. However, I fully back the Labour Party line today and call for a second referendum.”
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Born in Pakistan, Neelo is a mum to five boys – mainly as a single parent.
She said: “As a single parent for many years I know what poverty is, not being able to buy essential for my children and to be dependent on the state.”
She has worked as a social worker, union representative and school governor. Ms Farr has campaigned on local, regional and national Labour campaigns, most recently council by-elections and is a campaigner for Bridgend for Europe, fighting for a people’s vote.
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A councillor for Pyle, Ms Gebbie was born in Singapore and spent her childhood travelling with a forces family before settling in Wales.
She is a mum of two boys and a girl, and a grandmother to five. She returned to education after having her children and achieved qualifications in counselling and psychotherapy. She has been a full-time trade union officer and is branch secretary of Unison’s Neath Port Talbot branch.
“I believe fiercely in fighting for those less able to do so for themselves and I’m passionate about equality and social justice,” she said.
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A charity worker, Ms LynePyke, 34, is standing for the first time.
She lived in Bridgend in 2007 when she was a reporter on the Glamorgan Gazette. She now lives in Coity with her husband, two children and their cat.
Away from her day job she runs a small charity helping children who would otherwise go hungry in school holidays.
She is involved in the Coity and Litchard branch of the Labour party.
“For me, it’s about trying to make a difference and a better Bridgend,” she said. “Making a difference is something I’ve always cared about.
“It’s issues like making a stronger economy and trying to secure future for the Bridgend Ford workers.”
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A former Labour staff member 32-year-old Sarah Murphy, is standing for selection for the first time.
Her family are from Bridgend and she now lives with her partner near the town centre.
A Reading University and Cardiff University student, she’s worked with a number of Labour politicians on campaigns.
Ms Murphy believes the next years are “crucial” for Bridgend.
“This is a wonderful opportunity. The next 20 years are going to be crucial. It’s either a slump and be beaten about and devastated that Ford goes or we’re going to fight for this.”
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A mum-of-two, Ms Thomas is the former chair of Pride Cymru, a former Thai boxing champion and a public sector consultant who lives in Cardiff. She describes Bridgend as somewhere she has “deeply personal” connections to and where she “spent so much of her childhood”.
Ms Thomas, 39, has run a company and was involved in Vaughan Gething’s campaign to be Welsh Labour leader and the campaign for a people’s vote.
She has previously been a candidate in a Cardiff council election and attempted to be the candidate for selection for Cardiff Central.