Old rivals set to battle it out
AHEAD of the May 6 Senedd vote, Llanelli has been represented by both Plaid Cymru and Labour since the first Assembly in 1999 and is hotly contested by the two parties.
Lee Waters is the current MS after he beat Plaid Cymru’s Helen Mary Jones by just 1.3% in 2016. She has since returned to the Assembly on the regional list. In the 2003 election Ms Jones lost by just 21 votes, with Labour victorious. This election Mr Waters and Ms Jones go head to head again.
Here are the 2021 candidates:
GARETH BEER REFORM UK
Llanelli
I left school at 18 to work in retail for over 10 years, before starting a small business in 2006 providing support and accommodation to young people and students, I am also a tradesperson, a Kidwelly town councillor and a community hall committee trustee. I live in Kidwelly with my wife and four children and are active members of our local community.
My eldest teenage son is a keen athlete and has represented Llanelli Athletics Club, county and Wales.
What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
If elected, my key priorities at this immediate time is to reopen Wales, get our freedoms back, never lock down again and to help self-employed and SMES get trading again; they are the backbone to the Welsh economy.
We have some amazing talent, people, businesses and attractions in Llanelli and the wider area, and I want to support them.
As staycations holidays are more likely in the future, we need to nurture and grow what we already have here. I’d love to be involved and influence the potential and capability of Llanelli and the wider communities – from Llangennech to Pontyberem up to Mountain Road in Trimsaran.
Llanelli had a very successful food and drinks festival and much credit has to be given to the organisers. The farming and producers in this area also deserve much recognition and support for the work they do.
What will you do for your constituency if elected?
I will serve the people of Llanelli by a being a bold and strong voice at the Welsh Parliament Senedd, asking questions and pushing for what is best for Llanelli and its people.
Reform UK will push to reform the Senedd and honour the Welsh Government’s promise to hold a referendum on devolved tax raising powers and to improve transport links for all – building the M4 relief road, invest in rail and improve links between North and South Wales.
JON BURREE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
I was educated locally at St Michael’s School before going on to study politics at Aberystwyth University. Those years in college are the only time I have lived outside of Llanelli.
Whilst still at school, in 1980, I joined the then Liberal Party and have been a member and campaigner ever since. I’m a former member of Llanelli Town Council. I am now retired, I spent many years as a carer for family members, firstly for my mother and then for my brother. I currently serve as vicechair of the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
The priority should be delivering a green recovery that brings with it economic prosperity for people of Llanelli whilst also reducing the impact of climate change and pollution. A recovery that recognises some of the fantastic manufacturing that takes place already within our community but also seeks to transition to the future that we so desperately need.
A future that seeks to protect our first-class scenery through prioritising of clean renewable energy, environmentally friendly business practice and electric vehicles for both commercial and
domestic use, but also seeks to promote the exporting of our incredible local produce from Burry Port cockles to Llangennech honey, and so much more.
What will you do for your constituency if elected?
If elected as the representative for the Llanelli constituency I will focus on collaborating with other Senedd members to deliver a green recovery for the people of Llanelli and Carmarthenshire.
I will seek to achieve this through the expansion of renewable energy capacity. Furthermore, a crucial component to the electric vehicle future that is essential if we are to cut our carbon emissions is the expansion of electric charging points along public highways. I will work with local authorities to deliver this goal.
SIAN CAIACH - GWLAD
I am aged 63 and mother of four children in their 20s. I am a retired orthopaedic surgeon and police forensic medical examiner. I’ve lived in Lllanelli for almost 27 years. For the last 20 years I’ve been a local councillor.
An advocate of the Nolan/martin Bell principles I feel that public servants and elected representatives should aspire to the highest standards of personal conduct. I am a long-time advocate of devolution and independence, setting up the first cross-party campaign for a Welsh Senedd in 1987.
What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
In the next five years the Senedd will probably have a very difficult job, dealing with the economic fallout from Covid and possibly a larger downturn worldwide and consequent political instability. I will advocate action against climate change, and as much economic recovery as is sensible and deliverable, I would like to see Wales’s road and rail infrastructure improved and support really affordable housing for local people
What will you do for your constituency if elected?
In Llanelli I am a longterm advocate of cleaning up the sewage pollution of the Loughor estuary and the dangerously high levels of air pollution in the town’s residential areas with high traffic flows.
In the mid and west region in general the increasing violence of storms and flooding require a proper civil defence strategy and if elected I will formulate one. Without planning to protect, we will lose roads, homes, rail links and businesses and everyone deserves their government’s protection from the elements.
HELEN MARY JONES - PLAID CYMRU
I was born in England and brought up in Colchester and Montgomeryshire. I joined Plaid Cymru in 1979 after the devolution referendum was unsuccessful when I was 19 and at Aberystwyth University. My family were interested in politics and we were always taught that if we thought something was wrong we should try to put it right. I still carry those lessons with me.
What is the most important
thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
I was first elected to represent Llanelli in 1999 and I believe in this time of a pandemic we need someone with experience to provide stability in this time of uncertainty. The focus on Welsh democracy has probably never been higher because of coronavirus.
If elected in Llanelli, as a minister for the economy I would want to focus on building back well, not just better – we must ensure young people’s life chances aren’t too detrimentally affected by the downturn and ensure when we rebuild our economy we ensure we take in account the climate emergency that faces us as well as coronavirus.
What will you do for your constituency if elected?
There are so many able and talented people in our communities, here in Llanelli and across Wales. Too often those talents are wasted, just struggling to get by.
We need a new Welsh Government with Adam Price as First Minister to set free all that potential, ensuring good jobs available are for all, a government that’s ambitious and confident, that really believes in our nation and the communities we can be. We need to create wealth so we can share it, and invest in world-class health, care and education services.
After 20 years of Labour Government in Wales a third of our children are growing up in poor families. It doesn’t have to be like this.
SHAHANA NAJMI INDEPENDENT
I am one of the few candidates standing in the Senedd Election that actually lives in Llanelli.
Having been raised and schooled in the town, I have served as mayor, county councillor and leader of Llanelli Town Council. I also manage service provisions for vulnerable young people and have been a key worker for seven years, working on the front line during the pandemic. I have run local businesses in the area for almost 30 years and I am an active supporter of numerous community groups.
What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
Everyone is talking about Covid recovery and clearly it is a priority. It’s been presented as this mammoth task that needs lots of new and huge ideas, but we have opportunities for some immediate wins. I will have the Senedd revisit projects that have been stalled or blocked.
The pattern of underinvestment under a Welsh Labour government has got to be addressed.
We’ve had promises of three major renewable energy schemes that would have delivered almost 50,000 jobs as well as additional training and apprenticeship opportunities.
On top of that we would have had some significant environmental benefits and in the medium to long term up to 65% energy cost savings for every household in Wales.
This level of failure is unacceptable. It’s high time we had a culture of accountability and the message in the Senedd needs to be: make good or step down.
What will you do for your constituency if elected?
I have raised three children here and they see themselves staying in Llanelli so the future of young people in this town is personal to me.
Locally, party politics has stood in the way of some incredible schemes so desperately needed for Llanelli.
Llanelli has tolerated a decaying town centre for long enough now and we are done with the mountain of broken promises and subsequent excuses. As a county councillor I’ve already collaborated with the council to make it easier for new businesses to open up shop in the town.
As MS I will continue my work to make every empty unit accessible to the multitude of new and young businesses stating up in the area.
It’s time we made Llanelli town centre a hub for independent local businesses, with the rents and business rates appropriate for the area.
LEE WATERS LABOUR
I grew up in the Amman Valley during the 1980s and vividly remember being told “if you want to get on, you have to get out”.
I stood to represent Llanelli in 2016 because I’m determined to change that, and do my bit to help our ex-industrial areas thrive again.
Before standing, I worked as chief political correspondent for ITV Wales, and director of Sustrans Cymru and The Institute of Welsh Affairs.
What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
It’s going to take at least an entire Senedd term to repair the damage wrought by the pandemic. We need a Welsh Labour government that is committed to tackling this alongside the other challenges we face like the climate emergency.
Our society will need to become more resilient, healthier and fairer if we are to avoid another crisis like this one. For the next Senedd, that means taking bold steps and putting our values at the heart of decision-making.
What will you do for your constituency/region if elected?
Since I was elected, I’ve not shied away from speaking up and speaking out for my constituency.
If re-elected, I will focus on supporting better quality jobs closer to home, a turnaround plan for Llanelli town centre, and helping constituents get the help they deserve as we recover from the pandemic.
Also standing are Howard Lillyman for UKIP Scrap the Assembly and Stefan Ryszewski for the Conservatives.