Will Price be right in Plaid leader’s bid to keep seat?
PLAID Cymru leader Adam Price is the current MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr as we head into the 2021 Senedd election on May 6.
In 2016 he secured 48.5% of the vote. It is seen as a safe seat for Plaid Cymru.
Labour finished second with a 19.2% share, Conservatives were third with 15.1%, Ukip gained 11.7% of the vote and Lib Dem and others gained 5.5%.
In 2019 Jonathan Edwards was elected for the seat as MP, also for Plaid Cymru, but he currently sits as an Independent in Westminster.
Here are the candidates in Carmarthen East and Dinefwr for 2021:
MONICA FRENCH - LIBERAL DEMOCRATS
I am married with children. I lived and worked abroad for several years before moving to Carmarthenshire some 30 years ago. Community involvement is what drives me. I have been chair of a school governing body and chair of Carmarthenshire NHS Trust as well as helping to save the local Dryslwyn Post Office and shop.
I have set up and run a hospitality business and chaired fitness to practise panels for the Nursing and Midwifery Council and am currently a member of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Swansea.
In my spare time I enjoy walking in our beautiful countryside, tending my garden and, when time permits, reading and trying to improve my Welsh.
What is the most important thing you think the Senedd should do in the next five years?
The most important thing the Senedd should do is to put recovery first, and that is what I will do if elected.
More than half a million people in Wales are waiting for operations and the Welsh NHS needs the resources to tackle this issue which impacts detrimentally on so many people’s lives. Wales also needs to fight the climate emergency with a package of investment for a green agenda in order to protect our planet, and at the same time stimulate the economy.
Support businesses both rural and urban to recover and give investment to our high streets to allow them to thrive. In tandem with this investment, Wales needs a fairer business rate system as the current system is not fit for purpose.
What will you do for your constituency if elected?
I will fight for improved broadband in our rural areas. Wales seriously lags behind the other nations of the UK. Broadband is an essential service in the 21st century, whether for work, entertainment or day-to-day living. In Wales a recent survey found that 40% of the population often have problems with their internet and as many as one in six experience difficulty with everyday tasks such as banking.
I would also press the Senedd to financially support the Towy Valley cycle path.
HAVARD HUGHES - CONSERVATIVES
I am a Carmarthen-based entrepreneur who runs the trade policy consultancy I founded from West Wales. A Welsh-speaker, I attended Ysgol Abergwili and QE Maridunum Com