Last week I was selected as the Conservative Party Candidate to fight next years Welsh Assembly elections in Montgomeryshire.
Over 250 people attended a packed Welshpool town hall last Thursday evening to listen to questions put to myself and two other candidates. The meeting was open to members of the public, you didn’t need to be a party member to attend, and you just needed to be registered to vote in Montgomeryshire.
Interestingly, when former Labour MP John Marek was selected as the Conservative candidate to fight the seat in Wrexham the other day, also one of only three candidates, just 26 people turned up, I would have felt quite disappointed if this was the turnout in Welshpool. That said I of course wish John well and hope that he and I will be working as colleagues next May.
Turnout was high in Montgomershire because all three candidates where local, albeit from different parts of the constituency, and each having friends and family in the community coming out to support. All that said there was much interest, and many with an open mind.
I felt privileged and honored to have been selected. It was a difficult process, when the opposition are also friends who would have made excellent candidates for Montgomeryshire. I am hoping both will have the opportunity as assembly candidates in the other areas.
I had decided that if selected I was intending to fully commit my time to the job of candidate. It is my intention to win next May and to fly the flag for Montgomershire in the Assembly. I am keen to focus on finding solutions to the many problems we face and to listen to peoples concerns.
We need to retain and improve our local services and to find more efficient ways of delivering services. We need to provide support for local business to combat high unemployment levels. I shall be challenging the Welsh Assembly Government on Montgomeryshire’s poor transport infrastructure, and more importantly on making an announcement on the preferred route and start date for the Newtown Bypass which I believe is crucial to the regeneration of our local economy.
The Welsh Assembly Government has done little for Mid Wales and this needs to change.
Our associations members are interested in how the prospective conservative AM for Montgomeryshire will be acting in the interests of rail passengers especially as WAG’s National Transport Plan finally gave a date for an hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury of 2011- in election year. WAG have been strangely quite about this since May’s general election.
Rail usage has returned to growth nationally in 2010 and we suspect continued to grow slowly in Mid Wales throughout the recession anyway. Mid Wales can have transport improvements in 2011, WAG and Network Rail have already invested money restoring track capacity on the line to make this happen, it just needs the extra trains to run.. At best even if Newtown’s fabled bypass was a national priority that escapes the cuts it would not be constructed for another five years.
The prospective conservative AM for Montgomeryshire is fully supportive of plans for an hourly service between Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury. I have made that comment to the media on past occasions, but all so often they report only my views on the Bypass. Some people may of course then wrongly assume I do not support the Rail issues.
Of course, campaigning for a Newtown Bypass should not impact negatively on the case for improving the service on the Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury line.
Association members should also know that if they believe I can help to promote and bring the Assembly Government to task on them going strangely quite in recent months, I would be more than happy to meet and discuss.
The Rail service in and through Montgomeryshire is important.
well done on your selection – some young blood !!
My comments is on a recent meeting my sister had with various business ppl in Newtown and some town councillors. There is a small group of business ppl trying to capitalise on the UK cycle race coming to town 2nd week of sept (weekend of the 11th & 12th). At this meeting, some councillors (older ones) were literally rolling their eyes at the proposals…is there any way as a county councillor you could interved, or even come on as a business man in your own right. this event will bring lots of ppl into newtown that weekend. sureley the town councillors can see the opportuinity there – and if not then why not, and what the heck are they doing on the council if they are so negative ??
Hi
Thanks for comment.
Anything we can do to help business in the town must be welcomed.
We want the Tour of Britain to come back in future years and I know that Newtown’s Mayor Joy Jones and others are working really hard, all completely voluntary I should add. I wasn’t at this meeting myself, but what I can say is that in this day all the town and County Council get involved with has to tick all the health and safety boxes. Perhaps your sister would like to join the town council? As you say, we need more fresh blood and business thinking people.