Election 2019: Meet the candidates for Alyn & Deeside

Mark Tami, Labour Party

I HAVE had the honour of representing Alyn and Deeside for the past 18 years.

I live here and my children have grown up here. I have always been a locally focused MP, as I believe that’s where my priorities should lie.

Prior to entering parliament, I worked for the Engineering and Electrical Union and have always been a strong supporter of manufacturing industry, which is so important to our area. Whatever happens with Brexit, we need an experienced voice to stand up for our area and fight for quality jobs and decent earnings.

After nine years of austerity our Health Service is under great strain and our schools, local government and police are at breaking point. We need to reverse this decline and invest for the future.

We need more affordable housing but not just the unrestricted development we have seen in many areas. We need the infrastructure to go with it.

That means better access to medical centres and a bus and transport network that works for all our communities. Our high streets need redesign and investment to serve the changing demands of modern life.

It’s certainly a challenge but it’s a challenge working together I’m confident we can achieve. Experience matters in this election and I ask for your support to carry on representing you.

Sanjoy Sen, Conservative Party

I AM delighted to have been selected as the Welsh Conservatives’ candidate in Alyn and Deeside.

I back the Brexit deal and I believe it is essential to get Brexit done. I voted Leave and I want to see a positive, successful Brexit which sees the UK taking a lead in high-quality manufacturing and export opportunities. I also want to re-assure Remain voters that Brexit is the UK’s opportunity to constructively re-define its relationship with the EU, not to turn its back on the world.

I describe myself as the opposite of a ‘career politician’. I have over 20 years’ experience as a chemical engineer working in steel, chemicals, North Sea oil and the renewable energy transition.

Engineers are people who work together to solve problems and get things done; these are qualities sadly lacking in today’s parliament.

I am delighted at the opportunity to represent a constituency which is home to major employers, including Airbus, Tata Steel and Toyota. I am keen to ensure Alyn and Deeside and the wider region can capitalise on new opportunities in hydrogen, offshore wind and nuclear energy by pushing for better training and infrastructure.

Turning to health, for the last 20 years, the Welsh NHS has been run from by Welsh Labour from Cardiff - not from Westminster. With worsening outcomes in cancer treatment and rising A&E waiting times, I will work with Welsh Conservative AMs to press for improvements, whilst collaborating with Westminster colleagues to ensure access to facilities across the border in England.

Donna Lalek, Liberal Democrats

I AM writing to you today about the future I am fighting for. It is my belief that each generation has a duty to the future to try and leave the world a slightly better place than they found it. This is why I got involved in politics and it is why I am standing in this election, fighting for our futures.

Climate change is threatening our planet and must be addressed now. When we have record numbers of rough sleepers and people using foodbanks, how will many ordinary people afford healthcare if our NHS is privatised?

As a former teacher, I have experienced schools struggling with insufficient budgets and have seen how pressure and red tape has caused wonderful educators to leave the profession. Our youth deserve better and I will fight to ensure they get it.

Here in Alyn and Deeside, we have one of the largest private employers in Wales. Airbus employees 6,000 people, with many more jobs reliant on the supply chain. Airbus is a wonderful example of European co-operation and they, among others, have shared their concerns about their future post-Brexit.

Tariffs will make British exports more expensive, causing our products to be less appealing and risking more jobs. Tariffs and a decreased pound will make our imports more expensive and will affect our family purse.

The Liberal Democrats and I will not take risks with your lives. We will fight for you and your futures.

Simon Wall, Brexit Party

Simon is a dynamic educator who has worked closely with young people for over 25 years, and is now accomplished independent training consultant who draws from over a decade of corporate experience working with groups, individuals and organisations; driving change, addressing developmental needs and working with people to achieve their goals.

He has built a network of trusted clients and has carefully crafted a reputation for results based upon quality, diligence and consistency.

He gained his degree in science and education at Bishop Grosseteste University and PGCE through Nottingham Trent University. As a qualified teacher, Simon is still passionate about helping others fulfil their potential.

Married to Rebecca for 24 years they have six children. Simon is a keep fit fanatic, sings in choirs and loves the outdoors.

He serves as a bishop within his own faith, a voluntary position he has fulfilled for over five years. Being a minister allows him the opportunity to serve his community and support those in need and the less fortunate.

He has served in many capacities in the past, mainly working with the youth organisation leading, guiding and helping young people achieve their potential.

Passionate about Wales and her place as a family of nations that make up Great Britain he believes the democratic will of the people should be implemented to preserve democracy, that government serves people and not vice versa, that politics needs to change and we are best placed to do this having made a clean break from the EU.

Susan Hills, Plaid Cymru

Plaid Cymru is putting ending poverty at the front and centre of our campaign in this election.

The plan we’ve set out - which includes a £35 a week payment for every child in a low-income family - would see 50,000 children lifted out of poverty immediately.

We’d follow that with a long-term comprehensive programme to tackle poverty with the goal of ending poverty in Wales by 2030.

We’re making 2030 the year of zeros: zero poverty, zero carbon, zero waste.

Our Green Jobs Revolution would create thousands of ‘green collar’ jobs and would tackle the climate emergency.

We’re proposing a £20 billion investment in things like our rail infrastructure, including a new metro in North East Wales, tidal lagoons, and off-shore wind.

Our other big pitch in this election is care. No one in Wales should have to sell their home to pay for care. Plaid Cymru would create a new National Health and Care Service which would provide social care to everyone in Wales free at the point of need.

Finally, on Brexit, we’re campaigning for a People’s Vote as the only way to end Brexit because we believe that any version of Brexit would be fundamentally damaging to Wales.