Yahoo News General election 2024: Find out more about the candidates standing in Dwyfor Meirionnydd
Dwyfor Meirionnydd is seen as a safe Plaid Cymru seat, and due to the boundary change it takes on part of another safe seat for the party - Arfon.
The party's candidates in the new constituency, is its Westminster group leader Liz Savile Roberts. There are seven candidates standing in total.
The boundaries of all but one Welsh seat have changed ahead of the 2024 election, only Ynys Mon (the island of Anglesey) remains untouched. Using figures from electoral calculus, we see the new Dwyfor Meirionnydd seat is all the former constituency as well as 59.1% of Arfon, where the current MP Hywel Williams is standing down. There is also 5.1% of the Clwyd South, a Conservative seat, in
READ MORE: What is my general election 2024 constituency - as 90% of areas hit by boundary changes
READ MORE: Who are the candidates where I live in the general election 2024
The election is taking place on Thursday, July 4 and 32 MPs will be elected to represent Wales.
Where does the constituency cover?
It includes areas such as Llanberis, Llanbedr, Corris, Llandrillo and Aberdaron.
You can also find your constituency by entering your postcode here:
What happened in the general election in 2019
Who is standing?
Tomos Day (Conservatives)
Karl Drinkwater (Green Party)
Joan Ginsberg (Heritage Party)
Phoebe Jenkins (Lib Dem)
Lucy Murphy (Reform UK)
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru)
Joanna Stallard (Labour)
The candidates
All candidates were all asked to answer the same questions, the responses received are all below:
Tomos Day - Conservative
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
My name is Tomos Day, the Welsh Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd. I am 27 years old and grew up in Mid Wales and studied at Aberystwyth University. My family’s roots have always been in Mid Wales with family in Carmarthenshire, Montgomeryshire and Gwynedd.
I currently work as a Parliamentary Aide to Craig Williams MP and before that worked as Private Secretary to the Deputy Ambassador of Japan. In my spare time I am a keen follower of rugby, history and until recently was a School Governor at a Special Educational Needs School.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
A key issue I would campaign on is the way dementia treatment is categorised in our health and social care system. We all know a loved one who has been hit by this dreadful disease. Dementia should medically be treated on par with cancer and other similar illnesses rather than being classed as a social care issue.
Dementia eats away at the mind just like cancer on the body and we should enshrine in law that the way dementia is treated is brought to a much higher standard so that families and patients are completely supported emotionally, clinically, and financially.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
In Wales, our biggest barrier to success is the way the economy is managed in our Senedd. Take the hospitality trade, the restaurants, theatres and especially pubs that form the backbone of our communities. In Wales they will pay £7,000 more tax a year than the same businesses in England.
This is entirely unfair and must be addressed. Our Government in Cardiff has put one hand of the Welsh economy behind its back. It’s time we listen to businesses and workers and let them keep more of their money to invest in our communities.
We have many success stories from manufacturing, agriculture to high tech, and I got into politics to work to create more. Only when people have good jobs in successful businesses will we see our communities reach their full potential.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
Stanley Baldwin – He was Prime Minister during one of the most difficult economic times in Britain’s history. Prime Minister throughout the 1920’s and 30’s he was faced with the economic shock from World War One, Spanish Flu and a world reeling from both.
With wages low, inflation rampant and future economic prosperity for Britain not guaranteed, he got to grips with all of these challenges to the point where the British economy was fighting fit by the outbreak of the Second World War. The British People of the 1920’s and 30’s knew that Baldwin’s focus on stabilising the economy, intervening when necessary, and ensuring people had more money in their pocket would create prosperity. His clear plan and Conservative principles saw life expectancy shoot up from 48 in 1920 to 63 in 1940.
Joan Ginsberg - Heritage Party
I am a retired teacher, a 73-year-old grandmother, originally from Stoke-on-Trent. I settled in north Wales in 1981. Having come from an industrial background and spending my childhood holidays caravaning in north Wales, I always hoped that one day this beautiful place would be my home. I felt privileged to have attained a grant which allowed me to study modern languages at university.
This is where I met my Welsh husband, and it became our joint aim to return to his country of birth. I have lived in the Caernarfon area since moving to Wales and was delighted to find that the Welsh language was still the language of choice. I immediately set about learning the language whilst raising my six children with Welsh as their mother tongue. I am still deeply passionate about children’s education and wellbeing, hence the main reason for me standing in the general election.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
If laws worked, we should be in paradise right now. Instead of that, more and more areas are becoming lawless zones or police states. Lawless zones are rife with serious crime which often goes unreported. In this age most crimes are to be reported online because local police stations are closed.
On the flipside police brutality is becoming more obvious as we have witnessed through citizen journalism.
The rule of law does not apply equally to all. Opinions and feelings rule over common sense and physical harm. In addition, the rule of law must apply equally to professionals as it does to the person on the street.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
The biggest issue facing Wales is its government adhering to policies which defy common sense, and which will induce further poverty. An example would be the climate policy and forcing farmers into schemes which will reduce arable and pastureland. This reduces self-reliance and might one day throw us into a food crisis. Further government incentives have led to even less arable and pastureland for the instalment of windfarms and solar farms. Not only are both of these things unrecyclable and an eyesore, but they also only work under optimum conditions with little benefit to neighbouring communities. It is the Heritage Party manifesto address this.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
If we were to study any Prime Minister in depth, we would find many faults. “The Prime Minister has an absolute genius for putting flamboyant labels on empty language” (Aneurin Bevan).
Phoebe Jenkins - Lib Dem
I am my early thirties with a young family. In my spare time, you'll find me enjoying the Welsh countryside, with my nose in a book or learning Welsh.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
I would like to see accessible and affordable chIldcare for all families from 9 months of age, that reflects the interest of both parents and children, and supports the sector.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
It’s hard to pick a single issue after 14 years of Tory government, but issues around the environment, the economy, housing and health are prominent in our rural communities.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
It’s difficult to pick a ‘best British Prime Minister’ when the thought of the UK Government is shrouded by the current Conservative chaos. But, historically, I appreciate Clement Atlee’s work on the welfare state, despite him being a Labour Prime Minister.
Liz Saville Roberts - Plaid Cymru
I’m 59 years-old, married to Dewi Wyn Roberts from Blaenau Ffestiniog, and mother to twin daughters, Lowri and Lisa. We’ve lived in Morfa Nefyn in Pen Llŷn for over 30 years, although I’m originally from Eltham in London. I fell head over heels in love with Wales on family holidays, and jumped at the chance to study at Aberystwyth University, where I started to learn Welsh at the age of 18.
Before being honoured to be elected as MP for the old Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency nine years ago, I previously worked as a lecturer and director in further education and also as a local newspaper reporter. I am Plaid Cymru’s first female MP, and have led the party’s parliamentary group since 2017.
When I’m not being a politician, I love mountain-walking, horse-riding and swimming, and generally being not indoors as much as possible.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
If I’m elected, I’ll be working to improve our economy by pushing for legislation to improve Wales’s finances. It is gobsmackingly unjust that we’re denied £4 billion of extra funding simply because the HS2 fast rail scheme between London and the English Midlands has been defined in cynical sleight-of-hand as an England-and-Wales project.
Devolving the Crown Estate will give us the means to make the best use of our renewable energy resources, ending the extraction of our natural wealth without long-term benefits to our communities.
I want to see Wales flourishing with an economy which is no longer dependent for funding on the tax revenues of South East England. This will require a Senedd with powers which enable it to function as a proper parliament, and the beginning of improved relations with our nearest neighbours in Europe by rejoining the Single Market and the Customs Union.
Increasingly, people recognise that an independent Wales is the logical destination as we travel along a path where every additional responsibility vested upon us increases our ambition and confidence.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
The biggest immediate challenge facing Wales is the cost-of-living crisis and the chronic effects of 14 years of Tory austerity against a backdrop of global insecurity. The politics of the United Kingdom continues to fail to provide solutions as Labour promises change but offers nothing to remedy our structural inequality. Our health service and social care must re-focus on the sick and the vulnerable, and the needs of Wales should finally be recognised in our funding settlement.
All countries are threatened by climate change which will in turn worsen pressure on essential resources and increase the risk of war. Wales must work with other nations in seeking low carbon energy supplies which maintain the quality of life. Technology and innovation must be supported to bring about solutions which will in turn bring hope to future generations.
The loss of diversity at home and globally should shame present generation. All the wealth in all the banks of the world is nothing but a legacy of dust if we cannot maintain a planet fit for life, our own and other species.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
The best Prime Minister? That is a hard question for a Plaid Cymru general election candidate for the simple reason that we do not believe that the UK’s political structures presently serve people fairly.
There will be change on 4 July, everyone knows that. I urge people in Wales to send a message to the next UK Prime Minister that Wales can’t be taken for granted by sending a noisy cohort of Plaid Cymru representatives.
Joanna Stallard - Labour
My name’s Joanna Stallard. I was born in Aberystwyth and raised for the most part in Llangollen, Denbighshire. I’m 27 years old and currently work as the Recruitment Manager responsible for the UK and Germany for an Expert Network company called Atheneum.
I’ve been a recruiter for four years, but before that I was a Parliamentary Researcher in Westminster for my former home constituency MP, Susan Elan Jones, MP for Clwyd South from 2010-19. As a teenager, I became involved with the Welsh Youth Parliament and took part in a live Youth Debate in Westminster where I had the chance to speak at the Dispatch Box.
Apart from politics I am a big enthusiast about languages, having been raised bilingually through English and Welsh and having studied German at University. I’m also a big Musical Theatre fan.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
I want a level playing field for Wales and Welsh people. Wales is so often an afterthought in national discussion, and I want to raise more awareness about Welshness and the Welsh language as part of a national conversation which is more aware of the need to be inclusive.
Other than that, I want to do more to continue the progress and development of devolution in Wales through stronger collaboration with the Welsh Government through a larger cohort of Welsh Labour MPs.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
Tackling the cost-of-living crisis is the number one priority for me. We can do this through the creation of new jobs in North Wales. I am excited about Labour’s plans with the Wylfa sight on Anglesey which would inevitably boost the local economy as a starting point.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
I don’t know if I subscribe to ranking Prime Ministers, but I do admire Gordon Brown and believe that he was not given a fair hearing when he was Prime Minister. In hindsight, people remember his legacy with admiration. I think he presented a moderate and sensible way of doing politics and helped us to retain the British Pound, which I believe was the right thing to do.
