Yahoo News General election 2024: The candidates standing in Cardiff West
The whole of the existing Cardiff West constituency remains the same this election, with a small section of Pontypridd and Ogmore added, as part of the boundary review. All three are safe Labour seats. There will be a new MP in this election as Labour's Kevin Brennan has announced he will not stand again.
The boundaries of all but one Welsh seat have changed ahead of the 2024 election, only Ynys Mon (the island of Anglesey) remains untouched, all others have seen changes which could impact the results on election night. You can read the background to the changes here.
Instead of 40 constituencies, there are now 32 in Wales and the idea behind it is to make all Westminster constituencies the same size. Using figures from electoral calculus, we can see how this constituency is changing. The numbers are 100% of the former Cardiff West constituency, plus 8.9% of Pontypridd and 1.2% of Ogmore.
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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 Pontyclun, Pentyrch, St Fagans and Canton and Riverside in Cardiff.
You can also find your constituency by entering your postcode here:
What happened in the general election in 2019
Who is standing?
Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour)
James Robert Hamblin (Conservatives)
Peter Hopkins (Reform UK)
Kiera Marshall (Plaid Cymru)
Neil John McEvoy (Propel)
Manda Rigby (Lib Dem)
Jess Ryan (Green Party)
John Ernest Urquhart (Independent)
Sean Wesley (Heritage Party)
The candidates
All candidates are being asked the same questions, and their answers will be added here once received.
Alex Barros-Curtis - Labour
I was born and grew up in North Wales. I attended Gronant Primary School and Prestatyn High School, with some time spent in St. Asaph as a member of its fantastic Cathedral Male Voice Choir.
My Mum was a teacher and my and Dad a police officer – it was their 60 years of public service that instilled those important values in me. I moved to London to study law at the London School of Economics and qualified at one of the world’s largest law firms. I’ve since worked for some fantastic charities and organisations, inclduing more recently for the Labour Party as its principal legal adviser.
In my spare time, I enjoy reading, films, watching Liverpool FC (though preferably when we’re winning the League) and music. In fact, I very nearly trained to become a professional pianist instead of a lawyer! I am also a Chair of Governors at a large inner-city primary school, a role which I have held for 9 years.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
I am excited about Labour’s commitment to unlocking Wales’ green energy potential, and this is something I will seek to champion in Westminster on behalf of the constituents of Cardiff West. We will create those new, skilled jobs in green industries. We must also ensure that energy profits that are created in Wales, stay in Wales.
Nationally, this green plan will also be supported by establishing Great British Energy. This will be a publicly owned company that will make money for the taxpayer, and invest in green British power. Great British Energy will provide energy security, cut bills, and protect our precious environment.
Under successive Tory governments, we have lost too many precious years due to their failure to properly plan and strategise with regards to green energy. That is why we must be completely focused on unleashing our green potential in this next Parliament, led by a Labour government.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
The economic uncertainty our communities are facing is unprecedented in modern times. The cost-of-living crisis, the lack of growth and investment in our economy, and the general instability in our economy, has made so many of us worse off. After 14 years of chaos and decline from the Tories in Westminster, they leave the country in a worse state. That is a damning indictment for any government.
This general election will be the first opportunity in over 14 years that Wales, and, by extension, the Welsh Government, will have the opportunity to work in solidarity and cohesion with a national Labour government. For too long, the Tory Government has broken our public services, has weakened our economy and failed to act in the best interests of the citizens it is supposed to serve.
The Tories were second in Cardiff West in 2019. At this General Election on 4 July, the voters in Cardiff West can turn the page on this failed chapter of the Conservative party and vote for a Welsh Labour representative that will continue to build on the legacy of Kevin Brennan. I will continue to deliver for all of Cardiff West.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
The last national Labour government was transformational in the record investment it provided for our critical public services, particularly in education and our National Health Service. When we left office in 2010, the NHS had the highest satisfaction levels, and the lowest waiting lists, on record. For this alone, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown deserve much credit.
Following 14 years of this failing Tory government, we need to return our collective focus to restoring and rebuilding our precious public services. Re-establishing economic stability, and working with the Welsh Government to cut NHS waiting lists, must be the focus of a new Westminster government led by the Labour party.
At this change election, we need to replicate and redouble that degree of reform and change. I will utilise the skills I have developed and passion I hold for public service, to galvanise these actions as the MP representative for Cardiff West under a Labour government.
John Ernest Urquhart - Independent
John uses "they/them" pronouns. Born in London in 1984, they grew up on the Millmead council estate in Margate in Kent, before moving to Wales aged 19.
Their work life has included cleaning aircraft, factory work, picking fruit, customer service, manual labour, teaching IT, and secretarial work. They are disabled, with cPTSD and chronic fatigue and pain.
They are founder of political party Harmony UK, began on a UCU picket outside Cardiff University. Their activism includes antifascism, gathering nearly 50k signatures for universal free school meals, raising thousands of pounds for others facing hardship despite themselves living on Universal Credit, and doing labour for the Palestine solidarity movement.
Their hobbies include playing the piano, writes poetry, sings, plays Rocket League, enjoys tabletop and live-action roleplay, spends too much time on social media, and is committed to trying to read more books than the Great Library of Alexandria contained.
Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP
Universal basic income would be a gamechanger, especially if I get to package it up in a bill with a freeze on rent increases and a moratorium on residential evictions until 2028. In the intervening years, we'd set up regional people's assemblies to determine fair regional rates for rent, and then set rent controls in line with those. We'd review the moratorium in 2027. I think if I get into specifics on this we'll be here all day, so suffice to say it would be set at a level that ensures everyone lives comfortably. I am confident this is completely affordable - not least since poverty costs Britain a sizeable chunk of the cost of the UBI itself, and we'd be reducing that enormously almost overnight.
What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?
The biggest issue facing Wales is the cost of living crisis. People are going without food. People can't afford electricity, heating, and food, along with transport and everything else. Some are even cutting themselves off from gas or electricity.
The fact is that politicians just don't listen to anyone who isn't a donor: else the country would already be on the mend. The democratic assembly we're building in Cardiff West - which'll run on consensus and make its own decisions with no executive oversight - will shine a light on a new path. We need not be reliant purely on the press and politicians and civil society, but we, the people, can step up and make our own plain demands. And take our own action if nothing changes when we speak clearly.
Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?
You can't get me to praise a British Prime Minister. They've all been murderous villains. Even the ones who were vaguely acceptable - ish - domestically supported horrific acts by Britain (or allies) abroad. The office should be abolished entirely; the fact we've never had a good one should be a sign that the role is flotsam at best.
