General election 2024: The candidates standing in Torfaen

Ruth Mosalski
·4-min read

The Torfaen constituency is changing marginally ahead of the election vote. There has been a boundary review and all but one Welsh seat have changed ahead of the impending 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 that all the existing Torfaen constituency will join with 11.8% of Monmouth, a Conservative-held seat.

READ MORE: What is my general election 2024 constituency - as 90% of areas hit by boundary changes

READ MORE: UK general election postal vote details including how to register and how it works

Where does the constituency cover?

It includes Blaenavon, Abersychan, Pnatg, New Inn and Two Locks.

What happened in the general election in 2019

Who is standing?

  • Nikki Brooke (Heritage Party)

  • Philip Davies (Green Party)

  • Lee Dunning (Independent)

  • Nathan John Edmunds (Conservative)

  • Matthew Jones (Plaid Cymru)

  • Brendan Roberts (Lib Dem)

  • Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)

  • Ian Michael Williams (Reform UK)

The candidates

All candidates are being asked the same questions, and their answers will be added here once received.

Nathan Edmunds - Conservative

Nathan Edmunds, Conservative candidate for Torfaen, in a garden/allotment
Nathan Edmunds, Conservative candidate for Torfaen, in a garden/allotment

I was born in Panteg Hospital and spent my early years of education at Coed-Eva Primary School before completing my secondary education at Fairwater Comprehensive School, now known as Cwmbran High. I then attended Pontypool College, Bridgend College and University of Wales Newport, to progress my engineering career. I grew up in Coed-Eva and now live in Ty-Canol, Cwmbran.

I started work as an electrical apprentice with the South Wales Electricity Board, and upon completing my apprenticeship I moved into an office role as an electrical design engineer. For the past 27 years I have been designing renewable energy projects such as wind farms, landfill gas generation sites and battery energy storage systems across the world; helping to provide a clean source of energy for people on every continent.

I am 48 years old, married to Ceri, and have three children. My hobbies include football, motorsport and photography.

Name a policy you want to see become law if elected as an MP

It goes against my nature as a Conservative to impose too many restrictions on people, but one restriction that I strongly believe in is the ‘Tobacco and Vapes Bill’ that was progressing through Parliament prior to dissolution. The measures included in the Bill for a smokefree generation, and to bring forward powers to curb youth vaping, are vital for our children’s future.

Every day in the UK, 350 young adults aged 18-25 take up smoking. Two in three of these young people are likely to die from smoking-related diseases like cancer, COPD and heart disease.

Smoking in enclosed public places and workplaces has been illegal here in Wales since 2007 and this Bill would be the next important step to finally become a smokefree nation.

What's the biggest issue facing Wales and what will you do to fix it?

Wales' performances in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) remain the lowest of the UK nations. Our children deserve the best start in life and the poor education they’re currently receiving is a huge unnecessary obstacle for them to overcome, heading into further education and a global workforce.

The teachers in our education system are working as hard as they can, but with one arm tied behind their back due to the mismanagement of the Welsh education system, a system led by Welsh Labour in Cardiff.

Education is devolved, so direct action to resolve the long-standing issues is difficult as the big decisions are made in the Senedd; but that doesn’t mean that nothing can be done. I would hold the elected representatives in Cardiff to account, to drive up standards and give our children the best start in life.

Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?

I believe that Winston Churchill has been the best British Prime Minister. It’s ironic that I’m writing this 80-years to the day after the D-Day landings, a day shaped by the courageous and decisive decisions made by the Prime Minister of the time; decisions that wouldn’t have been made lightly as he knew that many in the British army would make the ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom.

His inspiring speeches in our ‘darkest hour’ brought the British public together with a sense of national solidarity, leading Britain from the brink of defeat to victory. Winston Churchill had a clear plan, that took bold action, for a secure future.

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