General election 2024: The candidates standing in Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney

Ruth Mosalski & Ben Summer
·5-min read

The new Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney seat pulls in a combination of Labour strongholds. Under the new electoral boundaries, it is all the former Blaenau Gwent seat with part of Merthyr and Rhymney, Caerphilly and Islwyn. Nick Smith has been the Labour MP for Blaenau Gwent since 2010.

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 new make-up is 100% of the former Blaenau Gwent seat plus 20.3% of Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, 9.2% of Caerphilly and 4.8% of Islwyn.

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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?

This constituency includes Abertillery, Blaina, New Tredegar as well as Pontlottyn, Twyn Carno, Aberbargoed, Bargoed and Gilfach.

Here is the map from the Boundary Commission for Wales for the Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney seat:

You can also find your constituency by entering your postcode here:

What happened in the general election in 2019

Who is standing?

  • Anne Baker (Green Party)

  • Jackie Charlton (Lib Dem)

  • Robert Griffiths (Communist Party of Britain)

  • Yas Iqbal (Workers Party)

  • Hannah Elizabeth Jarvis (Conservatives)

  • Niamh Salkeld (Plaid Cymru)

  • Nick Smith (Labour)

  • Mike Whatley (Independent)

The candidates

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

Anne Baker - Green Party

Anne Baker, Green Party candidate for Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney
Anne Baker, Green Party candidate for Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney

Anne Baker, 64, varied career: gardener, admin officer, trade union representative and branch secretary, Adult Education Tutor, Health and Safety Consultant. Two children and two grandchildren. Hobbies: photography, walking, reading, gardening and scuba diving. I enjoy bird watching and run a Zoom group for Green Party Women, about birds and wider nature.

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

Zane’s Law and the Climate and Nature Bill

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

Many issues affect Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney, such as lack of jobs, aggravated by poor transport, especially for those without cars. There are unique problems created by the nature of the valleys, meaning routes to work can become blocked very easily, by accidents, landslides etc.

Buses and trains are too infrequent. I would work to get improved funding for public transport and to regulate them again, as happens in London.

Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?

The best PM we didn’t have would have been John Smith, but I also liked Harold Wilson for creating the Open University and Clement Atlee for the creation of the National Health Service.

Nick Smith - Labour

Nick Smith, Labour candidate for Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney
Anne Baker, Green Party candidate for Blaenau Gwent & Rhymney -Credit:Green Party

I grew up in Tredegar in a family of miners and steelworkers. My first job was helping my dad who was a roundsman for Brace’s Bread, travelling in his van around Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney. I went to Tredegar Comprehensive School before studying at Coventry University and Birkbeck, University of London.

I’m Labour through and through. I joined the party when I was 16 years old, and I am proud to have served as MP for Blaenau Gwent since 2010. Prior to becoming an MP my last job was Director of Policy at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. As a teenager I played snooker at the local workmen’s hall and still enjoy the sport as a spectator, and I also enjoy watching local rugby teams. I’m a keen parkrunner at Parc Bryn Bach and also enjoy films and playing Scrabble.

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

I want to see our NHS back on its feet. The Welsh NHS needs a true partner in Westminster. We can see what’s possible when two Labour governments work together by looking at the record of the last UK Labour government on the NHS in Wales - the shortest waiting times on record and the highest patient satisfaction in history.

Labour has pledged to cut waiting times by targeting those who have been waiting the longest and who are in the most need, paid for by cracking down on tax avoidance and non-dom loopholes. As a successor in Nye Bevan’s constituency, I would also like to see a strong emphasis on preventative health care and the promotion of physical activity to help with long term health issues.

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

Wales is continuing to pay the price for Tory economic failure. People are being hammered by the Conservative Cost-of-Living crisis. Energy costs, food bills and mortgage rates are sky-high. People are working harder than ever for less reward. Labour will deliver economic stability. Growing the economy on secure foundations is the number one mission of the next Labour Government.

We want to bring forward a decade of national renewal, kickstarting growth, boosting jobs and making work pay. Locally I want to see our young people being prepared for the jobs of tomorrow, in cyber, digital and hi-tech engineering, something we have made a good start on through the Cyber College Cymru programme I helped create (and which is now spreading to other campuses across South Wales) and through the soon to be opened High Value Engineering Centre campus in Ebbw Vale. All of which we can and should expand on for the future.

Who has been the best British Prime Minister and why?

Clement Attlee rebuilt our economy following the Second World War, when our country had been through huge domestic and global challenges. He got our country back on its feet and introduced the NHS which has made such a difference to so many people’s lives ever since. And also Tony Blair because he introduced the first National Minimum Wage, secured peace in Northern Ireland and invested heavily in our public services including the Sure Start programme which helped so many children and their families, something I’m still angry about the Tories dismantling after the 2010 election.

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