llanblogger has produced this guide to the General Election battle in the local Clwyd South constituency.
The seat has been held for Labour by
Susan Elan Jones since 2010.
In the 2017 General Election she
held on to it with a majority of 4,356. The Welsh Conservatives’ Simon Baynes,
who is once again contesting the seat, came in second place.
According to analysis by
electionpolling.co.uk, Clwyd South is at number 72 in the Conservatives’ list
of target seats.
2017 General Election result
Susan
Elan Jones LAB 19,002 share of
vote 50.7% swing +13.5
Simon
Baynes CON 14,646 39.1% +8.7
Chris
Allen PLAID 2,293 6.1% -4.2
Jeanette
Stefani Bassford-Barton UKIP 802 2.1% -13.5
Bruce Roberts LIB 731 2.0% -1.9
In the 2016 EU referendum the constituency voted Leave by 59.88%,
according to estimates from the House of Commons Library.
Five candidates will contest the seat on December 12, including incumbent
Susan Elan Jones for Labour and challengers Simon Baynes for the Welsh
Conservatives and Christopher Allen for Plaid Cymru. Also fighting are Jay (Jamie)
Adams for the Brexit Party and Calum Davies for the Welsh Liberal Democrats.
Here is a brief guide to each of the candidates:
Jay (Jamie) Adams
Welsh Brexit Party
Mr Adams is a 31-year-old area sales manager in the
construction industry.
He has worked for three major PLC companies in
senior sales positions which he says has taught him the importance of good
negotiation skills, determination and hard work. He is married and is the
father to a four-year-old girl.
He says he is standing to protect democracy for his
family and future generations and does not feel like any of the current parties
represent him, his friends or family. He feels like Westminster has turned
their back on him and everything he cares about.
Christopher Allen
Plaid Cymru
Aged 52 and living in Trevor he was born in
Warwickshire and has lived in Clwyd South for 20 years.
He works as a production engineer in Llangollen. His
wife is a teacher in Llangollen and they have two children.
He says that after becoming increasingly frustrated
with politics at UK level and the inability of the system to adequately
represent Wales, he joined Plaid Cymru in 2015. He stood for election in 2017.
Mr Allen said: “My challenge is to represent
everyone here, and not prioritise one community over another. I’m standing
again because I want to stand up for everyone and make Clwyd South, and wider
Wales, healthier and happier for all our citizens.”
Simon Baynes
Welsh Conservatives
Simon Baynes
from Chirk is a former businessman, founder of the charity Concertina – Music
for the Elderly and author of the recently published book “Lake Vyrnwy – The
Story of a Sporting Hotel”.
He stood in
Clwyd South in 2017, increasing the Conservative vote by almost 4,000.
Mr Baynes said:
“I am extremely pleased to have been selected, and I will be campaigning hard
on the issues that matter most to the people of Clwyd South.”
He says his
number one priority is Brexit.
Calum Davies
Welsh Liberal Democrats
Mr Davies is a 23-year-old and from Gwynedd. He is
a first language Welsh speaker. Currently, he works in retail, he has
always had a passion for politics and wanting to help the people of the local
area and contribute to Clwyd South having a brighter future.
He says he will put the interests of Clwyd South first by
fighting to stop the Conservatives’ “extreme” Brexit that will likely to hit
Wales hard, with its key industries of tourism and agriculture.
Susan Elan Jones
Welsh Labour
Ms Jones has represented Clwyd
South since 2010.
She went to Ponciau, Grango and
Ruabon schools, and Bristol and Cardiff universities. After university, Susan
taught English in Japan.
She won cross-party support to
introduce a bill to Parliament that sought to review sentencing for unlicensed
or uninsured drivers who kill or seriously injure people.
After serving as Parliamentary
Private Secretary to Harriet Harman she was a member of Labour’s frontbench
team between 2011 and 2016. She is currently a member of the Welsh Affairs
Select Committee and the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.
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