Christopher Allen – Plaid Cymru – Clwyd South
Clwyd South Candidates: Christopher Allen – Plaid Cymru, Jeanette Bassford-Barton – UKIP, Simon Baynes – Welsh Conservatives, Susan Elan Jones – Welsh Labour, Bruce Roberts – Welsh Liberal Democrats
We have invited all candidates to complete a very brief bio / question set ahead of the General Election.
You can also view our live debate on the evening of 30th May.
Q1 Are you able to tell us a little about who you are, any political history and about your political leanings?
I am a 49 year old father of two from Trevor, Llangollen. I have lived in Clwyd South for nearly twenty years. I was born in Nuneaton, Warwickshire and I work as an engineer at Mail Solutions in Llangollen. My wife is a teacher at Ysgol Dinas Bran and her family live in Chirk. I have a background in manufacturing and a degree in Business and Technology from Coventry University. I have also worked for Wrexham County Borough Council’s Economic Development Department and ran my own business. After becoming increasingly frustrated with politics at UK level and the inability of the system to adequately represent Wales, I joined Plaid Cymru in 2015.
Q2 What do you feel is the top local issue for this election and what is your policy on it?
In Clwyd South, we struggle with a lack of investment in infrastructure, business and communities. As a diverse constituency, we have small centres in Wrexham County Borough and large rural areas in both Wrexham and Denbighshire, most jobs here are low income and many people work outside the area. I will fight for more investment and local procurement to support our economy and communities.
Q3 What do you feel is the top issue for Westminster in the forthcoming parliament term, and briefly explain how you would like to see your desired outcome achieved?
Top issue for Westminster is how to implement brexit, whatever it turns out to be. I would like to see the best possible deal in Wales’s interest. As a net exporter to the EU, the preferred outcome would be to retain membership of the single market to protect Welsh jobs. I would also like to see cast iron guarantees from Westminster that funding will match the lost income from the EU. This includes funding for agriculture and our disadvantaged communities.
Q4 What relevant experience do you have for the job of MP?
I may be new to politics, but I see this as a positive in the present climate with all the confusion and uncertainty that is being caused by experienced politicians. They play games fighting amongst themselves with little regard for the electorate they represent. It is time for new blood to stir things up in Westminster and genuinely represent their constituencies.
Q5 What is the biggest differentiator between you and your fellow candidates?
I am one of the people that Theresa May likes to call a “striver”. I work hard for my family and have always done what we are told are the right things; working hard, paying taxes, managing with falling wages and rising prices. I see the havoc and misery being caused to decent people purely because they are disabled, sick, or poor on a daily basis.
Career politicians find it easy to talk of these things but have no experience of it. My experience means that I can talk with all sorts of people, irrespective of their background. I want to stand up for everyone and make Clwyd South, and wider Wales, healthier and happier for all our citizens.
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