Senedd candidates: Russell George (Conservatives)
It’s election week and in the interests of fairness, MyWelshpool has invited all of the Montgomeryshire candidates that have engaged with us over the campaign period to provide 750 words on why they deserve your vote this Thursday.
They will be published alphabetically based on their party name.
Your vote This Thursday 6th May can help deliver a new direction for Wales.
Having served as your local member of the Senedd, I hope I have demonstrated that I am a hard working member of the Welsh Parliament and someone who will stand up for our area. I would only wish to represent the place I have lived all my life and to represent the people I know best. Having run my own business locally, been a school governor, a member of many local organisations, a town councillor and County Councillor for nine years, I believe I am someone who has a record of engaging with local people and communities and being accessible.
In Wales we face big challenges; the weakest economy of all the four UK nations; longer NHS waiting lists and schools have not received the same funding support which other parts of the UK receive. These challenges started long before coronavirus hit. The pandemic didn’t cause these problems, it’s just exposed what 22 years of a Welsh Labour Government has done to Wales.
We have seen urban councils in South Wales receive year-on-year increases, whilst we in mid Wales receive poor financial settlements. My priority if re-elected will be to focus on our recovery out of the pandemic.
I have fought for a new state-of-the-art community hospital for Mid Wales. This is in progress, and as Welsh Conservatives we would approve and deliver this new hospital which would offer more services locally rather than having to travel out of county. The new hospital and health centre would be located in Newtown and would work with the current network of community hospitals in Machynlleth, Llanidloes and Welshpool to ensure we receive the right treatment much closer to home.
I was delighted when my proposal for a Mid Wales Growth Deal was approved and I will continue campaigning for improved rail, digital connectivity, especially for improved superfast broadband for rural Mid-Wales.
The effects of the pandemic have shown that we need to redouble our efforts and turbo charge our economy. As Welsh Conservatives we would bring back the best of the WDA & Development Board for Rural Wales to help our small and large businesses in Mid Wales grow and we would scrap business rates for all small businesses.
Powys needs a fair deal. We would change the funding formula that currently disadvantages rural councils; so we can invest more in our schools and other essential services.
We would also prevent the closure of any school that is able to deliver the national curriculum without the agreement of parents, teachers and governors.
We would support the Mid Wales Tourism and hospitality sector by bringing forward a Covid-bounce back package. Our hospitality businesses need the same level of support that is available in other parts of the UK. We would also introduce a Tourism Towns Fund to help grow our mid Wales towns and help our local economy attract new visitors and create more jobs.
We have some of the poorest roads in Wales and as Welsh Conservatives we would also create a £250m Rural Road Fund to tackle the state of our roads so we can repair potholes and damage, and further investment in our main roads in Mid Wales so we are better connected, and making travel quicker and safer.
Our other Key pledges for across Wales include:
- Provide extra funding for the NHS every year, with 3,000 more nurses and 1,200 doctors by 2026
- Put NHS Covenant into law to guarantee increased investment and support for our NHS heroes for the future
- Delivering 5,000 more teachers and more investment in Welsh education to provide the best schools and skills for young people
- Build 100,000 new houses in the next decade to kickstart the Welsh economy and give more people the opportunity to own their own home
- Make Wales net-zero in carbon emissions by 2050, and create 15,000 new green jobs
- Freeze council tax for at least the next two years
- Cut land transaction tax (stamp-duty) so first-time buyers would not pay it, while the threshold for others would be raised to £250,000
- Scrapping the Welsh Government's NVZ rules
This Senedd election is the most important in a generation. Your vote matters.
People often say our vote will not change things. Politics is changing in Wales. At the General Election, Labour lost votes in every seat across Wales – even the ones they won. So please use your vote for myself and the Welsh Conservatives.
The candidates in Montgomeryshire
Alison Alexander - Liberal Democrats
Kait Duerden - Labour
Gwyn Evans - Gwlad - The Welsh Independence Party
Russell George - Conservatives
Oliver Lewis - Reform UK
Elwyn Vaughan - Plaid Cymru
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