Senedd elections: Alison Alexander (Liberal Democrats)

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.

Alison Alexander from the Liberal Democrats:

Your two votes for the Welsh Liberal Democrats in the Senedd elections will be a first step on the journey to Putting Recovery First for our people and for our planet.

Our top priorities are to commit £1 billion a year to tackling the climate emergency now, to dedicate £500 million a year for the recovery of our high streets and small businesses, and to create 24/7 emergency mental health support.

In essence, our manifesto for Wales is an integrated approach to repairing our planet and creating a society that works better for everyone. We cannot afford to go back to normal after the pandemic because ‘normal’ wasn’t working for so many people.

Our plans for eco house building and retrofitting, excellent education and training, creating green public and private transport, supporting local farmers to produce high-quality food, reforming social care, and implementing free childcare will improve the quality of life for all. They will stimulate job creation, provide homes, reduce fuel poverty and give opportunities for our young people to stay in Montgomeryshire. If you’ve got a quality job, a warm home, good food on the table, and your elderly relatives are cared for, you have more time to live your life – and to enjoy it.

People are sick of broken promises from larger political parties. The Welsh Liberal Democrats’ plans for the next five years have been rigorously researched. We have crafted them in collaboration with specialists across healthcare, agriculture, education, the environment, social care and policy-making. These aren’t vague fantasies scrawled on the back of a beermat. We have listened to the experts and consulted with ordinary people to put together costed, deliverable plans.

In Government, Welsh Liberal Democrat Education Minister Kirsty Williams has achieved previous manifesto commitments. She has overseen the creation of a ‘Made in Wales’ curriculum that will allow children to use their natural curiosity to learn about the world, that will create confident, empathetic members of society and will help them to build on their individual strengths. She has written the protection of rural schools into law, helping communities fight the closure plans currently being driven by Independents and Conservatives in Powys County Council. She has reduced infant class sizes and given support to the least advantaged children through the Pupil Development Grant and free school meals for the holidays, a time when many children suffer with inadequate nutrition.

Our specific plans for Montgomeryshire include: 

• Reversing depopulation which is leading to public service reductions, by working with young people. 
• Ensuring all communities have access to superfast broadband and mobile phone signal, eradicating not-spots by 2025.
• Funding lifelong learning, allowing people to retrain for the jobs of the future as they emerge. 
• Allowing family farms to develop outbuildings for accommodation and for home building to allow the young to live where they work rurally.
• Securing the restoration of the Montgomery Canal.
• Expanding community healthcare provision including post-operative treatment, reducing pressure on A&E units, and more diagnosis and treatment of cancer locally, particularly as an immediate response to the urgent need to tackle delays caused by the pandemic.

Finally, it is clear from talking to people on the doorstep and from the online hustings debates we’ve taken part in that many voters are still undecided about which party to choose. It is true there is a good deal of overlap in ideas between the parties. At this point, the closeness of the two-horse race between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats is often a deciding factor for many.

I believe there are far greater reasons to vote for the Welsh Liberal Democrats than mere ‘tactical voting’. Liberals have deep roots in Montgomeryshire going back over 150 years, we understand the challenges of rural areas and unlike other parities who are backed by the big unions or big business, we are powered by local people.

A party’s core values and priorities matter. The Liberal Democrats have always understood the importance of our environment, whilst still championing the immense value of education and the NHS. Lib Dems cherish personal freedoms, balanced with responsibility. We are not just tolerant; we positively embrace difference. We are internationalist and yet fervent supporters of local communities. We believe in fairness, equality and mutual respect. 

We listen, we work together and we work with others.

I would be honoured if you would consider voting for us. Join us and work with us to build a better Montgomeryshire. Please feel free to contact me on any of the below platforms with any questions. 

Diolch yn fawr, Alison Alexander.

Contact Details:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alison4Mont 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonAlexander4Mont 

Email: alisonalexanderlibdem@gmail.com 

Website: https://www.montlibdems.org.uk/alison_alexander 

The candidates in Montgomeryshire

Alison Alexander - Liberal Democrats

Kait Duerden - Labour

Gwyn Evans - Gwlad - The WelshIndependence Party

Russell George - Conservatives

Oliver Lewis - Reform UK

Elwyn Vaughan - Plaid Cymru