Election 2019: Meet the candidates for Delyn

Andrew Parkhurst - Welsh Liberal Democrats

On December 12, voters have an important choice to make, not just about Brexit, but about what kind of society we want to live in.

As the Welsh Liberal Democrat candidate I want to see a fairer, more compassionate and tolerant society where individuals have the opportunities to succeed, where the vulnerable are protected and where lying, prejudice and racism are simply not tolerated.

The extreme policies of the Right or Left will only damage our country, leaving less money for our schools, hospitals and everything else we care about.

The Liberal Democrats have prudent, independently costed policies including:

• Investing the £50bn Remain Bonus in public services and tackling inequality.

• Addressing the Climate Emergency by generating 80% of our electricity from renewables by 2030 and insulating all low-income homes by 2025.

• Recruiting 20,000 more teachers, spending an extra £10bn a year on schools, providing free childcare from nine months and giving every adult £10,000 to spend on skills and training throughout their lives

• Investing £11bn in mental health services

• Addressing the housing crisis by building at least 300,000 homes each year including 100,000 for social rent and removing the inequalities in the private rental sector by promoting longer tenancies to give tenants greater security with limits on rental increases.

• Supporting pensioners by retaining the ‘Triple Lock’ on the basic state pension.

• Improving public transport.

• Accelerating the rollout of hyper-fast broadband.

Back me and demand a brighter future for Delyn and for our country!

David Hanson - Welsh Labour

The issues that matter to people need someone with experience and knowledge of how to get them sorted.

I have been Delyn Member of Parliament for nearly 28 years, and in that time, I have, I hope, shown the skills and contacts to find solutions to many local problems. I am accessible - holding regular advice surgeries to ensure you can reach me at any time and if re-elected I will continue to do so.

Delyn deserves someone who will stand up and speak out for what is right. We are a constituency built upon the simple belief that a hard day’s work should result in a decent day’s pay.

Returning me as your Labour Party candidate for Parliament would ensure we have a local voice who can demand greater investment in our towns and villages.

I will press for a Green New Deal in Delyn. We need to act on climate change, and I will press whoever is in UK Government to make the UK carbon neutral by 2030. This will bring with it the investment we need for new, sustainable jobs.

Delyn needs more police to tackle anti-social crime, I want to see the numbers of police dramatically increased: not just to 2010 levels but beyond that.

I will vote to give the constituency a final say on an achievable Brexit deal vs. the status quo of remaining.

Those of you who want an end to austerity, a new green future for North Wales and a safer community should vote Labour.

Rob Roberts - Welsh Conservatives

I’m a Welsh-speaking local, born and bred in Delyn. I know what concerns local people, because the same things concern me. We have a Welsh Labour Government, a Labour AM and a Labour MP in Delyn. Neither of the Labour representatives are willing to speak up on issues like healthcare, education and transport because they are some of the things controlled by the Labour Government in Cardiff and they don’t want to criticise their own party’s failures for the people of Delyn.

I will press the Welsh Government for a fairer share of the extra £1.2 billion being provided to Wales by the Conservatives in Westminster, as well as the huge boost in education funding that is being provided to Wales from the UK Government.

Locally, I’ll be campaigning hard to improve health services in Flint, most notably in trying to get Flint hospital re-opened after years of a once-loved community service having disappeared. This will improve the lives of people in Flint as they will be able to access hospital facilities more locally, and also ease the pressure on Holywell and Mold hospitals by increasing the capacity in the area generally after years of Labour mismanagement.

In addition, I’ll be campaigning hard to re-establish the train station in Greenfield, which will open up Holywell and give an economic boost to the town as the new North Wales Growth Deal (which was funded by the Conservative Government to the tune of £120m) brings extra employment opportunities to the whole region.

Paul Rowlinson - Plaid Cymru

Born in Cheshire, Paul Rowlinson worked in the chemical industry in Germany before coming to Wales to train as a teacher at Bangor University and St Richard Gwyn High School, Flint. He later worked in housing and local government finance and now runs his own business as a freelance translator across north Wales.

He lives in Bethesda and in 2017 he was elected to Gwynedd Council, where he chairs the Education and Economy Scrutiny Committee.

He is married with three children and in his spare time he volunteers as a street pastor and helps to run a local environmental group.

He helped to set up a community hydroelectric scheme to reduce the carbon footprint and benefit the local community and he serves as Chair of Governors for his local secondary school. He has previously stood for Plaid Cymru in Delyn in the Westminster elections in 2001, 2015 and 2017.

He believes it is essential to put Wales on the Westminster agenda, to eradicate poverty and lift Wales from the bottom of the economic league tables.

He wants a final say referendum to stop the Brexit chaos that will otherwise tie us down with years of fruitless trade negotiations that threaten jobs in our manufacturing and farming.

He will strive to create a Welsh green jobs revolution, with a multi-billion investment programme in renewable energy, transport infrastructure, digital technology and warm, affordable homes, with rent relief for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent.

Nigel Williams - Brexit Party 

I GREW up in Oakenholt and am proud to say I was educated locally at the Gwynedd School, Flint High School and Kelsterton College.

I initially worked at Flint Leisure Centre and at Courtaulds Castle Works. I joined the North Wales Police, where I worked in uniform duties, as a plain-clothes detective and drugs officer, studying in my own time to gain further qualifications.

Afterwards, I qualified as a mathematics and physics teacher, teaching at the Alun School and Bryn Gwalia School in Mold.

I subsequently joined the NHS, initially managing substance misuse programmes in North Wales. I then became a performance manager with Welsh Assembly Government, dealing with a multi-million pound NHS budget across Wales.

My background and undeniable professional success make me the ideal candidate for a party that believes, first and foremost in democracy.

I assert politicians must be honest and regain the trust of the people they represent.

I am a fervent advocate of electoral reform, with a particular interest in rooting out electoral fraud, highlighting the urgent attention the postal vote system needs.

I am an exceptional candidate, from an ordinary background, successful in life, with strong local knowledge. I genuinely care about my community and with my varied career background, I stand in good stead to be a brilliant parliamentarian and advocate for the people of Delyn.