The upcoming general election in the UK has seen a record number of candidates. More than 4,500 candidates will be contesting the vote this year, which is a 35.7% increase from the previous election in 2019. Among the candidates are a number of first-time contenders, including former Olympian Marc Jenkins.
Jenkins, who represented Great Britain in triathlon at the 2004 Athens Olympics, decided to stand as a Conservative Party candidate for Gower after a conversation with friends in a pub. He said, “I thought, ‘If I’m prepared to complain, I should be prepared to do something'”. Despite not having a political background, Jenkins was accepted as a candidate for the Conservatives, and is hoping to represent “completely normal people”.
Also standing in Gower are Tonia Antoniazzi for Labour, Franck Banza for the Liberal Democrats, Kieran Pritchard for Plaid Cymru and Catrin Thomas for Reform.
Another first-time candidate is Joanna Stallard, who is representing Labour in Dwyfor Meirionnydd, north Wales. Stallard believes that Labour is a natural fit for her, with its focus on gender representation and her own passion for “justice, fairness and equality of opportunity”. Stallard is focused on increasing representation of Welsh issues, such as the Welsh language, which she feels are often an “afterthought” in UK-wide politics.
Standing in Dwyfor Meirionnydd are Tomos Day for the Conservatives, Phoebe Jenkins for the Liberal Democrats, Lucy Murphy for Reform and Liz Saville-Roberts for Plaid Cymru.
Finally, Kiera Marshall, representing Plaid Cymru in Cardiff West, decided to get into politics to fight for areas like the one in which she grew up. She stated, “The area struggled and it was very stigmatised, and that just motivates me to fight for areas like mine”. Marshall believes that the poverty in many areas of Wales is a result of Conservative and Labour governments, and that her party is “offering an alternative”.
Also standing in Cardiff West are Alex Barros-Curtis for Labour, James Robert Hamblin for Conservatives, Peter Meireon Hopkins for Reform and Manda Rigby for Liberal Democrats
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More