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NEWSLETTER

Assembly Elections 2011

On the 5^th of May, the Welsh Assembly elections will take place, anyone living in Wales will have the opportunity to vote for their AM. Currently there is a Plaid Cymru and Labour coalition government. The Welsh Assembly is able to make laws in Wales, in twenty broad areas, such as health, education, transport, environment and tourism. This has meant that the Welsh Assembly has been able to ease the burden of the Westminster’s government cuts, which are hitting Wales hardest. Wales is the poorest nation in the UK so a different approach to welfare is needed.

The Assembly does also play a big role in the industry in Wales too- it played a big part in attracting the insurance company Admiral to Cardiff which has created thousands of jobs. The Welsh Assembly has achieved much, although it was only created in 1997, and has only recently been awarded law making powers, but it can achieve so much more in the next four years if Labour achieve a majority.

A Labour Welsh government would mean:

1. More apprenticeships and training opportunities for young people, who currently are the age bracket with highest unemployment rat
2. Access to GP surgeries in the evenings and on Saturdays
3. More funding for our schools
4. An extra 500 Police Community Safety Officers (PCSOs) for safer communities
5.  Double the number of children benefitting from free childcare and health visiting

Labour must stay in power in the Assembly to protect:

1. Free prescriptions to help hard-working families and encourage people back to work.
2. Free bus travel for pensioners and disabled people and their carers
3. Free school breakfasts and school milk for the under 7s, a scheme which has proved to be very successful
4. Support for Welsh students so they will not have to pay higher tuition fees
5. Help for people who have been made redundant – building on the successful ReAct programme

If you are unable to be in Wales on the 5^th May, the elections take place during university spring breaks, you can apply for a postal vote by contacting:

Electoral Registration
Civic Centre
EBBW VALE
NP23 6XB


Telephone: (01495) 355086/355088
Fax: 01495 357789
Opening hours: Monday to Friday  9am to 5pm

- Katie Hannah Bennett

Local Legend

The following interview was actually for an assignment (I’m a final year Journalism student at Cardiff University). It’s with Julie Morgan, who is currently Labour’s candidate for Cardiff North for the Welsh Assembly elections.

The interview is written as a magazine feature, so please excuse the cheese.

Exploring the person behind the politics: Katie Murdoch chats to Cardiff’s local politician, activist and mother, Julie Morgan.

Sitting in former MP Julie Morgan’s cosy office, it is clear to see how well-respected she still is by the local people as they come in asking for her advice on various issues.

A passionate defender of the community, Julie, 66, attributes her longstanding enthusiasm in political activism to her mother. “She was a single parent and always fought to give me the best possible upbringing. She worked in Ely Hospital looking after disabled children and always stood up for the underdog.” Smiling as she speaks, it’s clear that Julie speaks about her mother with visible pride.

Before her career in politics, Julie had studied English at King’s College London, later becoming a social worker with Barry Social Services. She accredits her social work for helping her realise that she wanted to support people on a wider scale. “I felt that I could help people through social work, or try going into politics and do it perhaps to a greater degree.”

She notes how difficult it was then, and still is today, for women to break into jobs in politics and other high-power professions. “We have plenty of strong and very capable women and minorities who want these jobs, but there are still very obvious problems within organisations that make it very difficult for them.” She speaks about her own experience of standing for council in Cardiff and being confronted by discrimination, with people questioning her capability of having a job in politics and managing a family. 

When asked how she did balance working in parliament with her home life during the 13 years she was an MP, she replies “It was actually more difficult looking after my mother than my children, who were grown up by the time I won the seat in Cardiff North.” She continues that her mother had become very disabled in her final years and needed a lot of carers throughout the day. “It was like managing a small business from London, which I found very tough, I felt very guilty that I couldn’t be there for her more.”

In last year’s general election Julie lost her seat to Conservative Party candidate Jonathan Evans. “It was a really sad moment after 13 years of serving Cardiff North, but I was expected to lose by a lot more than the 194 votes, considering the national result.” The hardest part of losing was making two employees and friends redundant she says sincerely, “they had worked hard even out of their office hours knocking doors and rallying support, I felt awful that I had to let them go.” 

Julie’s currently campaigning to become Cardiff North’s Welsh Assembly Member in May’s elections, but when she has more time to herself she and her husband, former First Minister Rhodri Morgan, enjoy staying in their caravan in West Wales and swimming in the sea, “it’s incredibly relaxing and enjoyable in the summer” she says, smiling warmly.


-Katie