Arfon candidates pitch for votes

Arfon
 
Electorate:  39,349 (December 2018)
Main towns/villages: Bangor, Caernarfon, Bethesda, Llanberis, Penygroes. 
Biggest employers: Employment, Welsh language, local trade, education.
Big issues: Employment, rural affairs, Welsh language, school reorganisation, nuclear power.
2017 result

Hywel Williams
Plaid Cymru
11,519
40.8

Mary Griffiths Clarke
Labour
11,427
40.5

Phillippa Parry
Conservative
4,614
16.4

Calum Davies
Liberal Democrat
648
2.3

Constituency guide
A relatively urban constituency for north Wales standards, Arfon contains the university city of Bangor and the county headquarters of Caernarfon as well as several post-industrial quarry villages where Welsh is the predominant day-to-day language.
The area’s heavy reliance on the public sector is highlighted by Gwynedd Council’s status as one of the area’s major employers, however Caernarfon also hosts a handful of television and media companies with Bangor University also employing 2,000 members of staff.
But frustration remains over the status of Bangor’s Parc Bryn Cegin Industrial Estate, having been built over 20 years ago but has failed to attract any tenants despite hopes that it would attract a a 400-job cinema and restaurant scheme.
Created in time for the 2010 General Election, Arfon was mainly carved up from the former Caernarfon constituency, with Bangor and Dyffryn Ogwen transferring over from the former Conwy coastal seat.
Caernarfon had returned Plaid Cymru MP’s since 1974 while Conwy was a historic three-way marginal between Labour, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
The modern day Arfon seat represents one of the smallest electorates in the whole House of Commons, but is currently held by Plaid on a wafer thin majority and forms part of Gwynedd which voted to remain in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
Labour almost caused a major shock in 2017 when virtual unknown Mary Griffiths-Clarke came within 92 votes of taking the seat.
Labour’s chances of going one better this time around may well depend on the university vote, but Plaid Cymru remains strong in its Welsh speaking heartlands and should be another seat to watch on Election night.
Candidates:
 
Gonul Daniels, Conservative
“This election you have a choice – a Conservative MP who can work with a Conservative government to deliver real change, or another MP who will be powerless in Westminster.
 “Vote for me and get an engineer, a doer who delivers results.
 “I delivered a school from my front room, that school brought £7.5mn investment and jobs to the local area, 240 children go to that Ofsted outstanding school because I delivered change.
 “Elect me and the first thing I will deliver at Westminster is Brexit.
 “Then I can work with a Conservative Government for full fibre broadband, money for Wales NHS and schools, increased policing, and investment and jobs in Arfon – let’s make use of Bryn Cegin Business Park!
“This election is a choice between Boris Johnson or Jeremy Corbyn, anything other than a Conservative vote risks Jeremy Corbyn in power.
 “Only a Conservative MP with a Conservative Government can deliver real change in Arfon.
 “Elect me if you want actions not words.”
 
Gary Gribben, Brexit Party
The candidate has not yet replied to an invitation to comment.
 
Hywel Williams, Plaid Cymru
“I’ve always stood against, inequality, injustice and oppression. And for a fair deal for everyone, for peace and the protection of our environment. That’s why I became an MP in the first place in 2001.
“I am not one for political games or personal ambition. I don’t want to be the next Prime Minister but – that’s not what it should be about.
 “I stand for Plaid Cymru. We believe that we in Wales should be taking responsibility for ourselves, not relying on others to decide for us.
“We want to join the world as a free country, playing a full and constructive part – not put barriers up against our neighbours.
 “This shambles over Brexit just proves again that for most of us Westminster does not work. So in these troubled times Arfon needs an experienced and committed MP who gets the job done. I think I fit that bill.”
 
Steffie Williams Roberts, Labour 
“Born in Rhiwlas, bred in Bangor, I’m a local welsh speaking girl who wants to see our communities thrive once again.
“After nine years of Tory Austerity, I’m fed up with the heartache that’s been caused to people here.
“Things in Arfon need to change, we need a stronger voice advocating for our communities.
“I’m a passionate and outspoken person who believes that nurture in the community is a key to success, but with devastating cuts we’ve seen our communities have been torn apart at the seams.
“The only way we can work to rebuild our communities, is through proper funding for Wales and we will only get that with a Labour Government in Westminster.”

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter