Dwyfor Meirionnydd election candidates pitch

Dwyfor Meirionnydd
 
Electorate: 45,006 (December 2010)
Main towns/villages: Blaenau Ffestiniog, Porthmadog, Pwllheli, Tywyn, Dolgellau, Y Bala.

Biggest employers: Tourism, agriculture, public sector.
Big issues: Employment, local trade, rural affairs, Welsh language, housing, education.
2017 result

Liz Saville Roberts
Plaid Cymru
13,687
45.1

Neil Fairlamb
Conservative
8,837
29.1

Mathew Norman
Labour
6,273
20.7

Stephen Churchman *
Liberal Democrat
937
3.1

Frank Wykes *
UKIP
614
2.0

Constituency guide
A mostly rural constituency and one of two in the county of Gwynedd, Dwyfor Meirionnydd encompasses most of Snowdonia and has the second highest proportion of Welsh speakers – 65% at the 2011 census.
But while it houses the UK’s first inland nuclear power station, Trawsfynydd stopped producing electricity in 1991 and well-paid jobs remain scarce in south Gwynedd despite economic hopes being pinned on the possibility of a new Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at Trawsfynydd and for the former Llanbedr Airfield to play a major role in the UK’s contribution towards space exploration.
But as things stand, average earnings in Dwyfor Meirionnydd are well below both the Welsh and UK averages, with the economy largely reliant on farming and tourism.
Seaside towns such as Pwllheli, Abersoch, Barmouth and Criccieth are all known to attract tourists during summer months, as well as the Ffestiniog railway transporting visitors between Porthmadog and the slate-quarrying town of Blaenau Ffestiniog.
But with a recent Gwynedd Council report highlighting that both industries face an uncertain future due to Brexit, young people in the area are also finding it difficult to get on the property ladder.
Since  the current boundaries were drawn up in 2010, Plaid Cymru has won every Welsh Assembly and Westminster election, also holding the predecessor Meirionnydd Nant Conwy and Caernarfon seats since 1974.
The area is currently represented at the Senedd by Dafydd Elis Thomas, who left Plaid Cymru in 2016 and currently sits as an independent on the Labour-led cabinet.
Candidates:
Dr Tomos Dafydd Davies, Conservative
With trust in politicians at an all-time low, I want to restore faith in politics and to be a strong and accountable voice for Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
As a proud Welsh speaking Welshman, I want to take the fight to Plaid Cymru.
There are Welsh patriots in every political party, including the Conservative Party, who are passionate about the Welsh language and protecting our precious cultural inheritance, but who believe that independence would be an act of economic folly.
Understandably, this campaign will focus on Brexit. I am determined to deliver the 2016 referendum result and to draw a line under the dithering and delay.
I will always champion the interests of Welsh farmers and producers, campaign for vital funding for our local hospitals and hold Gwynedd Council to account for any further rural school closures.
I will back the campaign to exempt the tourism sector from VAT and champion broadband investment.
 
Graham Hogg, Labour
Many know me campaigning on really tough issues: improving trains, a safe access to Barmouth Bridge and now seeking justice for Fairbourne threatened with climate change.
But in this, the vote of our lives there are huge gains to be made for the many: lifting the minimum wage to £10 an hour, ending Universal Credit, the bedroom tax and zero hours; new quality jobs here to improve all our homes with insulation and renewable energy systems and a world changing programme of jobs and investment for a green industrial revolution.
I will make sure that women born in the fifties who had their pension stolen get due compensation.
We’ll learn, work and play on free top quality fibre broadband. It’s yours without tax increases for 95% of us.
It’s a promise we will deliver at no charge, all it needs is a cross in the box marked Graham Hogg, Labour.
 
Louise Hughes, Brexit Party
I’m standing on a platform of Democracy and honouring the result of the 2016 Referendum.
I’ve lived in Llanegryn for 20 years and am married to Gwyn, who’s a shepherd, originally from Llanuwchllyn.
All political parties promised to honour the vote, but for the last 3 and a half years they’ve done nothing but try to overturn the will of the people, which shows their ingrained contempt of the electorate and their disdain for the democratic process.
There is a deeply worrying lack of integrity amongst the current crop of MPs, which is a national scandal.
We need to redress the balance and put some good old fashioned common sense back into the House of Commons.
I’m not a slick, polished politician and I certainly don’t have all the answers, but what I do have is boundless energy and I care deeply about our communities and the people of Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
 
Liz Saville-Roberts, Plaid Cymru
I have been honoured to represent Dwyfor Meirionnydd as the constituency’s first female MP for the last four years.
At a time when the two major Westminster parties are embroiled in their own interests, Plaid will continue to stand up for what matters in our rural and coastal communities.
I am proud that my party has campaigned to remain in the EU since the 2016 referendum, recognising that any version of Brexit is damaging to the future of young people.
I am honoured that the Liberal Democrats and Green Party have stood aside in this election to ensure that Dwyfor Meirionnydd has the best chance to return an MP who speaks for the majority of voters in the constituency. Expand your capabilities in bed. Order products with sildenafil citrate at https://derzko.wordpress.com and help your body be stronger.
We believe a confirmatory referendum between a realistic Brexit deal and remaining in the EU is the way to resolve the Brexit deadlock.
Although Brexit has acted as a brake on British politics for the last three years, I have worked on local matters too. I  proud to have supported many local employers and to have safeguarded valuable employment.
I have also worked to maintain access to cash, improve connectivity and strengthen transport links.

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter