The Fight for Brecon & Radnorshire

I have lived in Brecon and Radnorshire all my life. I’m proud to call this beautiful place my home. That’s why I was honoured to be selected as the Welsh Conservative Senedd candidate, following a rewarding three years on Powys County Council as the councillor for Gwernyfed Ward, writes James Evans. 

I come from a farming family, having been brought up selling our great local produce. In my spare time I enjoy walking in our fantastic countryside with my wife Rachel, our daughter and our dog, Daisy.

I want to become the next Senedd Member for Brecon and Radnorshire to deliver improvements to everyone’s lives here in our fantastic community. Twenty-two years of Labour failure, propped up by Kirsty Williams and the Liberal Democrats has to be stopped. Wales is consistently falling behind the rest of the United Kingdom — we have longer waiting times in Wales, our education standards are swiftly falling and our economy stumbles along at a snail’s pace. This is despite investment from UK Government — monies that have consistently been spent ineffectively, producing no real tangible results for the people of Brecon and Radnorshire. 

If elected on Thursday, I want to build our economy here in Brecon and Radnorshire; I want to grasp every bit of investment with both hands, ensuring we work together to create more jobs, quality accessibility and greater opportunities. 

I’m standing on a pledge that will create 65,000 new jobs.

A pledge that we will reform business rates — scrapping them for all small business. 

And a promise that will bring better connectivity to our rural areas. Delivering investment directly into the veins of our infrastructure. 

It’s about time this area gets its fair share of funding and investment from Cardiff Bay. 

I want to improve our healthcare services, here in Brecon and Radnorshire so that local residents get seen locally and in a timely manner. Let’s scrap the week upon week wait for a GP appointment and replace it with a quality service, that is free and timely at the point of need. 

We also need to ensure that mental health is given the same status to that of physical health. That means 24/7 access to emergency service providers and long-term investment certainty. The Welsh Conservatives will deliver this through the consistent deployment of more doctors, more nurses and better quality services. 

But let us not shy away from the other issues our constituency is facing. 

We need to create more new homes, affordable homes that ensure we give our young people a reason to stay in our great area. We need to support the agricultural sector and give real certainty over the future direction of farming; ensuring the next Welsh Government commits to matching current farming subsidies. 

Farmers have already faced betrayal — dealt at the hand of Mark Drakeford and his ragtag Cabinet, consisting of Lesley Griffiths and Kirsty Williams. The introduction of NVZs has shown that the Liberal Democrats cannot be trusted to safeguard the interests of our farming communities.

And whilst Kirsty Williams and the Liberal Democrats have turned their back on the framing communities, Labour and Plaid Cymru continue to flirt with the notion of an independent Wales — an unwarranted distraction from the real work ahead of us in rebuilding out of this pandemic. 

What we need is action. Not constitutional chaos orchestrated by Welsh Labour and propped up by the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru. 

When you go the polls on Thursday — this is the reality of your decision. 

More hardship under Welsh Labour.

More distraction with Plaid Cymru. 

More betrayal under the Liberal Democrats. 

Or the opportunity to elect a Welsh Conservative Government. 

A Welsh Conservative Government that will build back better from the pandemic. 

A Welsh Conservative Government that support our farmers and local business owners. 

And a Welsh Conservative Government that will supercharge our NHS. 

For the past 22 years, Brecon and Radnorshire has been represented by the same member of the Senedd – but times are changing. This is our opportunity to turn the tide and cast Brecon and Radnorshire on a new path represented by a new voice in our Welsh Parliament.