Guest post by Jayne Cowan
Jayne Cowan is the Conservative Party’s constituency candidate for Cardiff North.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, My Cardiff North.
“My Cardiff North” – that’s exactly how I see the area in which I have lived all my life. I was born in Cardiff North, grew up in Cardiff North, went to school here, worked here and remain living here with my husband and both our families. I want the people of Cardiff North – us – to enjoy the best possible quality of life and I will work hard to achieve that ambition.
I have been privileged to serve as a councillor for Rhiwbina for 17 years. Throughout that time I have stood up and spoken up for local people. I have campaigned to preserve vital local facilities which local people value. I stood up against the Labour party when it threatened to close our libraries and other services forcing them into a humiliating climb down. I struggled to ensure that Labour honoured its commitment to preserve a green belt around Cardiff as part of Cardiff’s Local Development Plan only to witness Labour’s last minute retreat when their political masters in Cardiff Bay decided our opinion didn’t matter.
I believe that my experience and dedication and my record as a fighter for the people I serve will prove invaluable should I be elected to the National Assembly in May.
But this election isn’t only about Cardiff North. And hard work alone will not be enough. What Cardiff North needs – what Wales needs – is a change of Government. We need to be rid of this worn out Labour Government in Cardiff Bay that has been in power for 17 years and which has taken Wales backwards.
In 1997, Wales was 35th in the league tables of education standards – and that was totally unacceptable. Well today, thanks to a backward looking Labour Government, Wales stands 36th in science, 41st in reading and 43rd in maths. For the sake of our children we need to vote for change on May 5th.
Under Labour, Wales has the worst rate of economic inactivity of any region in the UK.
Our Welsh Health Service is blessed with an army of hard working, committed and dedicated doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals supported by magnificent support staff who literally perform miracles every day. It’s a pity the same can’t be said of the politicians in Carwyn Jones’s failing Welsh Labour Government.
Welsh Labour politicians have led our health service from one crisis to another. Unlike in England where the Coalition government protected health spending, Welsh Labour starved our health service of the funding it needed.
In Wales General Practice is in crisis. Doctors are “handing in the keys” leaving thousands of people without a GP. Health Boards are in special measures citing failing leadership as the reason for failure. All this needs to change and a Welsh Conservative Government will make the changes Welsh health workers need.
In Cardiff North we have two centres of healthcare excellence – the University Hospital of Wales and the Velindre Cancer Hospital. Both are crying out for the type of investment that the Conservative planned £100 million pound Health Transformation Fund will deliver.
The sad truth is that this Labour Government has run out of ideas, run out of steam, and has no meaningful plan to turn things around. Wales has a government that after 17 years in power presides, over the poorest part of the UK; over a failing health service; over a failing education service.
It’s a government which sells land worth £36 million for just £20 million and which pays £52 million for an airport worth £20 million. It really does beggar belief. If it was a local authority it would be in special measures.
On May 5th the people of “My Cardiff North” can help change all that by voting for me as their local Assembly Member.
By Jayne Cowan
My Cardiff North 