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.
I am delighted to have another opportunity to contribute to My Cardiff North because it covers an amazing part of the city; and one I have been proud to have lived in all my life. Residents of Cardiff North, from Gabalfa and Llandaff North in the west across to Pontprennau and Old St Mellons in the east, genuinely care about their communities and want representatives who both understand the communities and who can help to drive them forward.
This is why I am standing for election to the National Assembly for Wales. I have a track record working for residents, both in my role as a Rhiwbina Councillor since 1999 and as a community campaigner throughout the whole of Cardiff North. I led the Council Tax Fair Play for All Campaign across Cardiff in 2002 and have worked hard with residents to ensure that libraries, play centres and day centres were protected in 2015. I have pushed for a full green belt in Cardiff’s Local Development plan, despite opposition from the Labour Welsh Government, denying the public the chance to currently protect that area for life. This left many, many residents unhappy and disappointed.
In March this year I led a debate in the Council chamber which called for the Wedal Road tip, an important facility serving many Cardiff North communities, to stay open in the face of opposition from the Labour administration.
And I have worked hard to fundraise for a number of charities because they carry out excellent and essential work throughout Cardiff North and the wider community. I was locked in a prison cell to raise money for Tenovus, organised a Fun Run for Autism Puzzles and when I had the privilege of being Cardiff’s Deputy Lord Mayor, arranged a garden party for Mayors from parts of south and mid Wales in aid of Cancer Research Wales. I was pleased to remain in close contact with Cancer Research Wales following their year as the Lord Mayor’s Charity, and I follow their pioneering work with a very close eye.
As well as championing both charities and communities in Cardiff North, I look forward to supporting the health service and our education service if I am elected to the Assembly on 5th May. I am always in admiration of the hard work carried out by our doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals. In education it is now time to let our teachers teach. As a former teacher myself, I understand the importance of excellent education which lets every child reach their full potential.
If elected, I would look forward to getting into the fine detail of what the National Assembly spends its money on. We see taxpayers money wasted when it was reported that land throughout Wales, including Churchlands in Cardiff was sold off for just a fraction of its true value. This has led to a development which will fundamentally change the character of the Lisvane community.
Leaflets are an essential way of keeping in touch with residents, and I enjoy receiving feedback. I also use social media daily as a way of sharing information quickly from local charity events, to my travels on the campaign trail, to information which I feel would be of interest to residents. You can follow my online activities here – Twitter @JayneCowan, Facebook Jayne4CardiffN.
By Jayne Cowan
My Cardiff North 