THE general election is nearing and the countdown has started. Here is a reminder of your candidates for the Vale of Clwyd.

James Davies (Conservative)

James Davies has been reselected and will fight the Vale of Clwyd seat for the
Conservative Party at the forthcoming General Election.

The former GP polled 13,760 votes to win the seat by 237 from Labour’s Chris Ruane in 2015.

“It has been a huge honour to represent the area I care about over the last two years,” Dr Davies said. “I am very grateful for the support I have received so far and hope this support can continue.

“I work tirelessly to ensure that I spread my time across all the towns and villages in
the constituency.

"A major victory has been in forcing the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government to
scrap their plans to downgrade the local maternity unit and I have been pursuing
many other health-related matters such as the development of a new Royal Alexandra Hospital.

”I have been proud to see so much progress finally being made in Rhyl.

“The town had been a victim of false promises for too long.”

Over the past two years, Dr Davies has held surgeries in supermarkets and pubs “in
the smallest of villages.”

He added: “Some of the key issues I have been working on include broadband coverage for rural areas, flood defences in east Rhyl and St Asaph and
road and rail infrastructure improvements.

“I have also been working closely with hundreds of individuals to support them
with personal issues.”

Dr Davies has worked with the Alzheimer’s Society and community groups to set up dementia-friendly communities.


Chris Ruane (Labour)

Former MP Chris Ruane will contest his old Vale of Clwyd seat at the forthcoming
General Election.

He represented the constituency for 18 years before losing to James Davies in 2015.
 
Mr Ruane said: “I am going into this with my eyes wide open. I know that it is going to be a hard battle.

“People were asking me whether I would stand again. I have so much support already.

“It is such an honour to stand. I want to steady the turbulence.

“People need a strong, steady voice and I want to be that voice.”

Mr Ruane’s political career began when he ran for the town council
in 1988.

He said: “I have missed it over the past two years."

Mr Ruane has been promoting the practice of mindfulness – as a means of mental
health support – around the world.

He said: “I actually had to fly back from Toronto ahead of being selected and have
cancelled speaking at an engagement.

“I am just so proud to stand and to be selected – so it was a price worth
paying.”

David Wyatt (Plaid Cymru)

Bus driver and father of four David Wyatt has been named as Plaid Cymru’s General
Election candidate for the Vale of Clwyd.

Mr Wyatt, 48, who is married and has a son, daughter and two stepdaughters, is
originally from Southampton.

He works as a bus driver for Arriva buses at its Rhyl depot.

Mr Wyatt said: “I joined Plaid because I believe it's better for us to have people representing us from Cardiff than London. I believe in Wales, I want to defend Wales and I want to defend the Vale of Clwyd.

“I am non-Welsh speaking and I’m English. People say to me, ‘why are you standing for Plaid – you are not Welsh?

“My answer to that is, you don't have to be Welsh or Welsh speaking to vote Plaid.
We are all encompassing and welcome everyone.

“[Party leader] Leanne Wood has said in the past ‘if you live here and you want to be
Welsh, then as far as we are concerned you are Welsh and your rights will be defended by the Party of Wales’.”

Gwyn Williams (Liberal Democrat)

Gwyn Williams is the Liberal Democrat Candidate for the Vale of Clwyd.

Mr Williams makes a return after standing as the Parliamentary candidate for the party in the General Election of 2015.

Born in Denbigh and brought up at Y Wern, Ruthin, Mr Williams was the first of his
family to go to university.

He served as both a primary school and a secondary school governor, and as a governor of the University of Wales Bangor.

As well as being a governor of the Welsh Agricultural College, Aberystwyth and vice chairman of the governors of Llysfasi College, he has also been vice-chairman of
Denbighshire’s education committee.

He said: “Our party will be increasing income tax by an extra penny to plug funding
gaps in the health and social care. This is the first manifesto commitment of the campaign.

“Nobody likes paying more tax but if we want to keep our NHS, we must pay for it

“The billions of pounds raised will be used to fund vital health services and care for the elderly. In Wales this will mean up to £350 million per year.

“We cannot keep expecting our NHS to do more and more without giving it the resources to do it. Money on its own cannot solve the NHS’s problems - this is why this is the first step to protect health and social care services.”