Choosing Plaid Cymru's candidate for Ceredigion

Plaid Cymru will choose its new prospective Westminster candidate for Ceredigion at hustings meetings in June.

These are the three people seeking the nomination, in alphabetical order:

Owain Davies – a County Council worker who lives near New Quay. As Chair of the Ceredigion branch of Unison and an active member of Ceredigion Against the Cuts, he says he’s particularly concerned at the threat to universal health and education services from successive Westminster governments.

Doug Jones was born and brought up in Aberystwyth, and is Chair of the PCS union at the National Library. He was one of the founders of Ceredigion Against the Cuts and has been involved in campaigning for tax justice and against the Iraq war. An interview with him was published on the Planet website last year.

Mike Parker is an author of several books and a broadcaster. He was born in Birmingham, moved to Wales in 2000 and has learnt to speak Welsh. He believes that the three main Westminster parties deliver very little for places like Ceredigion. His website can be found here and his blog here.

Elin Jones, Plaid's AM for Ceredigion, says about the contest:

“I’m delighted that Plaid’s selection process, which was designed to be more open and inclusive than ever before, has produced such a strong shortlist of candidates. All three would be passionate and independent-minded advocates for our area, and would speak up for the many people who feel let down by the cuts of this present Westminster Government. We need someone in Westminster who will put Ceredigion first, and I look forward to working with whoever is selected.”

Rob Phillips, Chair of Plaid in Ceredigion, says:

 “A number of new members have joined Plaid Cymru recently in Ceredigion, especially people who have been active in opposing Westminster’s cuts which affect our local communities so deeply. We look forward to choosing a candidate who will offer a real, positive alternative to people in Ceredigion.”

The two hustings meetings will take place in Aberystwyth on June 6^th and Synod Inn on the 14th. Barring an earlier collapse of the Westminster government, the next UK election will be held in May 2015.