Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz say health, farming and transport are key as they seek return to the Senedd

CONSERVATIVE candidates Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz have set out their pitch to voters in the newly formed Ceredigion Penfro constituency, insisting they can both be elected under the Senedd’s new proportional voting system.

Speaking during a half-hour interview with Herald editor Tom Sinclair at the paper’s Milford Haven office, the pair emphasised experience, local visibility and a focus on health services as the cornerstone of their campaign ahead of polling day on Thursday (May 7).

Davies, who is placed first on the Conservative list, said the party had a “credible plan to fix Ceredigion Penfro and Wales,” with protecting local hospitals at the top of the agenda.

He warned that services at Withybush Hospital had been steadily eroded over many years and said further losses, including threats to general emergency surgery, would be “totally unacceptable”.

Kurtz, second on the list, said continuity and experience would be vital under the new system, arguing that voters would still need accessible representatives to deal with casework after the election.

He pointed to past campaigns, including securing a banking hub in south Pembrokeshire and lobbying on road safety and infrastructure, as evidence that opposition politicians could still get things done.

The candidates said their strategy was clear: secure around 20% of the vote — roughly one in five voters — to win two seats in the six-member constituency.

Davies said: “We can win two seats. Every vote counts under this system.”

Kurtz added that voters should not be persuaded by rival claims that the election was a straight fight between other parties.

“If you want Welsh Conservatives like Paul and I, you vote for us, and you will get us,” he said.

Reform challenge dismissed

Addressing the rise of Reform UK, Davies dismissed the party as “not conservative,” pointing to policy differences and internal issues with candidates.

He urged traditional Conservative voters to remain loyal if they wanted what he called genuine Conservative representation.

Kurtz said he understood that some voters were considering a protest vote, but argued that “serious times call for serious politicians.”

He said Wales needed strong leadership, and claimed voters in Ceredigion Penfro would be better served by representatives with an established record of local campaigning.

Asked whether the Conservatives would work with Reform after the election if that was the only way to remove Labour from power, Davies declined to give a firm commitment.

He said the party’s objective was to win as many Welsh Conservative seats as possible, adding that “the only deal” the Conservatives wanted was with the people of Wales.

Health and hospitals dominate

Both candidates repeatedly returned to healthcare as the dominant issue raised on the doorstep.

Davies said a Conservative government would declare a “health emergency” from day one, focusing resources on waiting lists, emergency departments and patients being treated in corridors.

He said the state of the Welsh NHS was unacceptable and blamed Labour’s long period in power, supported at different times by Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats, for failing to improve outcomes.

The future of Withybush Hospital was a central theme, with both candidates pledging not only to protect existing services but to restore some that have been lost.

Davies said the party had committed in its manifesto to protect stroke services at Bronglais Hospital and general emergency surgery at Withybush.

Kurtz said the issue was personal to him, as he was born at Withybush and members of his family had been treated there.

He said the original reasons for building Withybush — rurality, poor transport links, tourism pressures, heavy industry on the Haven and dangerous agricultural work — still existed today.

He added that the hospital needed certainty, saying the long-running debate over its future had made recruitment harder.

On GP access, Kurtz said the Conservatives would introduce a seven-day GP appointment guarantee, designed to move people away from the “8am rat race” of trying to secure a same-day appointment.

He said better access to primary care would also reduce pressure on A&E departments.

Farming and rural economy

On agriculture, Kurtz criticised delays to the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Farming Scheme, saying it had taken “far too long” to develop and still placed too much emphasis on environmental measures over food production.

He said there were good elements in the proposed scheme, including the principle of a whole-farm approach, but argued that food security and productivity needed to be placed at its heart.

Kurtz said global instability had shown the importance of domestic food production, and argued that Welsh farming should be seen as part of national security.

He said farming also supported Welsh language communities, rural schools, young farmers’ clubs, sports clubs and wider local economies.

Davies said a Conservative government would increase the farming budget by £100 million and tackle bovine TB, which he said had placed huge pressure on farmers for many years.

Asked whether he supported a badger cull in Wales, Kurtz said the response to bovine TB should be “science-led” and based on evidence.

He said targeted removal of infected wildlife had a role to play, while stressing that it was not a “silver bullet”.

Kurtz said the most urgent thing farmers needed from the next Welsh Government was stability after years of uncertainty over policy, payments and regulation.

Housing and second homes

On housing, Davies said increasing supply was essential, alongside strengthening the economy to help people afford homes.

He said Wales needed to return to being a “home-owning democracy” and that more ambitious housebuilding targets would be needed.

Kurtz highlighted Conservative proposals to cut stamp duty on primary residences, arguing that this would stimulate movement in the housing market and boost local trades and businesses.

Asked about second homes and holiday lets, Kurtz said the current 182-night threshold for self-catering accommodation was too high.

He said many genuine tourism businesses in weather-dependent rural areas were struggling to meet the requirement, and said the threshold should be brought closer to the HMRC figure of 105 nights.

Both candidates were critical of council tax premiums on second homes, arguing they had become too restrictive and had not necessarily released properties for local buyers.

Davies also opposed the proposed tourism tax, warning it could damage one of the area’s most important industries.

Energy, roads and rail

On renewable energy, Kurtz said the Conservatives were not opposed to green energy jobs, but objected to what he called the “industrialisation” of the countryside through large-scale wind, solar and pylon developments.

He said more attention should be given to the opportunities in the Celtic Sea, including floating offshore wind and the Celtic Freeport, rather than using good agricultural land for major energy schemes.

Transport was another major theme.

Davies reiterated his long-standing campaign to dual the A40 across west Wales, describing it as critical to economic growth, safety and connectivity.

He said it was unacceptable that major investment had been made elsewhere in Wales while west Wales continued to be left behind.

Kurtz said rural communities were often treated as an afterthought, pointing to rail investment decisions that he said had favoured south-east Wales.

He argued that schemes such as a new station at St Clears should have been prioritised and said investment should begin from rural areas outward, rather than always from Cardiff and Newport first.

Candidate records

Asked why voters should believe major change could happen now when Davies had already served for many years, he said the new voting system meant every vote counted in a way it had not done before.

He said areas where Conservatives previously had little chance of winning could now elect Welsh Conservative representatives.

Kurtz was asked how he would convince voters in Ceredigion that he was not simply a Pembrokeshire candidate.

He pointed to family links with Cardigan and Llandysul, his Welsh language ability, and his work on agricultural issues, saying voters in Ceredigion had recognised his record.

Both candidates said the size of the new constituency would be a challenge, but argued that their experience representing large rural areas would help them divide the workload effectively.

Closing pitch

In their final appeal, both candidates urged voters to back the Conservatives directly rather than viewing the election as a “two-horse race”.

Davies said voters who wanted Welsh Conservative representation should vote Welsh Conservative on Thursday (May 7).

Kurtz said reaching 20% was “hugely achievable” and would allow both men to continue their work in Cardiff Bay.

He added: “It’s your vote between you and the ballot box. If you want Paul and I re-elected, vote Welsh Conservative.”

PLAID CYMRU LEAD CANDIDATE SAYS WITHYBUSH AND BRONGLAIS MUST BE PROTECTED

PLAID CYMRU lead candidate Elin Jones has said West Wales needs a fairer deal from Cardiff Bay, as she pledged to fight for Withybush and Bronglais hospitals during a 30-minute interview at The Herald offices.

NEW CONSTITUENCY BATTLE

Jones, who is standing in the new Ceredigion Penfro constituency, sat down with Herald editor Tom Sinclair in Milford Haven as part of The Herald’s election interview series.

She said the election was unlike any she had fought before, with Labour and the Conservatives “very low down in the polls” and Plaid Cymru and Reform locked in a close contest.

Jones said: “There is far more jeopardy in this election. Every vote will count in a different way, because the election system is different as well.”

FAIRER DEAL FOR WEST WALES

She said Plaid Cymru’s central message was that Wales needed new leadership after 27 years of Labour-led government.

Jones said: “I think over the last 27 years Labour hasn’t got it right in Wales. They have concentrated too much on the M4 corridor, on those areas of South Wales, and not enough for West Wales and possibly even North Wales.”

She added that Plaid would seek to provide “a fairer representation of all parts of Wales and a fairer allocation of resources”.

CARDIFF BAY ESTABLISHMENT

Asked whether Plaid Cymru now looked like part of the Cardiff Bay establishment, Jones rejected the suggestion.

She said: “We’re certainly an alternative to Labour because we focus entirely on Wales. We have no leader elsewhere in the UK who tells us what to do.

“We have no Nigel Farage or Keir Starmer to decide what Plaid Cymru’s policies and priorities are.”

HOSPITALS TOP PRIORITY

Jones said she accepted that many people in Pembrokeshire felt decisions were made elsewhere.

She said: “People in Ceredigion will tell me that they feel the end of the road. There’s a lot of similarities in the issues both counties face.”

She said the clearest example was healthcare, particularly the future of Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest and Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth.

Jones said: “I’ve absolutely no doubt in answering that question. It is to make sure that both Withybush and Bronglais retain their status and the services that they need to be full district general hospitals.

“We can’t allow these two big rural areas served by those two hospitals to have to travel for the services that they are meant to provide.”

NHS UNDER PRESSURE

On the NHS, Jones said waiting times, GP access, ambulance pressures and dentistry were among the biggest issues being raised on the doorstep.

She said Plaid Cymru would seek to reduce waiting lists through surgical hubs and would employ an additional 100 salaried GPs over the next four years.

Jones also said Wales needed to train more dentists, particularly for rural areas.

She said: “One of the commitments in the Plaid Cymru manifesto is to have a new dental school for rural Wales.

“We have to provide more dentists into the system to enable a better balance and more access to NHS dentistry, particularly and especially with children’s dentistry, which is particularly problematic and worrying.”

NEW HOSPITAL ROW

Jones criticised Labour for putting the idea of a new hospital between Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire back on the agenda shortly before the election.

She said: “I don’t know what the motivation of Labour was to put this back on the agenda so swiftly, just before the election. It certainly confused the picture again.

“What it does is throw into question again whether you invest in the hospitals you have or whether you really go for planning the next new hospital.”

Jones said there needed to be an early decision after the election.

She said: “We’ve got to settle this. I thought it had been settled for now last year by the decision by the health board, but Eluned Morgan and the Labour Party have just thrown it back up in the air.”

BATTLE WITH FIRST MINISTER

Asked why voters should choose her over Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan, who is also standing in the seat, Jones said she had spent years fighting to protect services at Bronglais.

She said: “I have spent the last 20 years in my area, originally Ceredigion, fighting for Bronglais Hospital and against the centralisation of services.

“I want to bring the same enthusiasm, and also an in-principle support for services needing to be retained locally.”

She added: “That should be the first point of any decision that a health board makes. It’s why keep it locally, not why centralise services.”

DIGITAL HEALTHCARE

Jones said she accepted that some specialist services would always require travel, but said routine care and life-saving services should be available locally.

She also called for more use of digital healthcare, saying patients in rural areas should be able to speak to specialists in Swansea, Cardiff or Morriston by video from local hospitals.

PLAID AND LABOUR

On Plaid Cymru’s previous co-operation with Labour, Jones said her party had tried to improve policies from opposition but was not responsible for Labour’s record in government.

She said: “We are not responsible for the decisions of the government, and we have not been, other than the time of coalition between 2007 and 2011.

“We have sought to make some things better at different times.”

Jones said Plaid’s ambition was to lead the next Welsh Government, ideally as a minority government.

She said: “Plaid’s ambition in this election is to form a government, to lead the government, to ultimately elect Rhun ap Iorwerth as the First Minister.”

REFORM CHALLENGE

Asked about the rise of Reform UK, Jones said some voters were angry with politics, but she believed many people in Wales did not want Nigel Farage to be able to claim victory after the election.

She said: “I’m absolutely convinced that there are more people in Wales, and in the door-knocking I’m doing in Pembrokeshire, who do not want to see Farage win this election.”

FARMING FRUSTRATION

On farming, Jones said the sector had faced major uncertainty since Brexit and criticised Labour’s handling of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.

She said farmers in Pembrokeshire were particularly concerned about bovine TB.

Jones said: “Farmers are desperate to see a government that is serious about tackling TB, because it has got a serious hold over farming.

“We need to bring a little bit more common sense into how we have regulations and rules around farming.”

She also criticised what she described as “farming by calendar”, saying farmers should be able to make decisions based on weather and conditions rather than fixed dates.

FAMILY FARMS

Jones, who was brought up on a family farm near Lampeter, said family farms were vital to rural Wales.

She said: “The countryside that we all love looks as great as it does because farmers and family farms continue to be the bedrock of rural areas.”

YOUNG PEOPLE LEAVING

On young people leaving West Wales, Jones said the area needed more housing, better-paid jobs, and stronger support for key local sectors including agriculture, tourism and renewable energy.

She said Milford Haven and the wider Pembrokeshire coast had major opportunities in offshore renewable energy.

On transport, Jones said rail and bus links in West Wales needed improvement.

She said: “We need to make rail investment in West Wales, whether that is the railway into Aberystwyth or the railway that links from Carmarthen into Pembrokeshire.

TRANSPORT LINKS

“We need to modernise those services and make them more frequent.”

RETURN TO PARTY POLITICS

Jones, who has served as Llywydd of the Senedd, said she felt “excited and invigorated” to return fully to party politics.

She said canvassing in Pembrokeshire had been “enlightening”, adding that the new constituency was “all to play for”.

PLAID FIRST MINISTER

Asked what she still wanted to achieve after almost three decades in Welsh politics, Jones said: “I want to achieve a Plaid Cymru First Minister.

“It is only when a party takes the role of the First Minister, the First Minister’s office, the First Minister’s leadership of government, that you can truly make the change that your party wants to see.”

Calls for stronger local voice as he criticises health cuts, planning delays and lack of jobs in rural Wales

INDEPENDENT Senedd candidate Aaron Carey has said West Wales needs a stronger voice, claiming politics has become too polarised and detached from the needs of local communities.

Carey visited The Herald office in Milford Haven for an interview with Herald editor Tom Sinclair, as part of the paper’s coverage of candidates standing in the new Ceredigion Penfro constituency.

REASON FOR STANDING

Explaining why he decided to stand, Carey said: “Politics is too polarised at the moment.

“You’ve got this end here, this end there, and all they seem to want to do is throw mud at each other and lose sight of what the actual people in the community on the ground want.”

He said there was a clear disconnect between Cardiff Bay and rural West Wales.

Carey said: “There’s this disconnect between especially the rural areas of West Wales, but South Pembrokeshire as well. They don’t seem to know what’s going on.”

Carey accepted that the new electoral system made it difficult for independent candidates, saying the “cards are stacked” against individuals standing without party backing.

But he said independence would also be a strength if elected, because he would not be bound by a party whip.

He said: “If it’s a great idea, why would I go against it? If it’s a bad idea, I’ll go against it.

“I can come back and talk to the people and say, ‘Do you actually agree with this?’ I can take that back to Cardiff and fight the corner.”

On healthcare, Carey said Withybush Hospital had suffered years of “salami slicing”.

He said: “The salami slicing over the years of the health service, with Withybush especially, has been absolutely disgusting.

“One week it’s gone. That bit’s gone. That bit’s gone.”

Carey said services should not be removed before any new hospital is built.

He added: “Keep everything at Withybush until it’s there and see how we stand.”

ECONOMY

On jobs and the economy, he said West Wales needed major investment to stop young people leaving the area.

Carey said: “You need something that’s a reason for people to travel inwards instead of outwards.

“I’ve got children myself, and I can’t see what future they have here.”

He said he would like to see a nuclear power station developed locally, arguing it would “supercharge the economy”.

On housing and planning, Carey said construction was vital to the local economy and that delays were holding communities back.

He said: “If there’s not construction going on, there’s nothing developing. There’s nothing happening.

“Construction is a sign of a strong economy. Tradesmen get paid, they go and spend money in restaurants and everything snowballs from there.”

Carey also criticised sewage discharges into local waterways and said environmental concerns had to be balanced with health and the economy.

On climate change, he said: “I think we contribute to it. A lot of it is a natural course that we go through anyway.

“I think we’re probably speeding it up a little bit, but not to the extent perhaps some people are pushing it.”

YOUTH DISORDER

Asked about recent youth disorder and knife-related incidents in Pembrokeshire, Carey said the loss of youth provision was part of the problem, but added that discipline also had to start at home.

He said: “Over the years, they’ve run out of places for young people to go.

“But a lot of it stems from not enough discipline at home, if I’m honest.”

On farming, Carey said he did not want to see more pressure placed on farmers.

He said: “They’re the ones feeding us.

“I’d like to see them supported more to diversify, if they want to, into different food stocks, animal stock, vegetables, however they want to do it.”

On education, Carey said standards in Wales were “not at all” good enough, but stressed that teachers were not to blame.

He said: “I don’t put that fault on the teachers. They’re not getting the support they need.”

Carey said children should be allowed to develop according to their strengths, whether academic or practical.

He said: “You can see which way a child’s going.

“If they’re good with their hands, nurture it. Don’t just say, ‘You’ve got to sit there and not move and do your maths.’”

AGAINST RAISING TAXES

In a quick-fire section, Carey said he would prefer to cut spending rather than raise taxes, supported more renewables, and said Wales should have the same or fewer devolved powers.

Asked why voters should back him, Carey said: “I will stand up for you, the people.

“I don’t have any other agenda. I don’t have party politics to worry about. I don’t have a whip to worry about.

“I’m only accountable to you and nobody else.”