Lib Dem candidate says west Wales cannot afford to lose more hospital services as she attacks plans for centralisation

FEARS over the future of Withybush Hospital were thrown into sharp focus when Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate Sandra Jervis sat down with The Herald and accused the Welsh Government of allowing vital rural services to be eroded “by stealth”.

In a strongly worded interview, Jervis said people in Pembrokeshire were right to be alarmed by the steady loss of services at the Haverfordwest hospital, warning that the removal of emergency surgery was exactly the kind of move that fuels public suspicion that Withybush is being gradually run down.

She said: “We need hospitals in our locations.”

Jervis said the argument that services should be concentrated elsewhere was failing rural communities and ignoring the realities of living in west Wales, where longer journeys can have serious consequences for patients and families alike.

She also launched a fierce attack on the idea of a new central hospital for west Wales, describing it as wasteful and out of touch when existing hospitals are crying out for investment.

“I think it is the most ridiculous, ludicrous idea on this planet,” she said. “That money could be spent on investing in those hospitals and bringing them up to scratch, up to the modern standards that we deserve.”

Her comments come amid continuing anger over changes at Withybush and wider concern that Bronglais and other rural hospitals are being left to struggle while ministers and health chiefs talk increasingly about centralising services.

Jervis said the real problem was not that local hospitals were underperforming, but that they were being starved of the resources needed to do the job properly.

“They’re not underperforming. They’re under invested,” she said.

She argued that Pembrokeshire should not be expected to accept a second-rate service simply because it is rural, adding that emergency care and core hospital provision should be seen as basic standards, not optional extras.

The Lib Dem candidate also said the crisis in the NHS could not be solved without serious investment in social care, which she described as overlooked and undervalued for too long.

“Social care is severely under invested,” she said. “It is quite easily seen as the poor cousin to the NHS.”

Jervis said more support outside hospital would help free up beds, reduce backlogs and improve care for patients who no longer need to remain on wards.

Beyond health, she said west Wales faced deep-rooted economic problems, with local businesses being squeezed by rates, rising costs and lack of support, while young people were too often forced to leave the area in search of decent wages and better opportunities.

Speaking as a business owner, she said many traders felt they were being punished rather than backed.

“Everything feels like it is against you,” she said.

Jervis said town centres needed investment, business rates needed reform, and young people needed real reasons to build their lives in west Wales rather than move away.

On the environment, she said cleaning up polluted rivers and unlocking housing development had to go hand in hand, with tougher action against water companies and more urgency around delivering the homes communities need.

Asked why voters should back the Lib Dems, Jervis said the party had deep roots in west Wales and a record of challenging those in power.

“I take great pleasure in being a thorn in the side of other parties,” she said. “I can challenge, and I think that’s what we need.”

Austin Hockey made more than £300,000 from supplying ecstasy, 2C-B and cannabis in Pembrokeshire, court hears

A DRUG dealer who made more than £300,000 from selling party drugs in Pembrokeshire has been ordered to hand over Tesla shares worth just £91.78.

Austin Hockey, 32, was the subject of a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Swansea Crown Court after previously being jailed for 40 months for drug offences.

The court heard Hockey had benefited from his criminal activity to the tune of £311,594 after supplying ecstasy, 2C-B and cannabis in Pembrokeshire between August 1 and December 2, 2023.

However, prosecutors accepted that the only realisable asset available to seize was a small holding of Tesla shares bought through the Trading 212 platform.

Judge Paul Thomas KC made a confiscation order in the sum of £91.78.

Hockey had previously admitted being concerned in the supply of ecstasy, 2C-B and cannabis, as well as possession with intent to supply all three drugs.

During his sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court, it was said that £171,180.60 had passed through his bank account during the period of the offending.

The court had already heard that Hockey, of Acresbush Close, Bishopsworth, Bristol, was arrested in December 2023.

When officers searched him, they found ecstasy and 2C-B tablets, along with 100 grams of cannabis. The drugs were said to have had a street value of £1,370.

Hockey claimed the drugs were for his own personal use and told police he had “borrowed” the cannabis.

But an examination of his mobile phone revealed extensive evidence of drug dealing, including messages advertising the supply of Class A and Class B drugs.

One message showed he was offering to supply any drug apart from heroin.

Prosecutor Matthew Murphy told the court that Hockey’s benefit from crime had been agreed at £311,594, but there were effectively no available assets beyond the Tesla shares.

At the earlier sentencing hearing, Hockey’s barrister Dan Griffiths said his client had begun using cannabis and alcohol at a young age and had been living a chaotic lifestyle at the time of his arrest.

Independent candidate says he has been “targeted” as he sets out right-wing platform for Ceredigion Penfro

INDEPENDENT Senedd candidate Paul Dowson defended his controversial public record in a combative interview with The Herald, insisting he had been “targeted” for speaking out and dismissing official findings against him as “corrupt”.

The former Pembrokeshire county councillor, who is standing in Ceredigion Penfro at the Senedd election on Thursday, May 7, said he decided to run because he was unimpressed by the choice facing voters and believed the main parties had failed west Wales.

“From my experience, there’s a lot of parties and a lot of politicians that really say a lot and do nothing,” Dowson told The Herald. “I have proven to be quite the opposite, where I do a lot and say very little.”

He added: “Looking at the candidates for this Senedd election, I was not impressed at all… I thought, well, somebody’s got some common sense in there.”

Dowson said his three main priorities for west Wales were business, the NHS and transport.

“Our businesses have been killed,” he said. “There’s no investment in business whatsoever. NHS… and transportation and roads have really just been underfunded for too long.”

He also claimed that “the health services are absolutely ruined” and said those running public services were not being properly held to account.

Politically, Dowson made clear he sees himself on the right and sought to distance himself from Reform UK. Asked whether he was more right-wing than Reform, he replied: “Yeah, very much so,” adding: “Reform will eventually show their true colours.”

But a large part of the interview centred not on policy, but on the baggage Dowson brings into the campaign.

He was challenged over his disqualification from holding public office for three years following findings by the Adjudication Panel for Wales. The ruling related to false accusations, misleading claims and conduct which brought the council into disrepute.

Dowson rejected that process outright.

“I didn’t take part in that process whatsoever,” he said. “I insisted that it was held in public so I could show how corrupt they were, and they refused.”

Later in the interview he added: “I’m quite done with having to explain it all the time, because why should I waste time explaining it? It was corrupt. There we are. Move on.”

Dowson was also challenged over his later conviction for working as a door supervisor without a valid licence in Tenby.

Asked what that said about his judgment, he argued the punishment was excessive and claimed he had effectively been caught up in delays around renewing his badge.

When challenged on whether his record showed “instability, poor judgment, disregard for standards”, he replied: “What my record shows is targeting if you speak against the mainstream.”

He went further, claiming he had been branded “a racist, a fascist, a bigot” after opposing support for Black Lives Matter protests during lockdown.

He also framed himself as a candidate willing to say what others would not.

“I’m honest,” he said. “I stand up and I’m brave enough to say the things other people would say.”

On policy, Dowson called for more support for small businesses, more scrutiny of Welsh Government spending, and stronger backing for the farming sector.

“Let’s leave farming to farmers,” he said, arguing that too many decisions affecting rural Wales were being made by people with little understanding of the industry.

He also set out some of his most divisive views on schools and culture. Discussing education, Dowson said: “I’m the only candidate that has publicly come out and protested against an Indian chap being allowed to wear a dagger in school.”

He added: “The biggest problem in schools is ideology needs to be wiped out. People need to be retrained to teach facts, to teach science, to teach biology.”

On the environment, Dowson said pollution should be tackled with stricter rules on what is discharged into rivers and the sea, but he also rejected mainstream views on climate change.

Asked directly whether he was a climate change denier, he replied: “Denier.”

The interview leaves little doubt that Dowson is trying to turn controversy into part of his political pitch. Rather than distancing himself from the rows that have dogged his time in public life, he is presenting them as proof that he is the only candidate prepared to challenge the system head-on.