About

Labour Party Experience

I know what it’s like to fight a constituency-wide election, experience which is going to be needed in the battle to keep Cardiff West Labour in 2011.

   •   Labour party member since 1974.
   •   Active member of Riverside since 1979, holding almost every ward office, including membership of Cardiff West GMC.
   •   County Councillor for Pontcanna from 1985 to 1994.
   •   Labour’s Assembly Candidate for Cardiff Central in 1999.
   •   Riverside Labour candidate in 2008 local authority elections.

Other Experience

My main interest has always been in services for young people, especially those with difficulties in their lives.

   •   Moved to Cardiff in 1979 to work as a probation officer, going on to be leader of a Barnardos project in Caerau.
   •   Founder member of the Cardiff Shortlife Housing Association, and Llamau, a specialist housing association
        for young people.
   •   First secretary of the Dusty Forge Association in Ely; member of the Ely Festival Committee and the
        Ely Community Development Forum.
   •   Chair of the Ely Citizens’ Advice Bureaux for more than ten years.
   •   School governor in Riverside, Fairwater, Canton and Radyr, including many years as governor of Severn
        Road schools and Fitzalan High School, the schools attended by our three children.
   •   First ever chair of governors at new Welsh medium schools at Ysgol Treganna and Ysgol Pencae

Knowledge

Being an Assembly Member for Cardiff West means knowing the constituency from the inside, but also being able to contribute to Labour’s agenda for the whole of Wales.

   •   Direct experience of how the Assembly Government works having served as Rhodri Morgan’s chief special
        adviser for almost ten years – able to be an effective Assembly Member from day one.
   •   Worked alongside every Health Minister since devolution, with expert knowledge in Labour’s most important area.
   •   Ten years working on Labour’s Welsh policy agenda, helping to write General Election and Assembly Manifestos
        and put them into practice.
   •   Senior social policy academic, researching, writing and publishing on a UK basis, continuing to work as
        a Professor at Cardiff University during my time in the Assembly.

Communication Skills

In the next General Election and Assembly Elections we have to reach out to old and new supporters of Labour and explain to them in straightforward language why we remain the Party which stands up for the things which matter to them. I want to use my ability to communicate Labour’s message on paper and in person.

   •   Frequently address large groups, in meetings and in lectures as well as appearing in regular TV and radio
        broadcasts prior to becoming a special adviser.
   •   Regularly written political speeches for Ministers in both Welsh and English, including major speeches
        and lectures by Rhodri Morgan.
   •   Published a series of books and articles.

Campaigning Skills

Labour is at its best when we are a campaigning Party – whether that’s on local issues of traffic, parking and rubbish collection, or national questions of child poverty and global warming. I have over 30 years of campaigning experience including:

   •   Active membership of the anti-barrage campaign in Riverside and elsewhere.
   •   Worked for a ‘Yes’ vote in the 1997 referendum, chairing Cardiff’s Parliament for Wales campaign.
   •   Chairing a local residents association in campaigns to protect green spaces and improve the environment.
   •   Writing and speaking for anti-poverty campaign in Wales and across the UK.

Representational & Problem Solving Skills

The next Assembly needs Labour members who are ready and equipped to make our Party’s priorities count in government.

   •   Worked as a trade union negotiator.
   •   Represented constituents as a local councillor dealing with issues from traffic and parking to
        educationand social services.
   •   Lived for thirty years in the most multi-cultural ward in Wales, working with many different groups and communities.
   •   Been at the heart of devolved government for the last ten years and been instrumental in managing the
       coalition to ensure stable delivery of Labour’s agenda since 2007.

Interpersonal Skills

Politics is a people business. Anyone following Rhodri will have a hard job to recreate the rapport which he has always had with voters in Cardiff West and across Wales. I will use all my experience to keep Cardiff West Labour.

   •   Knocked doors for the Labour Party in every election since 1974.
   •   Extensive experience of talking to people in their own homes, on the street and in meetings.
   •   Track record of working collectively to achieve a common aim.

Other Interests

   •   Long-term allotment holder
   •   Member of Glamorgan County Cricket Club since 1969
   •   Music, theatre, reading