INTRODUCTION – My wife and I live in the heart of the constituency and we have a daughter who is a school teacher and one granddaughter.

I am proud of my Valleys background, my father was a miner and I have worked allmylife in the area.

My hobbies include DIY, reading and socialising with friends and family.

Describe yourself in one sentence – I am a family man who believes in fairness and equality for all.

Manifesto – In the coming years Islwyn is going to need a strong and powerful voice in the Assembly to stand up to the biting cuts by the Westminster Con-Dem Coalition Government.

As a former deputy leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council I have the experience to be that voice. I believe that the Welsh Labour Party offers a real alternative to these devastating Tory policies that will destroy our communities, just as they did in the 1980s.

The Labour-led Assembly Government has already protected essential services such as free prescriptions, free bus travel, free school breakfasts and support for our Welsh students so that they do not have to pay full tuition fees.

I will work to continue this good work and fully support the pledges to provide more apprenticeships and training opportunities for young people, greater access to GP surgeries in the evenings and on Saturdays, more funding for schools, an extra 500 PCSOs for safer communities and double the number of children benefiting from childcare and health visiting. I believe that even though this is a good start I want to see more inward investment to create meaningful jobs for the people of Islwyn.

By voting Labour on May 5 you will have a candidate who is totally committed to standing up for the people of Islwyn.