IAMa Torfaen business holder, proprietor of Lizzys in Cwmbran. This places my finger not only on the economic pulse of Torfaen, but also as a focal point of a wide cross-section of public comment about the services we all rely upon.

Every day I meet craftsmen and women, contractors, sales people, delivery drivers, students and shoppers.

Each day I hear their views of the services supplied by every tier of government within Wales; their praise when services are effective, their frustrations when services fail. I hear their comments, their disquiet that ‘no-one’ listens to them and I would relish the challenge of voicing their concerns as their Assembly Member.

I share the growing belief that our elected representatives should live within our community; be reliant upon the same services to fully experience all the issues affecting our families.

I live in Torfaen and my business is based in Torfaen, creating employment opportunities and contributing to the economic development of the constituency area.

My experience as a borough councillor highlights that peoples concerns do not come in political colours; they come from the hearts of our communities.

They are not about percentages of the population; they are about our neighbourhoods and real people.

For too long mainstream politicians have made decisions based on their parties policies.

My pledge to you is that I will only listen to you – not to any party colleagues or members.

If elected, I will do things differently.

Through an interactive website and forum I will seek your opinions on decisions I have to make. Through e-mail, tweets & social networking sites, I will update you on decisions taken. It will be your views that determine how I vote on, the issues that affect your lives.

I respectfully ask you to consider voting for a candidate who genuinely has the interests of her neighbours at heart.