I was born and brought up in Monmouth where I still live.

I attended Monmouth School for Girls and later South Gwent College of Further Education, where I was the Secretary of the Student Union for two years.

I qualified as a nurse in 1985 and, in that capacity, have worked as an operating theatre nurse, as a Nurse Officer in a residential home for the severely disabled and in a GP's surgery.

I joined the Green Party in 2001 and have been an active member ever since. I have been a Town Councillor since 2004 where I have served as Chair of the Planning Committee and Deputy Chair of the Community Committee.

I was also a school governor between 2000 and 2004 and am the current Leader of Wales Green Party.

Wales is a fantastic country but the current government is failing its citizens.

Sometimes it looks like it is taking decisions that benefit a few individuals and not the nation as a whole.

Take the constant drive for economic growth, for example. We are continually being told that economic growth is the great panacea and must take priority over everything, but this is often at the expense of other, more important considerations.

Economic growth is supposed to be the means by which we all increase our wealth, but what good is it if the gap between the rich and the poor continues to grow; if there are more children living in poverty this year than last year; if we can't see a doctor when we need one?

And what good is it if the very air we breathe makes us ill? It is a fact that, after basic needs have been met, cases of mental illness increase in tandem with economic growth. Is it all really worth it?

My answer would be that we need to move away from this consumer-driven, growth-obsessed model of the economy and create communities which meet their own needs through a system of local production to suit local needs.

We need politics that put people and the environment before the profits of multinational companies.

An old proverb says "We do not inherit the earth from our parents. We just borrow it from our children." If elected to the Welsh Assembly I would work towards ensuring that the Wales we build today will create vibrant, caring communities extending well into the future.