Laura Anne Jones was Britain's youngest Parliamentarian, elected to the National Assembly in 2003 at the age of 24.

Born in Newport in 1979, she grew up in a small rural community in Monmouthshire and attended Caerleon Comprehensive School before studying politics at Plymouth University.

Having grown up in South Wales East Laura is passionate about standing up for the area. She has always adopted "a hands on" approach when representing her constituents by holding regular surgeries across the region and visiting local residents in their homes and work places.

Laura is a keen sportswoman and enjoys swimming, hockey, netball, walking, skiing and horse riding. She is also an enthusiastic supporter of the Welsh football and rugby teams as well as Glamorgan and Wales Cricket.

Laura is presently the Welsh Conservative's Spokesperson for Sport. Last year she led an opposition debate which effectively committed the Assembly Government to consider a Welsh bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

She has also successfully lobbied the government to back a bid for Wales to hold the UK School Games, a tournament that is set to benefit Newport and surrounding area.

As a Monmouthshire farmer's daughter Laura regularly champions agricultural issues affecting the region and believes it is important to ensure that our farmers have a long-term viable future.

Laura has recently urged the government not to single out South East Wales for road pricing, arguing that the region would benefit from improved public transport provision.

As the youngest member of the Welsh Assembly one of Laura's greatest concerns is voter apathy. She hopes her appointment will encourage women and young people to get more involved in politics.

Laura is fully committed to the Welsh Conservative Party's election manifesto that she believes offers positive solutions to local issues: * Backing our NHS by putting an end to hospital cuts and improving access to modern medicines
* Providing extra funding for schools to help close the educational funding gap
* Helping pensioners with the burden of council tax by providing £100 each year to all pensioner households
* Increasing support for local services like post offices
As a Conservative Laura also believes in social responsibility and thinks that people should have the opportunity to make decisions about the issues and services that affect them.

Laura hopes to continue representing South Wales East following May 3rd and provide a strong voice for the whole region.