Tony Salkeld - Plaid Cymru THE candidate for Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in Newport West is Tony Salkeld. Tony is a local man who still lives and works in Newport.

He was educated at Cardiff University, obtaining a degree in Ancient and Medieval History, and currently works as an office manager for Jocelyn Davies, AM. He has been active in politics for nearly a decade and is chairman of Plaid Cymru Casnewydd. He is a parent of four children, and as a local resident is well aware of the many issues faced by people in Newport.

"I have, like many fellow Newportonians, seen our city decline steadily over the last 30 years, and I worry at what sort of city we will leave to our children.

Our health system, which is having to operate under the strain of too few resources targeted at those areas most in need, continues to decline, with 1 in 10 of us now on a waiting-list, while Labour continues to cut the number of hospital beds available.

A lack of social housing which has seen virtually no new council housing being built in Newport over the last decade, has also seen a major increase in both the homeless and those housed in substandard accommodation.

Our green fields have continued to disappear, with much of Newport becoming an ugly, repetitive, soulless, urban sprawl, while large areas of the city have become no-go areas, due to the rampant anti-social behaviour and drugs that is afflicting these areas with all the resulting problems that come from these evils. Yet the funds available both for drug rehabilitation, youth community facilities and effective policing remain woefully inadequate.

This decline in Newport has led many people to become disillusioned with politics and the political parties, believing that all they do is talk and spin, ignoring these real issues.

I would therefore like to ask each voter personally, are you really happy about the way things are run? Are you happy with your council, and are they worth the large increase in council tax that has just taken place? Do you know who is your Member of Parliament, and can you remember when you last saw them? And if you are not happy, then ask yourself, why do you continue to vote for the same party?

Obviously who you vote for is your decision, but isn't it time to consider a change?"