Monday 24-06-2024 - 13:44

To help inform and educate your decision, we have compiled a list of all local (Bangor) candidates standing in the general election. All are listed in alphabetical order, presented as we received them.

We contacted all local candidates to give them the opportunity to return 3 bullet points about their, or their party’s, student focused priorities. Those who responded are below. Where candidates didn't respond we have linked to their main party’s manifesto. 

If you are not local to the Bangor area, find out more here: https://whocanivotefor.co.uk 

 

Candidate – Steve Marshall 

Party - Climate Party 

Manifesto- https://theclimate.party/  

No response 

 

Candidate – Robin Millar 

Party – Conservative Party 

Manifesto - https://manifesto.conservatives.com/  

Deliver the lifelong learning entitlement – due to be introduced next year – which will offer students access to up to four years’ worth of loan funding to be used on a flexible basis 

Increase public spending on research and development to £22 billion a year, up from the current £20 billion. 

Our young people shouldn't have to leave north Wales for a job, opportunities or to make something of themselves. In four years I've helped bring record investment across north Wales - so our young people can have the future they deserve.  

More information - https://www.robin-millar.org.uk/ 

 

Candidate Claire Hughes   

Party – Labour 

Manifesto - https://labour.org.uk/change/  

Make Work Pay  

Labour’s Plan to Make Work Pay is a core part of our mission to grow Britain’s economy and raise living standards in every part of the country.  

The New Deal for Working People is how we’ll boost wages, deliver secure work and support working people to thrive – banning exploitative zero hours contracts, ending fire and rehire, and delivering a genuine living wage that for the first time takes account of the cost of living. 

Cut Energy Bills for Good  

Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan is the party’s landmark plan to grow our economy, cut energy bills for good and make Britain energy independent.  

Under Labour, energy bills will be cut for good with GB Energy - our new publicly-owned clean energy developer, funded by a proper windfall tax on oil and gas companies.  

Our new zero-carbon energy system will bring down bills for good, and we will insulate 5 million homes over the course of the next parliament through our Warm Homes Plan.  

Grow the Green & Local Economy  

Bangor should be at the forefront of the UK’s green economy. From our natural resources to the highly skilled workforce and scientific community – we have so much potential here.  

Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will create 650,000 jobs by 2030 - and I will use my professional experience in technology and innovation to sure Bangor is at the heart of it.   

Labour will crowd in investment in new technologies such as floating offshore wind and hydrogen, and make more funding available for community energy schemes. Creating good quality, skilled jobs in our area, and opportunities in the supply chain.   

 

Candidate – Petra Haig 

Party – North West Wales Green Party 

Manifesto - https://greenparty.org.uk/about/our-manifesto/  

Abolish tutition fees 
£15 minimum wage 
Rent Controls 

 

Candidate -  Catrin Wager 

Party - Plaid Cymru  

Manifesto - https://www.partyof.wales/manifesto  

Student Pledges  

Ensure students are supported through the cost of living crisis  

I pledge to fight for fair funding for students in Bangor, regardless of which government funds their studies, and I’ll be a strong voice calling for them to not be left behind as victims of the cost of living crisis.  I recognise the vital role students play in the society and economy of Bangor Aberconwy, and will not forget them during the cost of living crisis.  

Invest in Education   

I pledge to do my utmost to ensure Universities in Wales receive adequate funding to stay financially viable.  This will include: 

Working towards the long-term goal of making university education free again and abolishing tuition fees. Starting with an initial step to reduce the maximum tuition fee chargeable to Welsh-domiciled students at Welsh universities to £7,500. 

Increasing Government investment in Research and Development. 

Fighting to ensure that international students are still allowed to study in the UK, and that they are supported and valued for their contribution to academic life and to our wonderfully diverse community.   

Housing and Wellbeing  

I pledge to make tackling the current mental health crisis and poor quality student housing a priority. Housing and health are both devolved issues currently being run by Welsh Labour in the Senedd - both fields are in crisis and will be priorities for me if elected as MP for Bangor Aberconwy. 

 

Candidate: John Clarke 

Party: Reform UK  

Manifesto - https://www.reformparty.uk/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwsuSzBhCLARIsAIcdLm57mv_QPPl3Lt9ZbdjRFBapOrBs7QDo3ygSumTebPgfe5CWyIGVukoaAvvzEALw_wcB  

Our policy key points that relate to students in higher education are: 

·         Where possible/practical encourage degree courses to be 2 years long, instead of 3. This will save students many thousands of pounds in fees, which are often financed through loans. 

·         We will scrap interest rates on student loans and extend the capital repayment period. 

·         Restrict undergraduate numbers well below current levels, too many courses are simply not good enough and students are being ripped off. Enforce minimum entry standards. Stop the backdoor route to immigration through low-quality degree courses. 

 https://www.reformparty.uk/education 

 

Canidate – Katherine Jones 

Party – Socialist Labour Party 

Manifesto - https://www.socialistlabourparty.org/post/kathrine-jones-socialist-labour-party-candidate-for-bangor-aberconwy  

No response 

 

Candidate – Rachel Roberts 

Party – Welsh Liberal Democrats 

Manifesto - https://www.libdems.org.uk/manifesto  

Reinstate maintenance grants for disadvantaged students immediately to make sure that living costs are not a barrier to studying at university. 

Living costs can be a real concern for students and their families, even impacted where you choose to study, if at all. We firmly believe that expecting students to have to rely on loans in order to access their higher education is not the answer. This in and of itself disenfranchises people and paves education and student life to become an elitist privilege for those who can afford the repayment and commitment risk that comes with loans, rather than the right to learn and develop that it is - and should be. Bringing back the maintenance grant, starting with those who need it most, will bring back the access to choice around higher education that potential students should have always been allowed.  

Create new Skills Wallets, giving all adults £10,000 to spend on education and training throughout their lives. 

Growing up in a working class area where I had to start working at 13 years old, I understand first hand that, well, we're not all dealt a fair hand, economically speaking. If I had not been granted a 50% merit based scholarship, I would not have been able to take up my place on the MA course - and my life since then would have been quite different. Although as grateful as I always was, it was never lost on me that my gaining that scholarship, meant that others were then left to struggle further... 

That's why I am So Proud that the Liberal Democrats, bold as ever, have the plans to make the Fairer society that we all need. A Skills Wallet for each adult, to remove some of the financial barriers to accessing further education and career training. This would work by being divided into £4,000 at 25 years old, £3,000 at 40, and another £3,000 at 55, with access to free careers guidance on how to best use your Skills Wallet. Spreading it out like this will also better support people as they entre different stages in their employment, and study journeys. How we we be funding this you ask? By reversing the Conservatives’ unnecessary and expensive cuts to Corporation Tax. We’ll return the rate to 20%, where it stood in 2016. 

We are doing this because financial cost of the course should not be the reason that people do not get to pursue their dreams and reach their potential.  

Expand opportunities for young people to study, teach and volunteer abroad by returning to the Erasmus Plus programme as an associated country. 

I am blessed that I have been able to travel the world, working and volunteering in different countries. I believe that these are opportunities that should be open and accessible for everybody, that people should be able to make the most of it and enjoy the Amazing experiences that it can bring.  

The Liberal Democrats stand firm on seven core values: Liberty, Equality, Democracy, Community, Human rights, Internationalism, and Environmentalism. As the proud Internationalists that we are, we know that we are All better when we work together - including working with other states together, as the one connected world that we are. Sharing cultures, languages, swapping stories and learning from each other... that is all a part of that. Ensuring that the students of today have equitable access to all of the opportunities, and more, that the rest of us have been able to enjoy, where no-one gets left behind, is a core part of our policies as a whole. 

 

Remember to vote on the 4th of July!