The race to the National Assembly of Wales is underway, with all election candidates registered and ready to get your vote.
Voters go to the polls on Thursday, May 5, where they will decide who becomes their Assembly Members as well as their local Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).
At the ballot box people will have the chance to put an ‘X’ against three different boxes.
In the Welsh Assembly election people will vote for their constituency AM, as well as a regional AM.
In a separate election, held on the same day, the public will also get to choose the PCC for Gwent – the person who decides how the police budget is spent.
Caerphilly County Borough covers three constituencies: Caerphilly, Islwyn, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney.
All three constituencies will have a new AM, after each of the seats were vacated by their respective members.
At the last election, held in 2011, Labour won all three with Jeff Cuthbert, Gwyn Price and Huw Lewis winning their respective seats.
The candidates for this year’s election are:
Caerphilly: Aladdin Ayesh (Lib Dem); Andrew Creak (Green); Hefin David (Labour); Sam Gould (UKIP); Jane Pratt (Conservative); Lindsay Whittle (Plaid Cymru).
Islwyn: Lyn Ackerman (Plaid Cymru); Katy Beddoe (Green); Matthew Kidner (Lib Dem); Rhianon Passmore (Labour); Joe Smyth (UKIP); Paul Williams (Conservative).
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney: Dawn Bowden (Labour); Julie Colbran (Green); Bob Griffin (Lib Dem); David Rowlands (UKIP); Claire Simon (Conservative); Malcolm Thomas (Plaid Cymru).
In addition to voting for a constituency AM, voters will be able to select their regional AM for South Wales East using a system of proportional representation and vote for a party, rather than an individual.
The Welsh Assembly is made up of 40 constituency AMs and 20 regional AMs.
The party which gains a majority of 31 (or 30 excluding the Presiding Officer) will then go on to form the next Welsh Government.
Since 1999, Labour has led the Welsh Government by either forming coalitions with the Liberal Democrats or Plaid Cymru or by going it alone with minority administrations and striking deals to get certain things passed.
• BBC Wales will be visiting Caerphilly town on April 25 and will be broadcasting a variety of programmes on TV and radio throughout the day from the Visit Caerphilly Centre in the Twyn. Good Morning Wales and Post Cyntaf will begin the day with radio broadcasts on Radio Wales and Radio Cymru.
Radio Wales will also broadcast a hustings event between 1pm and 2pm as well as Good Evening Wales from 4pm and TV’s Wales Today at 6.30pm.
• What does the National Assembly of Wales do? How does it work? What’s a Police and Crime Commissioner?
Don’t miss our special election preview in our next edition out on Thursday, April 28.
I’m going to vote for Sam Gould in the hope that he and other UKIP members can shut this whole charade down from the inside.
And get Wales run by a Tory minister with no democracy .. immature politics from the English Nationalists working with the Tories, failed Tories at that.-. no thanks
English nationalist? The clue is in the name, UKIP.
Nope, they are the English nats with no links to Wales, failed Tories forced upon Wales ..
I guess you’ll just have to get used to us as the Caerphilly branch are all locals from all walks of life. Most of us share a dislike of politics in general but feel unable to stand passively by and watch people being let down by the establishment parties.
Lindsay Whittle for all his hard work in the constituancy for 40 years or more .. not a fly by night who will be here today and gone tomorrow
Could he, I ask, be enobled for all his efforts? “Baron Whittle of the Aber Valley” it has a ring about it.
It is perfectly reasonable to think he could follow his former Lib Dem colleagues into the House of Lords, those Lib Dems rejected by the people of Wales at the last Assembly Elections, as will he be rejected in this current election, Cats Tails and ermine may follow.
The village idiot
If you don’t like the way the Assembly is run then vote out the Labour party that has been running it for 17 years .. simple
It does not work like that, if Labour does not have a majority they will ally with Plaid. They have done it before and it is quite likely that Labour will not have majority this time.. If you want Labour out vote UKIP.
I really hope there will be no deal between Plaid Cymru and Labour but if there is it will be far better than Ukip & Conservatives …..
Vote Plaid for a Plaid controlled Assembly after 17 years of Labour.
Your Boss has said there maybe a deal. The Welsh Nationalist will never achieve high political office in Wales, or anywhere else for that matter, unless they DO DEALS and while we are at it do you remember past deals which labour handed to your party as a consulation prize:-
Did`nt The Nationalist have a hand in the running of the Assembly? in the last 17 years?
Did`nt The Nationalist do deals with Labour to keep them in power? in the last 17 years?
Did`nt The Nationalists hold Cabinet Ministerial roles in the Assembly? in the last 17 years?
And;Do I remember The Welsh Nationalist even holding the high political office of Speaker of the Assembly, and Deputy First Minister of the same Assembly?
Or have you forgotten?.
You really are the village idiot …
LMAO!!
Did`nt The Nationalist have a hand in the running of the Assembly? in the last 17 years?
Did`nt The Nationalist do deals with Labour to keep them in power? in the last 17 years?
Did`nt The Nationalists hold Cabinet Ministerial roles in the Assembly? in the last 17 years?
And; Do I remember The Welsh Nationalist even holding the high political office of Speaker of the Assembly, and Deputy First Minister of the same Assembly?
All before losing the seats and the support of Welsh Citizens, which they will do again in this current election, due, in my view, to the rude crude and disrespect thier local elected members and supporters display daily to anyone who does not agree with them, it is about time their more fiendly and reasonably thinking representatives stood up to the plate and pulled the bullies, the disrespectful, and the rude and crudes into line. ONLY THEN will they benefit from their politcal endevours, they are experts in One Step Forward, Three Steps back politics, and forever will be, the latest brick removed from their foundations is the ditching of their `Independence` policy, a policy held since the days of Saunders Lewis and his gang of six.
What an idiot you are….
Labour have been running the assembly for 17 years – fact
all you want to do is try to blame others for Labour’s mistakes
this guy is 1 great reason NOT to vote Labour – you are an embarrassment
Labour = LDP and sandwich tax for schools – a disgrace
You either, dont understand that The Nationalist have already tasted power, but had it taken away by the electorate, or you are in Welsh Nationalist Clown cookoo Land. I ask you again because everyone reading this and other publication already know the answer;
Did`nt The Nationalist have a hand in the running of the Assembly? in the last 17 years?
Did`nt The Nationalist do deals with Labour to keep them in power? in the last 17 years?
Did`nt The Nationalists hold Cabinet Ministerial roles in the Assembly? in the last 17 years?
And;
Do I remember The Welsh Nationalist even holding the high political office of Speaker of the Assembly, and Deputy First Minister of the sameAssembly?
You are clearly sidestepping an answer because you know what it is.
What an idiot you are….
Labour have been running the assembly for 17 years – fact
all you want to do is try to blame others for Labour’s mistakes
this guy is 1 great reason NOT to vote Labour – you are an embarrassment
Labour = LDP and sandwich tax for schools – a disgrace
You are not correct, Plaid Cymru formed a coalition with the Labour party in 2007 and happily partnered them until the election of 2011. They lost four seats in the 2011 election, Labour then dropped them from government.
Labour were the party leading the assembly, like they have done for 17 years
Yes they have, but only because Plaid agreed to prop them up. This is one of the reasons I gave up voting for them – the other was their desire for Wales to be run from Europe.
Far better, and more honest, to refuse to form a coalition and to campaign for a truly independent Wales. Another problem with Plaid is the readiness, even eagerness, to accept aristocratic honours by the leaders of the party.