Candidates – Wales

I started work 1973 aged 16 at a local textiles factory as a trade-leadburner. Here I was introduced not only to the world of work but to trade union activism, Morning Star newspaper and the Communist party.

I worked in Canada, Cuba and France before returning to Wales. I have done a range of jobs throughout my career including working as carer on dementia unit for 3 years and now work as delivery driver.

Outside of work I was a champion swimmer in north Wales and played football and rugby localy till the age of 44 and then refereed( class C ref ).

Much of my activism has been as a union rep or shop steward in various workplaces. I am Secretary of Flintshire trade union council (formerly Deeside Trades Council), a position I have held for 30 years. I also convened anti racist opposition to the attempt by fascists to get foothold in our community. 

As the Secretary of the Welsh Communist party, I have a strong track record as a community campaigner. I believe in direct public services and strongly oppose privatisation /outsourcing. I stand for a nuclear free Wales.  I have been a leading figure in Flintshire campaign for equal pay and for the retention of council housing ( supported by 84 % of Flintshire tenants. )

My name is Claudia Cannon, and I’m proud to be standing as the lead candidate for the Communist Party in Mid and West Wales. I’m a trainee arts teacher and member of UCU.

I’m an opponent of NATO and helped organize migrant solidarity events in Swansea in 2016.

I have a track record of campaigning for students’ and workers’ rights, and am still fighting against rising fees, casualisation, and privatisation of education.

Having grown up in the rural mining town of Ammanford during the nineties, I have seen first-hand the ongoing, horrific impact of Thatcher’s attack on miners.

Our communities have since seen cuts to living standards due to austerity inflicted by Labour and Conservative governments.

The COVID crisis has demonstrated that both the Welsh and UK Governments have prioritised profits over people, with the UK having the worst death rate in Europe.

We need a strategy that puts the needs of working people first and prioritises jobs, health, education, housing, and public services–no more cuts budgets, no more austerity!

Now a 66 year old retired educationalist I joined the Young Communist league at the age of 16 after being active in the Schools Students Union movement on Merseyside.

I co-founded Conwy peace group and am  founding member of Conwy XR environmental group. I see the rewilding of suitable parts of Wales as a great opportunity for tourist jobs and a shot in the arm for biodiversity.

Whilst a prominent member of the Socialist Uprising in Walsall in the 1980s and 1990s I realised fully the power of people to innovate and achieve much by collective action.

I see the COVID response as further evidence that a state wide , organised programme can be effective and the Communist Party’s mapping of a planned economy via its British Road to Socialism is the most  sustainable way to build back better.

My name is Laura Picand. I have recently retired. I was a full-time trade union staff member for over 30 years and played my role to help improve members’ conditions of service in Wales. I have been involved in pressure groups such as

• the ‘anti-apartheid movement’ which put international pressure on the government of South Africa to release Nelson Mandela from jail in 1990 and end apartheid by running democratic elections where he became president of South Africa in 1994.
• the ‘Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’ which led to The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to be part of international law.
• ‘Stop the War coalition’, founded in September 2001 and dedicated to preventing and ending the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere.

Without peace and transparent democracy, we cannot invest in jobs, energy, public services and social justice.

• John Chilvers
• Born: Swansea 1977
• Education: Morriston comprehensive, University of Glamorgan
• Experience: Renewable energy construction work, social care work.

Member of the National Union of Teachers for over 45 year. Community activist, involved in trades council movement, housing and anti-cuts campaigns since the 1970’s. Spoken at trade union rallies, demonstrations, conferences and public meetings.

First joined the National Assembly of Women (NAW) in 1982, elected Secretary in 2011 and President in 2015. Currently editor of NAW magazine, SISTERS and have written leaflets and articles on a range of women’s issues including the impact of austerity and the Covid-19 pandemic. Represented the NAW on the steering committee of the People’s Assembly Against Austerity and at other national and international events including at Women’s International Democratic Federation conferences in Cyprus and Colombia.

Member of Abortion Rights, Cuba Solidarity and Marx Memorial Library. Served on the Morning Star Management Committee and member of the Communist Party since 1971.

My name’s Mally Kakembo, and I’m proud to stand for the Communist Party in South Wales Central.

I spent much of my childhood in the beautiful Welsh valleys and currently live in Cardiff. Our history, creativity and hard work are wasted by the governments of big business.

As a gig-worker, I’ve felt the harsh effects of the government’s neglect during lockdown. The people who hold our society together; teachers, supermarket stockers, NHS staff, and the like, have kept us going during lockdown. It’s about time workers got our fair share for our hard work.

For too long Wales has been ruled by the same parties who offer only stagnation or decline. We should have a democratic say in our politics, our economy, and our culture. That’s why I’m an active organiser for our causes to improve worker’s rights, end discrimination and rejuvenate our communities.

We can’t afford to have a government that puts profit over what matters to us. No more austerity, we should be prioritising, healthcare, education, and housing.

I was born in the English Midlands, in 1951 and now live in the Roath district of Cardiff.

I have had a number of clerical and manual jobs, before working for twelve years in telecommunications and computing.  Before returning to full time education, taking a BSc in Psychology and an MA by research in Communication and then becoming a university senior lecturer in Communication, Culture and Media.  

I have been an active trade unionist throughout my life and although now retired from work continue to serve as Communications Officer for my union branch and as a delegate to the UNISON Cymru International Forum and Cardiff Trades Union Council.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts.

Robert Griffiths is General Secretary of the Communist Party.

His previous jobs include TUC tutor for trade union shop stewards and lecturer in economics and labour history.

He is also an author and broadcaster, in English and Welsh, and has campaigned on many issues such as workers rights, housing, pollution, nursery school provision and anti-racism.