Socialist Party announces candidates standing in Senedd elections

The Socialist Party has announced today that it will be standing in the Senedd elections under the banner of the Welsh Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC).

The candidates are standing to make the case for trade unions taking the lead in forming a new workers’ party. This is to address what the party calls “the crisis in working-class political representation.”

The Socialist Party says that its candidates are proven campaigners in their workplaces and communities. Its key policies are “democratic public ownership; a future for young people without debt, war or climate disaster; and a united fight for jobs, homes and services to combat racism and division.”

Ben Golightly and Mark Evans

In Gŵyr Abertawe, the lead candidate is Ben Golightly, one of the elected coordinators for Disabled People Against Cuts Cymru, a high-profile campaign fighting disability cuts.

Joining him on the TUSC party list for Swansea & Gower is Mark Evans, a long-standing Unison trade unionist, and Secretary of Swansea & District Trades Council. Mark has been a consistent campaigner against local government job cuts, council tax increases, and cuts to services.

The party is also standing three candidates in Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf.

John Williams

John Williams is a hospitality worker, LGBT+ activist, and chair of the Cardiff general branch of Unite the Union.

He says he is “proud to have supported striking workers across Cardiff and South Wales, including ambulance staff, nurses, and bin workers. I’m proud also to have stood shoulder to shoulder with reps facing anti-union tactics from Cardiff Council, and of my work bringing trade union solidarity to Trans Day of Remembrance and Trans Pride.”

Helen Perriam

Helen Perriam is a nurse at Llandough Hospital. She is a Unison member and trade union campaigner.

She says she has “seen first hand what Labour and Tory cuts and privatisation have done to our NHS” and “will stand up in the Senedd to fight every cut and speak up passionately for more resources to allow nurses and health workers to provide the services we need.”

Dave Bartlett

Dave Bartlett is secretary of Cardiff Trades Union Council and a leader in the campaign that saved health facilities at Cardiff Royal Infirmary.

He says that “campaigning in our communities isn’t enough, we need a voice for the working class in the Senedd. It is time for the trade unions to end the funding of Labour and to form a mass new workers’ party instead.”

Wage Pledge

All Welsh Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidates have pledged that, if elected, they would forgo the full £76,380 Senedd member salary, and take home only a worker’s wage.

The coalition is also standing nearly 200 candidates in the English council elections.