ANOTHER BIG WESTMINSTER PROMISE

So there we have it - the Labour Westminster Government has committed itself to funding seven new train stations in Wales and has also endorsed a long-term pipeline of rail enhancement schemes worth billions of pounds. Good - get on with it! 

The current PM Keir Starmer has given his backing to a wish list of projects set out in a new vision document from Transport for Wales, which over the long term could see £14 billion worth of investments across Wales - although that will be a matter for future Westminster governments.

More immediately, he has confirmed that his Westminster government will provide the finance to deliver six new stations between Cardiff and the Severn Tunnel, as well as a new station at Deeside that will support efforts to increase the capacity and frequency of train services between north Wales and Merseyside

The five stations were recommended by the South East Wales Transport Commission, in the Burns Commission Report, which set up by the Welsh Government after it decided not to proceed with the £1 billon M4 Relief Road, and have an estimated cost of more than £300 million. 

These are: Magor and Undy; Llanwern; Cardiff East; Newport West; and Somerton. Along with the smaller Magor and Undy walkway station, each has an indicative price tag of £70 million. All are currently going through the design process ahead of planning. It is anticipated that the Magor station will be the first of the stations to be completed. 

This is good news - it just seems to have taken an age to get here. Although from a local perspective the absence of a commitment to build a railway station to service Caerleon remains disappointing - and shows a lack of any real vision. 

Yet the Labour Westminster Government’s announcement will have a more than a touch of déjà about it for many people in Wales. The new railway stations were already announced in last year’s Spending Review, with funding spread over a decade. Simply reheating old promises is far from the generational transformation that Wales was promised.

Most people in Wales are aware that our nation has been systematically short-changed on rail for decades, not least through the misclassification of HS2, which has deprived us of billions of pounds in consequential funding. 

So without correcting that injustice and devolving rail infrastructure powers in full, Wales will continue to be reliant on short-term funding cycles and overhyped announcements from Westminster - with the knowledge that the goal posts can be moved it the Westminster bubbles priorities change.

Rail funding is still not devolved unlike in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Manchester. As yet we don’t know when and where the money will actually come from. And there is no actual promise or commitment of £14 billion. 

Was we have is at best a “potential pipeline of future projects” which Transport for Wales expects to cost £14 billion. Again, the UK Government has not said it will allocate £14 billon. It has said it endorses the vision of these projects. 

The devil will lie in the details and the delivery. Westminster promised to electrify the main line from London to Swansea - but by the time the dust settled the promised electrification only got as far as Cardiff. That said but for Plaid’s intervention it would never have gone beyond Bristol. 

What we need is a truly transformative approach which would mean fair funding, full powers over rail, and a rail strategy that serves the whole of Wales. That’s what a vote for Plaid Cymru on 7th May 2026 will demand.

ONCE THE DUST SETTLES…

Well there we are then, the Newport West Senedd election is over and the voters (those who actually turned out to vote that is) have spoken. It was an interesting Senedd election campaign, somewhat overshadowed by covid, and the consequences of covid. There should be another massive thank you to my wife, my agent, my somewhat limited campaign team and the electors of Newport West for their support. Weather-wise it was was a strange campaign as well with possibilities of hail and / or torrential rain and bright sunshine (although admittedly without any heat) - sometimes all within the same hour. 

Any election, should give every candidate the opportunity to listen to, to talk to and to meet with many Constituents, during the course of what should become a prolonged walking tour of (at least in my opinion) one of Cymru / Wales's more interesting constituencies. Covid largely put paid too that with leafleting only being aloud from the 12th April and restricted canvassing only being allowed after that date - which left the best part of three weeks. 

Elections are not simply about the voters and the candidates, a whole host of people work very hard behind the scenes to make things work smoothly, including the Retuning Officers, their staff, the council staff who run the polling booths (for some hours on polling day done if then were literally in the dark and the cold) and the staff who count the votes and the other council staff and the Police who work tirelessly to make the count function flawlessly - all of which happened within the midst of covid pandemic restrictions. 

At least for once, it was decided to count the votes on the Friday following Polling day, which was far more  civilised than counting the votes in the early hours,  something that we managed to do this in 1999 and life as we know it did not come to an end. Personally I hope that this temporary change becomes a permanent change - I could not help noticing that this time round the sky did not fall.  

Post election, in Newport West (and elsewhere) former candidates and even for the successfully elected candidate life can now begin the odd process of returning to some form of normality. For the next few weeks after returning to normal sleep patterns and a normal intake of coffee may be something of a priority, that and resisting the strange desire to knock on the doors of perfect strangers and push leaflets through complete strangers letter boxes.

Now that the sound and the fury have faded, and the door knocking and on the street conversations blended into one former candidates can sensibly take stock and perhaps some reflection. As a candidate, no matter the result, you should neither make instant decisions about your future nor say anything in the heat of the moment that can come back and haunt you further down the line. 

This is no glory in politics, merely hard often unappreciated effort, any dreams of political immortality / longevity should regularly doused with hard cold realism. I personally learned that lesson a few election campaigns ago having been featured on the front page of a local newspaper in relation to the well supported local campaign to Keep Abergavenny Livestock Market I had the quite surreal experience of going to buy some chips in a local chip shop with a friend only to sit-in the queue to observe myself literally being wrapped around chips (Sic transit gloria mundi - or "Thus passes the glory of the world”.

FRIARS WALK AND DEBENHAMS

The loss of Debenhams in Friars Walk is a bitter blow - while covid has not helped matters very much - the Debenham’s retail model was failing for some years. The priority has to be for former workers need as much help as can be given to find nw jobs and training. The Friar’s walk development itself was too small and failed to create the retail space for local businesses to set up from the start. While there have been some tentative steps towards that in recent weeks, at a fundamental level that has to change from now on - there has to be a blend of local businesses and the usual suspects - there is room enough to make this work. One basic economic fact is that if you spend ten pounds in local business it will circulate three times longer locally in the local economy that ten pounds spent in a chain outlet. Newport has suffered because of the obsession with directly competing with Cardiff and Cribs Causeway. We need to focus on growing small local businesses that supply our needs as well as hosting the usual suspects to bring economic life back to our city centre. If we can do this then we can bring sustainable economic growth and life back to our city centre.  

6 reasons to vote Jonathan T Clark in Newport West

Jonathan T Clark’s six pledges to the people of Newport West: 

We need affordable homes prioritised for local residents and we need to  end street homelessness.  

Our country lacks, a serious well thought out integrated housing structure plan, a modern planning system and a realistic vision or plan for strategically developing our housing for the future and we need to develop a sustainable protected green belt for Newport and Wales. 

We need a public transport revolution for Newport, the metro must deliver - saving our environment, our time and money. We need a new railway station for Caerleon / Ponthir and an hourly rail service from Ebbw Vale and Rogerstone into Newport.

Newport must be at the forefront of the green energy revolution - with our deep-water port, our highly skilled adaptable workforce, we are a natural centre for off-shore wind, tidal lagoons, tidal turbines and an Usk river barrage

Newport has suffered because of the obsession with directly competing with Cardiff and Cribs Causeway. We need to focus on growing small local businesses that supply our needs as well as hosting the usual suspects to bring economic life back to our city centre.

The proposed Cardiff City region and the Western Gateway project will not serve Newport well. I will ensure that Newport has a strong voice in the Senedd, I will work hard to put the interests of Newport, rather than party interests, first. 

ACCESS TO OUR GREEN SPACES

Plaid Cymru Senedd Election candidate for Newport West, Jonathan T Clark, has warmly welcomed Plaid Cymru’s vision to create ’20-minute neighbourhoods’ in all towns and cities.

This would mean providing convenient, safe, pedestrian access to the places people need to visit and the services they use nearly every day, including public transport, shops, schools, parks, and social activities. 

A Plaid Cymru government would work to ensure the provision of a good quality green space within a five-minute walk of all households in Wales:

Jonathan T Clark, Plaid Cymru Senedd Election candidate for Newport West, said: 

“One consequence of the lockdowns over the last year, is that many of us have had little option but to do a great deal more walking and generally taking advantage of local parks and nearby green spaces. One of the things exposed by lockdown, is that too many people do not easy access to gardens, parks and green spaces on their doorstep.”

“While Newport is better placed that many Welsh urban areas, with relatively easily accessible  parks and green spaces, this is not the case everywhere.  Around 133,000 Welsh households do not have access to a private outdoor space, and that the average distance people live from a public park or garden is 432 metres.”

“A Plaid government would want to cut this to around 370 metres – no more than a five-minute walk – to ensure the provision of a good quality green space within reach of all households. This is an idea already supported by the Future Generations Commissioner who says that access to green space shouldn’t be down to a postcode lottery but “a right for everyone.”

“This would form part of a Plaid Cymru government’s wider vision to create 20-minute neighbourhoods in all towns and cities providing convenient, safe, walking access to the places people need to go and the services they use nearly every day. This should include public transport, shops, schools, parks and social activities, and would explore the potential for longer-distance cycleways along road networks from regional centres with significant commuter traffic.”

ENDS

CAERLEON RAILWAY STATION

Plaid Cymru, Newport West Senedd candidate Jonathan T Clark has called for a new railway station to serve Caerleon and Ponthir to be added to the the Burns Commission recommendations as a matter of urgency.  

Jonathan T Clark, Plaid Cymru Newport West Senedd candidate said:

“I like many people in Newport, welcomed the commitment to build new railway stations at Tredegar Park, Somerton, Llanwern, and Magor. We need ground broken sooner rather than later to bring the new railway stations into being, to provide alternative means of getting around our city and elsewhere, once a degree of normality returns after covid. The new stations are an absolute necessity, but I have serious concerns that tno railway station to serve Caerleon / Ponthir has been included, this would a real asset to both communities.”

Jonathan concluded:

“The absence may show an alarming lack of understanding of local transport issues, or to literal linear focus on the problems of the M4 or it could be simply a glaring oversight. In this case it would ensure that the residents of Caerleon / Ponthir have little choice but to drive to Newport, Cwmbran and beyond even to reach another railway station. The lack of a proposed railway station to serve the communities of Caerleon / Ponthir needs to be revisited as a matter of urgency if the Labour in Wales government are serious about providing decent integrated public transport for all parts of Newport and cutting congestion on the M4 and around our city.” 

DIWEDD / ENDS

Plaid Cymru and the SE Wales Metro

Plaid Cymru in Newport and Monmouthshire has long called for the existing railway stations to be significantly upgraded as part of the process of creating a functioning South Wales metro.  Plaid broadly welcomed the report of the South East Wales Transport Commission which has recommend ways to reduce congestion on the M4 motorway without building a new relief road around Newport.  Plaid has called greater investment in public transport, with a much better integration and coordination of rail and bus networks and integrated tickets across all services – with the emphasis that’s needed sooner rather than later.

PLAID CYMRU SAYS ‘GET ON WITH IT’

Plaid Cymru in Newport has condemned the pointless empty gesture from the Conservatives in Newport in relation to their efforts to have a referendum on the already rejected M4 Relief road - saying we need action to relieve the congestion that affects our city not empty words , waffle or pointless gestures. 

Plaid Cymru broadly welcomes the report of the South East Wales Transport Commission which recommends ways to reduce congestion on the M4 motorway without building a new relief road around Newport.  Plaid Cymru welcomes to call for more investment in public transport, a much better integration and coordination of rail and bus networks and integrated tickets across all services - and we need it now rather than later.

Jonathan T Clark, Plaid Cymru Newport West Senedd candidate said:

“We need practical action, not the pointless empty politics of gesture. We need ground broken to bring the new railway stations that will serve Newport into being, and provide alternative means of getting around our city, and we need it sooner rather than later.”

He said:

“Plaid Cymru welcomes the proposed railway station at Tredegar Park it’s an absolute necessity, but we have serious concerns that no railway station to serve Caerleon / Ponthir has been included, this would a real asset to both communities.” 

Jonathan added:

“Its absence could be interpreted to show a lack of understanding of local transport issues, to literal a linear a focus on the problems of the M4 or a simply a glaring oversight in this case ensuring that the residents of Caerleon / Ponthir have little choice but to drive to Newport, Cwmbran and beyond even to reach another railway station.” 

Jonathan concluded:

“The lack of a proposed railway station to serve the communities of Caerleon / Ponthir needs to be revisited as a matter of urgency if the commission and the Labour in Wales government are serious about providing decent integrated public transport for all parts of Newport and cutting congestion on the M4.” 

Daniel Llewellyn, Plaid Cymru Newport East Senedd candidate, said:

“Plaid Cymru in Newport warmly welcomes the recommendations to create Newport East station in Somerton, as well as long overdue plans new stations at Llanwern and Magor.” 

He added:

“From the perspective of Newport East, the proposed railway stations at Llanwern and Magor are an absolute necessity and with a more frequent affordable rail service.” 

Daniel concluded: 

“A new M48 junction connecting Severn Tunnel Junction to the east would sensibly provide direct bus access and would ease the pressure of car traffic on M4 junction 23A and the roads through Magor. In addition, adding additional bus bays outside Newport Central station would help to build connectivity.”

Plaid Cymru in Newport and Monmouthshire has long called for the existing railway stations to be significantly upgraded as part of the process of creating a functioning South Wales metro.

JONATHAN T CLARK NEWPORT WEST

Jonanthan T Clark for Newport West

Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales, has confirmed Jonathan T Clark as its candidate for the Newport West constituency for the forthcoming Senedd Elections.  

Jonathan T Clark said: 

"I am pleased to have been selected to contest Newport West constituency at the Senedd Elections in May 2021. For far too long the people of Newport West have suffered from the fact that Labour in Wales in Cardiff Bay, has long failed to consider the economic and social needs of the people of this constituency. “ 

He said:

“The people of Newport West need an MS who will actually put the real concerns of the electors of Newport to the forefront rather than party interests. Wales needs more Plaid MSs in the Senedd to work to deliver for the people of Newport and the people of Wales. The only way to get a government that will always put the interests of Newport at the heart of government in Wales is to vote Plaid Cymru at the next Senedd Elections". 

Jonathan continued:

‘I can see no positives for Newport simply being a dormitory town for Bristol or Cardiff. I will not subscribe to the Severnside agenda, no matter how many times it gets rebranded. Along the coastal belt and in and around Newport and Torfaen and across Monmouthshire the last thirty years we have seen a spectacular growth in the amount of housing, much of which has never been aimed to fulfil local housing needs.’

He said:

“Our city has some massive advantages, take the river Usk has one of the highest rise and fall of tides in Wales, and with our history of manufacturing and industry, our city should be well placed to benefit from the development of tidal lagoons to the west and the east of the city and the harnessing of some of the tidal energy potential of the Severn estuary - with a combination of tidal turbines, wave power, off shore wind and solar power. It’s time for us to tap our potential.” 

Jonathan concluded: 

“We have had twenty-one years plus of Labour maladministration, they are the problem, we need them out of office. I aim to bring a combination of curiosity, stubbornness, tenacity and a real desire to seek the truth combined the skills acquired working as a journalist, in public relations for the police, in public sector education and recruitment. I have the ability to seek the truth and an understanding as to where it can be concealed which would be useful while working as Newport West’s representative in the Senedd.”

Adam Price MS, Jonathan T Clark, Delyth Jewell MS

Adam Price MS, Plaid Cymru Leader, said:

"We have an excellent candidate in Jonathan T Clark, in Newport West. Jonathan has the experience and the determination to make a real difference to the lives of people in Newport – tackling the housing crisis and investing in green jobs. All Labour is interested in is keeping hold of control; there’s no vision, no energy, no ambition.”

Adam Price MS concluded:

“The Labour Party’s tired managerialism is holding us back. Meanwhile, the Tories are pursuing their attacks on the Senedd’s powers, allowing candidates who support abolishing the Welsh Parliament to stand at the election. The choice facing people in May is simple - further decline under Labour, fewer powers with the Tories, or an ambitious Plaid Cymru government that will set Wales on a path to a fairer, more prosperous future with independence."

Jonathan T Clark on the stump in 2019

 Delyth Jewell MS, Plaid Cymru Candidate South Wales East Regional List, said:

"Jonathan is a tireless campaigner and has deep roots in Newport.  He has years of experience of strengthening people's rights through trade unions and has worked with both the police and the press to improve public understanding of so many of the issues we hold dear.  Helping the people living in this community is in his lifeblood.  I am certain that Jonathan will always endeavour to put Newport and the people who live there first.  He would be an excellent Member of the Senedd."

Peredur Owen Griffiths, Plaid Cymru Candidate South Wales East Regional List, said:

“Jonathan has years of experience campaigning for issues close to the heart of the community in Newport West. He would make an excellent addition to the Plaid Cymru team in the Senedd, making clear and well thought through arguments - particularly for Cymru to make our own decisions. His tenacity and keen mind will serve Newport West and Wales well in the challenges to come as we re-build in a post-covid world.”   

DIWEDD / ENDS 

PLAID’S PLEDGES TO NEWPORT

We want to see a Wales with a better sustainable democratic future – its time to change Newport and change Wales.

Newport must directly benefit from the green energy revolution, with its deep water port and highly skilled and experienced workers - our city should be at the forefront of the development of off-shore wind, tidal lagoons, tidal turbines and a revisited Usk river barrage. 

Newport needs decent affordable public transport. A well-planned Metro is the only realistic option, which will save our environment, our time, and our money. 

We need a new railway station at Caerleon and revived direct hourly rail service from Ebbw Vale via Rogerstone into Newport.

We need new railway stations at Llanwern and Magor and better local rail services to Cardiff and Bristol.

Wales needs major investment in environmentally sustainable affordable homes and to bring in rent relief for people who pay more than 30% of their income on rent.

We must reverse the tide on rough sleeping in our city, not by punishing the vulnerable as Labour and the Tories wish to continue to do, but by providing safe, accessible, and supportive services for everyone who need them. 

Plaid aims to create a Welsh justice system, devolve policing and create a new crime prevention fund to recruit 1600 extra police officers, that being at least 2 for every community in Wales, to keep us safer.

We face a double problem, a Labour dominated national assembly that’s bereft of ambition, ideas and the tools to do the job. We also have an increasingly dysfunctional Westminster that is simply not interested in Wales and Newport.

If it is not us, then it’s no one - Wales it’s us!

JONATHAN T CLARK FOR NEWPORT WEST

Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales, has confirmed Jonathan T Clark as its candidate for the Newport West constituency for the forthcoming Westminster Parliamentary Elections.  

Jonathan  T Clark said:

"I am pleased to have been re-selected to contest Newport West constituency at the Westminster Parliamentary Elections. For far too long the people of Newport West have suffered from the fact that whoever is in power in Westminster, or Cardiff Bay, they all of whom have failed to consider the economic and social needs of the people of this constituency.“

He said:

“The people of Newport West need an MP who will actually put the real concerns of the electors of Newport to the forefront rather than party interests. Wales needs more Plaid MPs in Westminster to work with the Plaid AMs in Cardiff to deliver for the people of Wales. The only way to get a government that will always put Wales at the centre of its policies is to vote Plaid Cymru at the next Westminster Parliamentary Elections".

Jonathan continued:

‘We still need to take No Deal of the table. A realistic deal needs good will on both sides. The alarming combination of half-threat, half-promise approach to the Brexit negotiations still remains shocking.  We will soon be nearly three years and a half years down the line and appear no closer to deciding on the detail of what we want or how to get it - an extension to the process would be a good place to start - so we don’t end up with a disastrous damaging no deal.’

He concluded:

“I would hope to bring a combination of curiosity, stubbornness, tenacity and a real desire to seek the truth combined the skills acquired working as a journalist, in public relations for the police, in public sector education and recruitment. I have the ability to seek the truth and an understanding as to where it can be concealed which would be useful while working as a parliamentary representative in Westminster.”

DIWEDD / ENDS

Notes to Editors

Candidates Biography:

Jonathan T Clark, is married and lives in Newport, the city of his birth. Born (in 1966) and brought up in Newport and educated at St Julian’s Comprehensive School, Newport, the University of Wales, Lampeter (BA (Hons) History), the University of Wales, Newport (MA Celto-Roman Studies) and an MPhil in Roman Archaeology from Cardiff University.

Jonathan has been actively involved in every Plaid campaign in South East Wales since 1998, he is prospective parliamentary candidate for Newport West. He was the Plaid candidate in the recent Newport West by-election in April 2019 and previously contested Monmouth constituency in the Westminster Elections (2005, 2010 and 2015), the National Assembly Election's (2007 and 2016) and was on Plaid's SE Regional List (2011 and 2016).

Jonathan has a passing interest in the consequences of peak everything and is interested in social justice, the growing problem of affords housing, energy independence, land tenure, public access, policing, equal pay, integrated public transport, our economy and the consequences of the former war on terror and enduring threats to civil liberties. He is a keen hill walker and longtime supporter of Newport County Football Club (since 1978/79), The Newport Gwent Dragons and has a keen interest in archaeology, politics and history. 

Since 2016, Jonathan works in recruitment in Cardiff, previously working in Marketing and IT at the former University of Newport (from 1998 until 2015) before its demise.  Before that he worked for the Metropolitan Police Service press office - the Directorate of Public Affairs and Internal Communication, living and working in London between 1990 and 1998. He worked as a trainee journalist at the Pontypool Free Press before moving to London for work.