David Griffin – Candidate for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare
I’m a father of three and an engineer (with much of my work concerning renewable energy technology and sustainability in manufacturing). I’ve been the chair of the Cardiff, Vale and Valleys Green Party for more than 2 years. In the past I’ve stood as the Cardiff West Green Party Candidate in the 2019 general election and as a Senedd List Candidate in 2021. I think it’s important that everyone in Wales should have the option to vote Green, so we can show the depth of our support. The new Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare constituency is formed from parts of the original Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency, and parts of the Cynon Valley constituency. In both of these in 2019, Labour took more than 50% of the vote. It’s a safe bet that the Tories won’t win, so there’s no need for tactical voting – if you want Green you can vote Green. Though Welsh Labour may have tried to stand up to the Westminster Tories, I have less faith that Welsh Labour will stand up to Westminster Labour after the election (for example in demanding fair funding owed to Wales after the huge rail investments in England). By showing support for a Green candidate, the people of Merthyr and Aberdare can signal their desire for a fairer society, proper environmental protections and a truly progressive national energy and transport policy – one that recognises the seriousness of the climate crisis and seizes the opportunity to restructure our economy, while supporting the poorest in society. If not now, when?