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The Llanelli constituency is located in south west
Wales
The constituency extends from Hendy in the east down to the
coast and then along the coast to Kidwelly in the west. It reaches
up the Gwendraeth valley to Tumble and across to Tycroes. There are
approximately 60,000 people living in the constituency.
Carmarthenshire County Council is the local authority for the
Llanelli constituency.
Nia's vision for Llanelli
"Politics for me is about getting involved in practical,
positive ways to improve life in our communities."
"I intend to seek to influence policy at national and
international level. Politics is all about working together,
listening to each other, taking into consideration our different
viewpoints and finding workable ways to enhance the quality of life
for all in our communities. Whilst it would be impossible to
mention my views on every issue, my guiding principles are to:
a) Ensure that Labour's economic success reaches our poorest
communities, safeguarding and creating sustainable, quality
jobs.
b) Extend opportunity and prosperity for all through better
school facilities, more vocational courses, apprenticeships,
workplace training and affordable childcare.
c) Maintain investment in the NHS, strengthening Prince Philip
Hospital and improving primary care and community services.
d) Ensure dignity and security in old age, through proper
pension provision and high quality social care.
e) Improve the quality of our environment with sensitive
development of Llanelli town centre and the Gwendraeth Valley.
f) Support the fight against crime, clamping down on drug
dealing and antisocial behaviour, and building on the 30% reduction
in crime since Labour took office in 1997.
g) Contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gases through more
energy efficient homes, more microgeneration such as solar panels,
better recycling facilities and environmentally friendly transport
initiatives."
Llanelli Constituency
History
Nia’s predecessors include three
distinguished Labour parliamentarians.
They held the seat uninterruptedly for
Labour since 1922: the Hon. Dr. J. H. Williams, who served the
constituency for 14 years, the Right Hon. Jim Griffiths, who served
for 34 years, and the Right Hon. Denzil Davies, who served for 35
years.
Dr. J. H. Williams: Dr
Williams, who was the first Labour MP for Llanelli, was well known
for his efforts to win fair compensation for mine-workers. When
elected in 1922, he was one of only three Labour members from South
Wales who were not themselves miners.
The Rt Hon James Griffiths: Dr
Williams was followed by the Rt Hon James (Jim) Griffiths who also
took up the cause of miners’ compensation. In the autumn of 1945 he
was the driving force behind the National Insurance (Industrial
Injuries) Act 1946, with its provisions based on his experience as
compensation secretary for the south Wales miners.
He is however perhaps best known for his
work as Minister of National Insurance, with the introduction of
the National Insurance Bill in 1948, which he described as "a
unified and comprehensive scheme covering the whole nation". Less
well known, perhaps, is the fact that Jim Griffiths introduced the
first system of family allowances.
Already in the 1940s Jim was also
campaigning — ahead of many of his parliamentary colleagues — for
recognition of Wales as a distinct political unit and the
establishment of a Wales Office. Eventually, he influenced opinion
and was instrumental in devising Labour's Welsh policy to that
effect during the 1959 election. He pledged a future Labour
Government to the inclusion of a Secretary of State for Wales in
the Cabinet, and to specifying the devolution of
administration.
When that future Labour Government was
eventually elected in 1964, Jim Griffiths became the first
Secretary of State for Wales and set up the Wales Office in Cardiff
and London. In the 1970s—again, somewhat ahead of his time—he
favoured a democratically elected national assembly, but he also
wanted Wales to remain an integral part of the UK and to be
represented at the highest level in Cabinet by its own Secretary of
State. Jim would have been proud to see the recent Government of
Wales Bill, which reflects the growing confidence that people in
Wales have in the Assembly Government.
The Rt Hon Denzil Davies: Jim
Griffiths was followed by the Right Hon. Denzil Davies, who was
elected in 1970 and served the constituency of Llanelli for 35
years, until he stood down at the 2005 election.
After graduating with a first class honours
degree in law from Pembroke College, Oxford, Denzil lectured in
Chicago and Leeds Universities. He was called to the bar in 1964,
practised as a barrister and became a Privy Counsellor in
1978.
His brilliance was soon recognised in
Parliament and in 1974 he became Parliamentary Private Secretary to
John Morris, Secretary of State for Wales. He was soon promoted in
1975 to serve as Minister of State in the Treasury, where he served
in both the Wilson and Callaghan governments.
When Labour then went into opposition, he served as a Front Bench
Opposition spokesman on Treasury and Economic affairs, on Foreign
and Commonwealth affairs and on Defence and Disarmament.
Throughout his time as an MP, he was known
both in Parliament and in the constituency for his immense ability,
wit and eloquence.
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Llanelli Constituency
