Neil McEvoy announces that he will be standing as a Propel candidate for Cardiff West at the Westminster Election on 4 July.

I was born in Cardiff West, I grew up on the Fairwater estate in Cardiff West, I went to school in Cardiff West, I live in Cardiff West and I’m raising my family in Cardiff West. I am the only candidate on the ballot paper who can say this.

I am the strong, independent-minded local champion that Cardiff West needs. A local voice for local issues.

“They’re all the same”, is the most common response on the doorstep, and this is true. But in this election, you have a choice in Cardiff West.

A choice to vote for a candidate with a proud record of over 25 years in public service of our communities, an experienced, independent-minded representative who is not afraid to say it like it is, who will challenge injustice, speak out against corruption, and represent our community with every fibre of my being.

This is why Propel was born, to challenge the status quo of the establishment uni-parties. To offer a real political alternative. As we know, there is no strong opposition to the main political parties. We must be that opposition.

My record of public service is one that I am proud of, as one of Cardiff Council’s longest-serving councillors, first elected in 1999.

With me, you see a record of doing things differently, in word and deed.

I was responsible for freezing councillors' pay 2008 – 11 and only accepted half the Deputy Leader’s allowance. I also donated my councillor allowance 2016-21 when in the Senedd. How many other politicians have done that?

We restructured Cardiff Council back then, supporting front-line services by cutting salaries of over 100 thousand pounds a year. 

I have a record of challenging injustice, and not taking the easy road. Standing up, not for what’s easiest, but for what’s right. Not afraid to stand by myself when it could be easier to be part of the crowd. That’s what Propel represents, doing what’s right even though it might not be easy.

I won’t give up: it is a principle that grounds me and drives my personal and political beliefs. Now, of all times, we cannot give up. There is too much at stake.

Amidst the noise and wrangling for power between the two dominant uni parties, we can’t forget about the need for a local voice for our community.

My contract with you, Cardiff West:

 - Be a strong advocate for protecting our freedoms and civil liberties: every country in the UK should have a constitution.

- Direct democracy: our community’s right to have its say on what goes on here; it happens in Switzerland, why not here: reinstate the local 

- Support a publicly owned housing company to build truly affordable housing to enable the young to buy a home

- Support women’s sex-based rights and protect children from dangerous gender ideology.

- Be a voice for the vaccine injured who are ignored and without compensation

I can proudly say that I am the only elected member who has consistently and fiercely campaigned against the environmental destruction of Cardiff West. The LDP is the biggest single issue that has faced our communities over the last 15 years. Remember when they called me a liar and a scaremonger when I said Labour was going to build on our green fields?

I led the campaign against nuclear mud being dredged from outside a Somerset nuclear reactor, to be dumped in Cardiff waters, against the Welsh national interest. Incredibly, mud laced with plutonium was dumped on our coast; it is more incredible that so few people know about Labour in Wales voting for it to happen in 2018.

I fought the draconian Coronavirus laws of Labour supported by all other parties, against the harms of damaging lockdowns, particularly for our vulnerable, elderly, and young people. Sadly, we now know that I was right when I said lockdowns would kill more people than Covid.  

In me, you have someone who will always stand for our communities against the power, greed, and money of big corporations.

Look at what is happening in Wales. Communities: we have lost our voice. Individuals: we are losing our freedoms and our rights.

Net Zero agenda, 20mph, a move to a cashless society, gender ideology. 15-minute neighbourhoods; the threats to our freedom are real. We no longer have complete freedom of expression, which our forefathers died on beaches for 80 years ago. 

We need to empower people and disempower politicians.

Cardiff West is a microcosm of Wales, where you will find some of the most affluent communities in Wales but also some of the poorest. All within a few miles of each other. The inequality is stark.

If you’re poorer, you’re more likely to live less, more likely to live in substandard housing, have more health problems, and have your children taken away from you. The poorer you are, the more the state is likely to control your life. And not for the better. Use your vote to take that control back. The elites rely on working-class people not voting.

There is such a waste of public money on vanity projects, and we can’t get the basics rights. Schools are at breaking point, our NHS is in crisis, and the economy is failing. We can’t get such a fundamental as children’s playgrounds.

We have lived with the managed decline of Wales under Labour for over 25 years. They blame London; they blame the blue Tories. After July 4th, they will have no fig leaves left, no excuses. The acorn, which is Propel has green shoots now, we are growing and will wake people up. I guarantee you that.

Politics feels like it is taking away from us by stealth, chipping away at our rights, our very existence. In contrast, it should be improving our lives, our communities, and our country. It’s time to put this right.

It’s time to say, enough. It’s time for the silent majority who don’t vote to stand up. The real power lies in those who have yet to use it, to realise that things don’t have to be like this.

We must push for real change: and we do that with ourselves, whether we decide to vote, and who to lend our vote to. We start at our feet, step by step, and rebuild our communities and our country. Change begins with us, you and me.

To change Wales, we must change.

The fear that if we do nothing, that we stand idly by, this world we know will be very different for our children. And this, I cannot do with good conscience.

I’ve been fighting for Cardiff West for over twenty-five years. Elect the strong local champion that Cardiff West needs.

Join your party, Propel, the people’s movement

Neil McEvoy

For a Free Wales