I am standing to be your Labour Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr because I want to make sure that my children, and the kids that I teach, inherit a better world. I raise my 14-year son and my 10-year-old daughter in Acrefair, in the north of our constituency. I have worked as a teacher in the area for 18 years. It is heartbreaking to see first-hand the terrible impact that austerity and economic mismanagement has had on our schools. If elected, I will wake up every day determined to do everything in my power to help give young people a good start to life in a more equitable society and with a flourishing natural environment.

Young people I speak with every day are quite vocal about what 14 years of the Tories has left them with. The Tories have wrecked the economy they will inherit and starved their schools of funding, some of which are literally falling to pieces. Students have had their tuition fees jacked up and rents have skyrocketed. The Tories’ failure to build affordable housing has left homeownership out of reach for many and mental health support has been cut. On the environment, Sunak’s government has rowed back on climate policies aimed at leaving a safer world for future generations. How will the Tories fix all of this? By conscripting 18-year-olds into the military. Parents are realising this is a sore deal too. The latest Redfield and Wilton poll unsurprisingly has Labour leading by 29% among those who have school-aged children.

To make our communities fairer and more prosperous I will invest in our future by breaking down the barriers to opportunity for young people. As an overworked teacher myself, my top priority would be to improve the recruitment and retention of teachers to boost standards and enable a top-quality education for every child. As the head of drama at my school, I support a broad curriculum that fosters our globally renowned art and culture but also one that invests in STEM subjects that prepare young people for the jobs of tomorrow. Coleg Cambria has several campuses just north of our constituency. I would advocate for the expansion of Newtown College, to offer the same broad array of subjects and provision of facilities in Montgomeryshire that Coleg Cambria does.

I would work with the Welsh Government’s Minister for Education to create well-paid apprenticeships and training opportunities by reforming technical education, and push for further funding from Westminster to improve the provision of mental health support in schools and help solve the attendance crisis. A Labour government would enshrine this new deal for young people nationally by giving votes to 16- and 17-year-olds.

Every child in Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr must have a fair shot at life regardless of their circumstances. If elected your Labour MP, I would do everything in my power to ensure that.

Vote for Steve Witherden on Thursday, 4 July to bring the change that Montgomeryshire & Glyndŵr needs and deserves.

Get in touch with Steve at contact@stevewitherden.wales. You can donate to his campaign here.

The deadline for registering to vote is Tuesday, 18 June, which you can do here. Valid photo ID must be shown to vote – please see further information on this here.

Chwalu’r rhwystrau i gyfleoedd yn Sir Drefaldwyn a Glyndŵr

Rwy’n sefyll i fod yn Aelod Seneddol Llafur dros Sir Drefaldwyn a Glyndŵr oherwydd rwyf am sicrhau bod fy mhlant, a’r plant rwy’n eu haddysgu, yn etifeddu byd gwell. Rwy’n magu fy mab 14 oed a fy merch 10 oed yn Acrefair, yng ngogledd ein hetholaeth. Rwyf wedi bod yn gweithio fel athro yma ers 18 mlynedd. Mae’n dorcalonnus gweld yn uniongyrchol yr effaith ofnadwy y mae llymder a chamreolaeth economaidd wedi’i chael ar ein hysgolion. Os caf fy ethol, byddaf yn deffro bob dydd yn benderfynol o wneud popeth o fewn fy ngallu i helpu i roi dechrau da i bobl ifanc o fewn cymdeithas tecach gydag amgylchedd naturiol llewyrchus.

Mae’r pobl ifanc rwy’n siarad efo bob dydd yn eithaf beirniadol am yr hyn y maent wedi’u hetifeddu gan 14 mlynedd o’r Torïaid. Mae’r Torïaid wedi difetha’r economi y byddan nhw’n ei hetifeddu ac yn llwgu eu hysgolion o gyllid, wrth adael rhai ohonynt mewn cyflwr o adfeiliad. Mae ffioedd dysgu myfyrwyr wedi cynyddu ac mae rhent wedi codi’n aruthrol. Mae methiant y Torïaid i adeiladu tai fforddiadwy wedi yn golygu fod dod yn berchen at dŷ allan o gyrraedd i lawer, ac mae cymorth iechyd meddwl wedi ei dorri. O ran yr amgylchedd, mae llywodraeth Sunak wedi troi eu cefnau ar bolisïau hinsawdd oedd â nod o adael byd mwy diogel ar gyfer cenedlaethau’r dyfodol. Sut fydd y Torïaid yn trwsio hyn i gyd? Trwy orfodi pobl ifanc 18 mlwydd oed i ymuno â’r lluoedd arfog. Mae rhieni’n sylweddoli bod hon yn gynllyn ddolurus. Nid yw’n syndod felly bod polau piniwn Redfield a Wilton yn dangos Llafur yn arwain o 29% ymhlith y rhai sydd â phlant oedran ysgol.

Er mwyn creu cymunedau tecach a mwy llewyrchus, byddaf yn buddsoddi yn ein dyfodol drwy chwalu rhwystrau i bobl ifanc. Fel athro wedi’i orweithio fy hun, bydd gwella’r broses o recriwtio a chadw athrawon yn flaenoriaeth i mi, er mwyn hybu safonau a galluogi addysg o’r radd flaenaf i bob plentyn. Fel pennaeth drama yn fy ysgol, rwy’n cefnogi cwricwlwm eang sy’n meithrin ein celf a’n diwylliant byd-enwog ond hefyd un sy’n buddsoddi mewn pynciau STEM sy’n paratoi pobl ifanc ar gyfer swyddi yfory. Mae gan Goleg Cambria sawl campws ychydig i’r gogledd o’n hetholaeth. Byddwn yn eirioli dros ehangu Coleg y Drenewydd, i gynnig yr un amrywiaeth eang o bynciau a darpariaeth cyfleusterau yn Sir Drefaldwyn ag y mae gan Goleg Cambria.

Byddwn yn gweithio gyda Gweinidog Addysg Llywodraeth Cymru i greu prentisiaethau a chyfleoedd hyfforddi sy’n talu’n dda trwy ddiwygio addysg dechnegol, a gwthio am ragor o gyllid gan San Steffan i wella’r ddarpariaeth o gymorth iechyd meddwl mewn ysgolion a helpu i ddatrys y broblem o absenoldeb. Byddai llywodraeth Lafur yn ymgorffori’r fargen newydd hon i bobl ifanc yn genedlaethol drwy roi pleidleisiau i bobl ifanc 16 ac 17 oed.

Rhaid i bob plentyn yn Sir Drefaldwyn a Glyndŵr gael cyfle teg mewn bywyd beth bynnag fo’u hamgylchiadau. Pe caf fy ethol yn AS Llafur, byddwn yn gwneud popeth o fewn fy ngallu i sicrhau hynny.

Pleidleisiwch dros Steve Witherden ar ddydd Iau, 4 Gorffennaf i ddod â’r newid y mae Sir Drefaldwyn a Glyndŵr ei angen ac yn ei haeddu.

Cysylltwch â Steve drwy ebostio contact@stevewitherden.wales. Gallwch gyfrannu at ei hymgyrch yma.

Y dyddiad cau ar gyfer cofrestru i bleidleisio yw dydd Mawrth, 18 Mehefin, fedrwch chi wneud hyn yma. Rhaid dangos ID ffotograffig i bleidleisio – gweler rhagor o wybodaeth am hyn yma.