Gareth Bromhall is standing as a Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate for Castle ward in order to challenge the savage cuts to the city budget that have been carried out by the Labour administration at Swansea council.
About Gareth
Gareth says: "the residents of Castle ward need a socialist voice that will fight for them in the council chamber and fight alongside them in our community".
Gareth Bromhall is a Sandfields resident, a committed trade unionist and community activist.
As a longstanding member of Swansea Socialist Party he has been involved in and led campaigns to defend the NHS and fought against council cuts over the past decade. As a Unite branch officer and secretary of Swansea Trades Union Council he has organised support and solidarity for workers on picket lines across the city.
A graduate of Swansea University Medical School, Gareth is now a key worker supporting vulnerable young people in Swansea.
As a disabled activist, Gareth has been involved in advocacy and support for disabled people, supporting campaigns and giving advice and support on benefits and access to services.
Fighting to Stop Council Cuts
Despite all the allegedly glowing achievements coming out from the Swansea Labour council's propaganda machine, residents in Castle ward and across the city witness on a daily basis the reality of years of cuts, cuts and more cuts.
Over the past five years Labour has obediently implemented over £70 million of Tory cuts, affecting every area of council services, from social services, education, street cleaning, leisure - you name it and its been cut! At the same time council tax payments go up at twice the rate of inflation or more every year.
Action on Fly-Tipping and Litter
Castle ward is unfortunately referred to as the "city centre rubbish tip" where fly-tipping scars the landscape. Accumulated street filth constantly litter our residential streets in the Sanfields, Waun Wen, North Hill and Mount Pleasant.
This is a direct consequence of Swansea Labour councils not being prepared to fight the Tory government for the resources needed to employ more council workers and instead, unbelievable, Labour councillors actually appeal to residents to voluntarily clean up their own streets!
Continuing council cuts mean that our young, elderly, and most vulnerable residents are increasingly neglected and all of us see our quality of life deteriorate as council venues, sports facilities, and leisure servies face regular price increases, back-door privatisation, or closure.
With another £55 million of cuts projected over the next four years, the excuses from Labour councillors that "there is nothing we can do" is not acceptable.
If they won't stand up to Tory cuts then they should step aside so that socialist councillors can organise with the trade unions and community campaigners to set a "no-cuts budget" and mobilise to fight the Tory government for the resources we need to run our services.
A working class voice at the ballot box
Labour councillors, MPs and MSs have offered no opposition to the Tories. We need a mass party of our own to put forward a real anti-austerity alternative, and give a voice to workers who have risked their lives, and lost their jobs, homes and loved ones during the pandemic.
Gareth is a Socialist Party member. The Socialist Party is standing as part of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. TUSC was set up to enable trade unionists, community campaigners, and socialists to stand together against the pro-austerity establishment parties. It is a beginning - a step towards the kind of party we need to deliver a socialist alternative to austerity.
Promoted by Dave Warren, TUSC Wales secretary, on behalf of TUSC Wales, 29 Tir Y Farchnad, Gowerton SA4 3GS
