Foreword
Swansea East deserves a representative who puts people before party politics.
For too long, our communities have been taken for granted. Residents are expected to accept cuts, rising bills, overstretched services, and decisions made without proper consultation or respect. That is not good enough.
This Maniffesto sets out a practical, community-focused vision for St Thomas, Bôn-y-maen, Llansamlet, Clydach, Kilvey, Port Tennant, and the surrounding communities of East Swansea. It is based on what I have heard from local people over many years: that our area needs stronger representation, fairer treatment, and someone prepared to stand up for what matters.
I am standing because I believe Swansea East deserves better - and because I believe the Senedd should hear our voice clearly.
1. Protecting Kilvey Hill and Our Green Spaces
Kilvey Hill is one of the most important places in Swansea East.
It is a place of wellbeing, wildlife, open space, memory, and Community identity. In a heavily urbanised part of Swansea, it remains one of the last vital green spaces for local people. It is also part of a nationally significant Quiet Area that deserves proper protection.
I believe Kilvey Hill should not be treated as something to be chipped away for outside interests while local people are ignored.
My priorities:
- Defend Kilvey Hill from harmful development
- Push for stronger protection of Quiet Areas in Welsh law
- Support proper environmental assessment and transparency
- Make sure local communities are heard before irreversible decisions are made
- Treat green space as part of public wellbeing, not as an afterthought
2. Cost of Living and Fairness
Families across Swansea East are under pressure.
Bills keep rising. Water costs, utilities, food, transport, and housing pressures are squeezing households harder every year. For many people, this is no longer About cutting back - it is About struggling to cover the basics.
Politics must start with the reality people are living through.
My priorities:
- Speak up for households facing rising bills and unaffordable essentials
- Push for fairer decisions on transport and public costs
- Challenge policies that leave working families carrying too much of the burden
- Support practical measures that strengthen household resilience and Community support
- Keep the cost of living at the centre of public decision-making
3. Health, Social Care and the NHS
The NHS is under huge strain, and local people feel that strain every day.
Long waits, staff shortages, pressure on hospital beds, delayed care, and patchy support services all take a toll on patients, workers, and families. health cannot be separated from poverty, poor housing, isolation, or cuts to local support.
I have spent much of my working life in healthcare, and I know that the system cannot keep being asked to do more with less while deeper problems are ignored.
My priorities:
- Push for stronger NHS staffing and workforce planning
- Support shorter waiting times and better access to care
- Make the case for more joined-up health and social care
- Recognise mental health, poverty, and prevention as core health issues
- Stand up for both patients and the staff who keep services going
4. Local Services and Accountability
People are tired of the blame game.
Too often, local councils blame Cardiff and Cardiff blames councils, while services decline and residents are left frustrated. Libraries, support services, transport, social care, and local facilities all matter to people’s daily lives. They should not be allowed to wither while politicians pass responsibility around.
Swansea East needs stronger accountability and more honest representation.
My priorities:
- Challenge the culture of blame between councils and the Welsh Government
- Push for better coordination between health, social care, transport, and local support
- Stand up for fair funding and clearer responsibility
- Defend services that hold communities together
- Make sure Swansea East is not ignored when decisions are made
5. Jobs, Skills and the Future
Young people should not have to leave the area to find a future.
Swansea East has talent, potential, and working people who deserve better opportunities. But too often, local people are forced to look elsewhere for training, better wages, or long-term prospects.
A stronger future means creating pathways that allow local people to stay, build careers, and contribute to their own communities.
My priorities:
- Support stronger local jobs and skills pathways
- Push for better Jobs and smarter local investment
- Help connect training to real employment opportunities
- Back a more resilient local economy with long-term thinking
- Fight to reduce brain drain from our communities
6. Respect for Working People
Working people keep the country going.
They care for others, keep services running, do difficult jobs, raise families, pay their way, and hold communities together. Yet too often they are undervalued, underpaid, and ignored by people in power.
My politics are rooted in the belief that working people deserve respect, fairness, and a voice.
My priorities:
- Stand up for dignity and fairness in working life
- Support workers in health, care, transport, and public service
- Defend the principle that public life should work for ordinary people
- Challenge policies that load the burden onto those who already carry the most
- Bring the voice of working communities into the Senedd
Closing Message
Swansea East deserves a stronger voice.
It deserves someone who understands the area, knows the pressures local people are facing, and is prepared to stand up for communities that have been taken for granted for too long.
I have spent more than 30 years living and working in Swansea, and 12 years representing St Thomas as a councillor. I am standing for the Senedd because I believe our communities need someone who will fight for them at the national level with honesty, determination, and practical purpose.
This is about Kilvey Hill.
It is about our services.
It is about working people.
It is about the future of Swansea East.
Joe Hale, your Independent for the Senedd