AS MONTGOMERYSHIRE gets ready to go to the polls for the Welsh Assembly Election on 5 May, the Cambrian News brings you a handy round-up of all the constituency and lead Mid and West Wales regional candidates vying for your vote. The constituency candidates for Montgomeryshire are:

Richard Chaloner Green Party

Richard Chaloner has lived in rural north Montgomeryshire since the mid 1990s and is standing as the Wales Green Party’s candidate in next month’s elections.

A former lecturer, author and senior examiner, Mr Chaloner has said he believes a sustainable environment and social justice are fundamental to his politics, and opposes austerity.

Jane Dodds Liberal Democrat

Jane Dodds, who was brought up in north Wales but now lives in Welshpool with her family, is the Welsh Liberal Democrats’ candidate for the seat of Montgomeryshire at the Welsh Assembly Elections next month.

Mrs Dodds has served as a councillor and a school governor, and is a trustee of a family centre in the constituency.

Russell George Conservative

Russell George was elected as the Conservative AM for Montgomeryshire in 2011 and was appointed the party’s shadow minister for agriculture and rural affairs in 2013.

Born in Welshpool in 1974, former county councillor and cabinet member Mr George has lived in Montgomeryshire all his life apart from the three years he spent studying information and media studies at university in Birmingham, and now owns a small retail business in Newtown.

Aled Hughes Plaid Cymru

Aled Huws is a former national chair of Plaid Cymru’s youth organisation and is the party’s 2016 candidate for Montgomeryshire.

Educated at Caereinion High School and a student of politics at Aberystwyth University and Cardiff University, Mr Huws lists his main political interests as education, young people, the environment and the Welsh language.

Desmond Parkinson UKIP

Desmond Parkinson is a retired superintendent from Shropshire who will stand as UKIP’s candidate for Montgomeryshire.

A former national secretary of the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales, Mr Parkinson, who helped establish the Sex Offenders Register among his other policing achievements, has previously stood as the Conservative candidate for the role of Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia.

Martyn Singleton Labour

Martyn Singleton, the 29-year-old journalism student who stood as Labour’s Parliamentary candidate last year is Labour’s candidate for Montgomeryshire at the Assembly Election.

Born in St Asaph, Mr Singleton was raised in the Wrexham area and studied at Bangor University where he developed a keen interest in politics, and stood as the Labour candidate for Dwyfor Meirionnydd against Plaid Cymru’s Lord Elis-Thomas in the 2011 Welsh Assembly Elections.