Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Selwyn has been asked a number of questions by Electors in the Constituency during the Campaign. Below is a summary of the most frequently asked questions and his answers:

Q: I don't agree with the UK Coalition and I don't think Nick Clegg is doing you any good at all. I don't think you should have joined up with the Conservatives. Are you in favour of the Coalition?

A: In an ideal world the Liberal Democrats would win enough seats to form our own Government. Obviously we don't live in that sort of world (well, at the moment anyway). So, after the results of the 2010 UK General Election three things were clear: no single Party had won enough seats to form a Government on their own, the Labour Party had left behind a financial mess (remember the note from Lian Byrne: 'there's no money") and, we were in the middle of a major international financial crisis which could have a severe impact on the UK and on everyone in the Country. As Liberal Democrats we could just have walked away - in the past, many of our critics have accused us of being lightweight and all things to all people. However, we didn't walk away. Instead we took responsibility - for the good of the Country as a whole. Otherwise, I am absolutely convinced that we would have ended up having to have an international bailout (as we did in the mid-1970s). The only responsible way forward was to try to form a stable Government to see Britain through the crisis. The only Party with which we could realistically form that Government was the Conservatives. So, because of those reasons I was, and am, in favour of the Coalition. However, we have not "joined up" with the Conservatives. We are very much a separate Party with our own programme and agenda. I also think we have been successful in starting to deliver our programmes in Government. A recent analysis from the BBC Politics Show suggests that we are actually doing better at turning pre-election promises into government policy, securing 75% of our manifesto, compared to 60% for the Conservatives. We have done particularly well in areas like constituional reform, climate change and trying to make the economy fairer.

However, remember that this Election is the Welsh General Election of 2011. It shouldn't become a referendum on the UK Coalition (that's for another time). This Election is about what kind of Welsh Government we want for the next five years and what has been the track record of the Labour-Plaid Cymru Coaltion Government in Cardiff Bay over the last four years. Our view is the record has been poor - but that is for each Elector to judge. Welsh Liberal Democrats want to see better government in Cardiff Bay - and that's why you should vote for us.

Q: Are you in favour of the badger cull proposed by the last Assembly Government?

A: No. I have studied the scientific evidence carefully and I do not think that a blanket cull will work. It will not be effective in eradicating bovine TB. Instead, we need much more accurate set infomation so that we can cull infected badgers (on animal welfare grounds) and then vaccinate uninfected badgers. This needs to be backed-up by improved animal hygiene and controlled animal movements. I believe that this will then lead to a permanent reduction in bovine TB not just a temporay fix which will last, at most, for three years. The cost of this is likely to be less than the long term cost of a series of wide-scale general culls. I do not agree with the DEFRA 'cull and kill' orthodoxy. It is wrong on both grounds of effectiveness and animal welfare. A wide-scale cull will also badly affect the West Wales tourism industry and will damage food marketing through Welsh branding.

Q. Do you agree with presumed consent for organ donation?

A: No. Many of the AMs in the last National Assembly did agree with this measure. However, this issue is a matter of personal belief and conscience. Personally, I do not believe that any government should take ownership of someone's body and say that the organs belong to the State. I believe this is a potentially dangreous route down which to go with issues such as abuse of the system involving selling of organs. I am strongly in favour of organ donation but on the basis of voluntary consent only.

Q. After what's happened in Japan, what's your view on nuclear power?

A: I am opposed to the building of any new nuclear power stations in Wales or elsewhere in the UK.

Q: Many people are unhappy about the way the County Councils in West Wales are run with senior managers on very high salaries and many complaints about the way services are delivered?

A: I agree and want to see a thorough review of the way local government is working in Wales.

Q: Liberal Democrats across the UK broke their promise on tuition fees after last year's General Election. Where do you stand on tuition fees?

A: The Liberal Democrats signed a pledge and, having done that, we should have kept to that pledge. All three Welsh Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the rise in tuition fees and I supported them.