Mike Hamilton Selected as Lead Senedd Candidate for Casnewydd Islwyn (Newport and Islwyn)

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have announced that Mike Hamilton will head their party’s list for the Casnewydd Islwyn (Newport and Islwyn) constituency at the 2026 Senedd election following a party selection process in the constituency.

Casnewydd Islwyn is one of the new constituencies for the 2026 Welsh Parliament elections, covering the Westminster constituencies of Newport East and Newport West and Islwyn.

The Liberal Democrats secured over 3.5 million votes at last year’s general election, becoming the largest third party in the UK since 1923 with 72 MPs. The Party built a brand for itself on tackling sewage pollution in local rivers and seas, proposing plans to prioritise social care to fix the NHS and supporting small and medium-sized businesses. 

In recent months, the Party has been holding the new Labour Government to account on the sky-high NHS waiting lists in Wales, campaigning against Labour’s rise in national insurance and calling on Labour to cancel tax breaks for the big banks instead of cutting vital support for people with disabilities. 

The 2026 elections will be conducted under a proportional representation system, with 6 Members of the Senedd per constituency. This means that multiple political parties will be represented in each area and candidates for smaller parties have a good chance of getting elected.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are heading into the Senedd elections with a focus on campaigning for improved access to childcare provision, support for small businesses and investing in social care to tackle the crisis in the Welsh NHS. 

Dr Mike Hamilton is a former Merchant Navy Engineer and archaeologist, who is well known in Newport for his community campaigning. He is a former Deputy Leader of Newport Council. Speaking following his selection, Dr Hamilton thanked local Party members for backing him, and said:

“Wales needs change after 26 years of mismanagement. We need proper strategic management of the Welsh economy, not endless money wasting on vanity projects. We need to fix the fundamental problems with the Welsh NHS, where Welsh patients wait much longer than English patients for key operations, despite equivalent per-patient spending. And we need to ensure that Wales shows moral leadership on Gaza, where war crimes and human rights abuses have been met with a supine response by the UK Labour Government.” 

ENDS