In the run-up to the 2021 Senedd Election, Nub News will be profiling the candidates running for the Vale of Glamorgan.

Next up is Matt Smith, the Welsh Conservative candidate, who feels the county, and the rest of Wales is ready for "a fresh start"

When we caught up with Matt this morning, it was less than 24 hours he had met with Boris Johnson on his visit to the Vale of Glamorgan.

Is that an indication that the party is confident of Matt's chances of winning the seat, which has been held by Welsh Labour since 1999?

"It was certainly a great visit to have this stage in the campaign," said Matt.

"I think it's really good to see that Barry and the Vale of Glamorgan are very much in the in the minds of people right at the top of the UK Government and it's absolutely right that the UK Government retains an intimate interest in our communities here.

"Barry is very much an up-and-coming town. It's got a great brand and it's becoming increasingly the place to invest in and visit.

"I think it's really important that it stays on the map and Boris Johnson helped to do that yesterday.

"It was great to talk to him about the constituency, my plans for the Vale and what I would do if I was the MS," he said.

Getting down to more local issues, we asked Matt about the key points from his manifesto.

"The single biggest issue I think, is our transport infrastructure. There is dire need for key upgrades, in particular to road surfaces," said Matt.

"Some of our roads are very seriously pothole-ridden and obviously that that that impedes journeys.

"I want to get the Dinas Powys bypass done, which is a major infrastructure upgrade that people across the Vale of Glamorgan have been demanding for a very long time.

"It's deeply regrettable that the Welsh Labour government withdrew funding from that, and we will do everything we can to progress it.

"I certainly support calls for a new rail station at St. Athan in order to help ensure that that communities further west of Barry feel connected to the rest of the Vale.

"We're also committed to getting the M4 relief road done.

Whilst that isn't something that is in the Vale, it is something a lot of people in the Vale talk about as it's a major piece of regional infrastructure," he said.

Matt is also keen to address the disparities in education funding between the county and the rest of Wales.

"I would say the long running issue of per pupil spending in schools in the county being significantly behind where it is in Cardiff and the rest of Wales is another key issue for me," said Matt.

"I think it's absolutely vital that where families send their children to school shouldn't have a bearing on how well-resourced they are.

"So, I would want to see us narrow that per pupil spending gap between school pupils in the Vale and the rest of Wales so that they have a fair share of education resources and so that they have the best possible chances of getting on in life and benefiting from a very good state school education.

"I myself have benefitted from a state school education. It is the foundation for everything I've done since it's really important that the school pupils in the Vale have that as well.

"I think the third major Vale-wide issue is the problem of poorly managed overdevelopment.

"I can think of numerous examples of this, perhaps only the most high-profile example would be the Cowbridge cattle market site, but there are numerous other examples across the Vale of where the Labour Council has railroaded decisions through that have a major impact on local community with scant or poor consultation.

"If I think if I was elected as the MS in the Vale, I would champion proper legal consultation, so that communities have a major say in developments that affect their lives.

"There are lots of other issues, in the Vale and more widely – supporting our high streets, our pubs, making sure that our economies recover.

"It all comes down to is having a roadmap for the recovery so that we have the best possible shot of ensuring that people across Wales can emerge from the shadow of lockdown and the pandemic, able to seize the opportunities that will be on the horizon, and ensuring that people across Wales are just as well placed to do that as people from the rest of the UK."

Matt is a solicitor, and has worked in a number of practice areas such as personal injury and clinical negligence, and financial mis-selling litigation as well as working for large commercial organisations and public sector clients.

The skills and experience developed through this career are a real asset to the MS role, Matt felt.

"I think the advantage is that it gives you a window into other people's lives and it gives you an insight into how large organizations work," said Matt.

"It gives the skillset to be very effective at progressing casework and advocating the interests of individuals and organizations against large entities, whether it's public bodies or, or businesses, and I think that is something that I will bring to the role.

"I've been following Welsh politics quite closely for a long time and this is a watershed election.

"I think that there is a far greater potential for political change in terms of devolution in this Senedd election than previous.

"There is a real yearning for a fresh start and change both in the Vale of Glamorgan and across Wales.

"I think at this moment in history, it's a particularly exciting election to be involved in," he said.

The Senedd election will be held on Thursday 6 May.