The Liberal Democrats’ new Wrekin candidate Ali Daw has wasted no time in getting to grips with Newport.
Mrs Daw was drafted in last week after David Murray pulled himself out of the running amid serious criminal allegations.
She will now stand against Tory MP Mark Pritchard and Labour’s Paul Kalinauckas for the Wrekin seat, which includes Newport.
And Mrs Daw – who swiftly removed the pink dye from her hair after learning she was to play a role in this year’s General Election – has already become a familiar face in the town.
The successful businesswoman was pounding the High Street on Friday morning, hours after party leader Nick Clegg had impressed in the first televised debate.
And she was back again on Monday as she continues her crash course in Newport issues.
“The biggest issue Newport people have raised with me so far is the buses, and the lack of them,” she said this week.
“Most worryingly, the older people have said, at busy times when the children are going to and from school, the buses are so over-crowded that they can’t get on or off safely and they definitely don’t get a seat.
“I know there are issues with Arriva. I am somebody who goes right to the top to get things sorted.”
Mrs Daw is based in Chichester, West Sussex, but has vowed to move to the area should she win the Wrekin seat.
That would require an improbable swing of 27 percent to dethrone the Conservatives, but Clegg’s polished performance in the Leader’s Debate has raised expectations.
Mrs Daw said she has already received a lot of support.
She said: “What was genuine about Friday was that people were coming out of Somerfields and Waitrose to talk to us
“They said ‘your man did well last night’ and I was able to get them talking.”
A teacher before setting up her own management training company in London, Mrs Daw has pledged to support Newport’s youngsters.
She added: “Empowerment is what I am about.
“I want to give the younger people a feeling that they can do it.
“Newport has got some issues, some drugs issues and some employment issues for young people like everywhere else.
“I pledge – if I win – to give free seminars to anybody who wants to come along, starting with young people and women, then men who have been out of work.”
By Sean Wozencroft