The Beacon has questioned each party on the key issues facing the county.

Their responses will be featured here over the coming weeks.

In our final week, we hear from Welsh Conservative Party candidate David Davies, and Labour Party candidate Ruth Jones.

No reply has been received from English Democrats candidate Stephen Morris.

We asked each party:

1. Where do you live? If you live locally, how long have you been here?

2. What experience do you have in politics?

3. Why are you standing for the Monmouthshire seat?

4. What do you think is the greatest issue facing your prospective constituents, and how would you tackle this?

Key issues:

5. What steps would you take to address problems experienced locally with cross-border healthcare and ambulance response times?

6. What steps would you take to combat crime and

specifically, recent increases in burglaries across the county?

7. How do you plan to work effectively with residents of varying ages?

8. How do you intend to support the agricultural community?

9. How will you support small, independent, local businesses?

Ruth's response:

I live in the suburb of Allt-yr-yn just outside Newport. This beautiful place was the home of the Welsh poet W T Davies.

I joined the Labour party in 1999 but have been active in politics for much longer.

Working in the NHS for 30 years as a physiotherapist has given me first-hand experience of the issues that face patients and employees. I joined a trade union because I was, and am, keen to improve NHS standards for both staff and patients. I was elected to the Welsh Trade Union Congress as the Welsh Physiotherapists' representative and was eventually elected as head of the Wales TUC.

I'm standing in the Monmouth Constituency because in Tory-led coalition Britain the richest succeed and everybody else is in a race to the bottom. Britain can be better than this, and I want to play a part in a Labour government that makes it easier for everyone to get on regardless of their background.

There is now real poverty in the constituency. I've talked to people in food banks, credit unions, advice organisations, housing associations, people dealing with disabilities – I've been shocked by what I've heard and seen. Labour will start to tackle this by abolishing the bedroom tax, raising the minimum wage and ending zero hours contracts.

The NHS is facing tough times. With an ageing population and our understanding of medical science improving, there is more pressure on the system than at any other time in our history.

I think NHS workers and users need to talk openly and honestly about where and how our resources should be used. We need to look at how the Tory reforms in England affect NHS users in Wales – where we use a different system for recording statistics. Health boards on both sides of the border need to co-operate better to ensure that both Wales and England deliver the highest quality care. We need to work together to identify failings and problems so that we can plan how to put these right.

There have been 143 frontline cuts in policing in Monmouth since 2010. That's 143 fewer police on the beat – and this has led to an increase in burglaries across the constituency. I believe that an MP should have a strong working relationship with the police so, as Monmouth's MP, I would build a strong working relationship with officers.

So far in my campaign I've been privileged to meet people from a range of age groups. When I met Monmouth Town FC we talked about how to get more young people into grassroots sports. When I met Age UK, we discussed the sensitive issues around providing care for partners or parents.

The agricultural industry is going through a difficult time. The Tories' commitment to an EU 'in/out' referendum will make things even worse.

Since I was selected as the Labour candidate for the Monmouth Constituency, I have met the Federation of Small Businesses and many local retailers, farmers, website designers and many other entrepreneurs. I know how hard things are for these businesses. They want a government, which will build an economy that works for everyone, not just bankers and big businesses.