Jenny Rathbone, Healthy Air Champion

Senedd Constituency Member for Cardiff Central, Welsh Labour

As a Healthy Air Champion, Jenny raises awareness of the impact of poor air quality on our everyday lives.

Alongside Healthy Air Cymru’s other Healthy Air Champions, Jenny is working hard to get Wales a Clean Air Act.

Jenny was elected to the Cardiff South constituency in May 2011. She has two children and lives in Roath, Cardiff. Jenny has championed the cause of clean air for many years, raising questions and contributing to debates on this subject in the Senedd. She is a member of the Cross-party Group for a Clean Air Act, as well as the Cross-party Group on the Active Travel Act. 

Jenny says:

“Breathing clean air is a basic human need, like food or water.  Walking or cycling to work and school has to become the norm for a small city like Cardiff.

“Children are our allies on this and it is their future that is at stake if we don’t change our ways. The climate emergency won’t wait and clean air will massively improve everybody’s general health. We can’t afford to go on like this.

“A Clean Air Act will require us to make a make shift away from the car to public transport, walking and cycling.”

Air pollution contributes to almost 1,400 early deaths in Wales and costs the Welsh NHS almost £1billion every year.

Many families across Wales feel the impact of air pollution on their daily lives. More and more children are developing asthma, their lungs are not developing as they should be, and people’s existing health conditions are getting worse.

Meet our other healthy air champions

Jane Dodds MS
Janet Finch Saunders MS
Luke Fletcher MS
Heledd Fychan MS
Huw Irranca-Davies MS
Delyth Jewell MS
Sarah Murphy MS