During the byelection I visited parts of the Caerphilly constituency where I hadn’t been for years. It left me feeling depressed; rundown towns and villages, all the public spaces marked by poverty and a lack of investment. And I reflected on how things used to be.
For generations, the South Wales Valleys were the beating heart of Labour support — communities bound by solidarity, shaped by industry, and proud of their collective strength. I remembered how we all worked together in the Miners support group during the strike, when the watchword was solidarity. But over time, that social cohesion has frayed and the bond between Labour and the people it claimed to represent has gone. Too many politicians took these votes for granted. Too many voices from our forgotten and deprived communities were ignored.
The rot is not recent. The cracks began to show long before now. The election of independent voices like Peter Law to Parliament in 2005 was the first warning sign — a clear message that loyalty could no longer be assumed, and that people were willing to break from the old party system when they felt unheard. The Valleys were saying: “There’s no longer a welcome in these hillsides to career politicians. We deserve better.”
Then came the Brexit vote, under a Tory prime minister and in a Wales dominated by the middle class elite from Cardiff. Even though our communities benefited from European funding — the EU’s Objective One money that helped rebuild infrastructure, support training, and fund regeneration — the anger and disillusionment ran deeper. People voted against a system they felt had failed them. It wasn’t about Europe, really. It was about being left behind — by Westminster, by Cardiff Bay, and yes, by Labour.
Last week’s by-election result was yet another sign that Labour’s grip on its old heartlands is slipping. The red wall that once seemed unbreakable is now showing wide cracks. Voters are restless. They are looking for something new — something honest, compassionate, and rooted in community. Last night it was Plaid that became home of the progressive vote, more to stop a far right party like Reform than a positive vote for policies. But in future all bets are off.
That’s where the Green Party can offer hope.
Unlike the other parties with their top down approach to politics the Greens offer something different. The Greens understand that politics must start from the ground up, not the top down. We believe in rebuilding trust, listening to people, and putting power back into local hands. Where Labour has drifted towards complacency and managerialism, the Greens stand for renewal — social justice, environmental repair, and genuine democracy.
In Caerffili and elsewhere in the Valleys, this means creating good local jobs in clean energy and community enterprises. It means improving public transport, tackling poor housing, and investing in the wellbeing of people, not corporations. It means reconnecting politics to the people who live here — not just turning up at election time to ask for votes.
The decline of Labour in the Valleys is not the end of something — it’s the beginning of something new. A space has opened up for a politics that cares, listens, and acts with integrity. The Green Party is ready to fill that space — ready to work with communities that want to see fairness, sustainability, and hope take root once again.
The Valleys built the Labour movement once. Now, they can help build something new — a Green future that truly serves the people who call this place home.
