Labour activists are furious about their party’s poor showing in Caerphilly, reports Ben Walker.
Speaking to Harry Clarke-Ezzidio on the New Statesman podcast shortly after the results of the Caerphilly by-election were announced, Walker reported that local Labour representatives had been messaging him to express their anger at the party’s local councillors.
“I’m knocking on doors in Labour wards we haven’t knocked on in 14 years,” one said, suggesting that Labour’s poor vote turnout was in part the result of complacency by the party. Labour have been dominant in Caerphilly for over a century.
The by-election result here marks an historic defeat – and a long-awaited victory for Plaid Cymru. Lindsay Whittle, the party’s newest Senedd member (MS), has finally won his seat after 14 attempts.
In this episode, Ben Walker and Harry Clarke-Ezzidio also discuss what the result means for Reform’s future electoral strategy, and whether Labour’s loss in Caerphilly is indicative of a wider trend.
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