‘Values born in the Valleys can help us fight apathy and division’

Neil Kinnock represented Bedwellty, and then Islwyn, as a Member of Parliament between 1970 and 1995. He was also the leader of the Labour Party between 1983 and 1992. He was made a member of the House of Lords in 2005.

I have a deep connection with Caerphilly and the Valleys. I was born and bred in Tredegar. But throughout the years, the Valleys have rooted themselves in the strong values of fairness, solidarity, and hope for the future. I know and value the fact therefore that in the south Wales Valleys communities, the people always recognise the vital importance of looking out for each other. And realise the vital truth that we are stronger together and weaker if we are divided.

This tradition obviously came long before me. It led to the creation and growth of the Labour Party. And it is no coincidence that the NHS was born here too. Labour values and Labour achievements embody the best instincts of the people of the Valleys.

Clearly the world has changed immensely since the creation of the Labour Party and the birth of the NHS, but the people of the Valleys have always stood together through good times, and not so good times. That spirit is still alive.

Clearly times have been tough. People have been ground down, feeling that things aren’t getting done quickly enough, and they’re not being listened to. That hasn’t happened in a vacuum.

It is the consequence of fourteen years of Conservative governments which cut services to the bone, underfunded Wales and its public services, and who put party politics before the people they were supposed to serve. On top of major global events, plus a pandemic, it’s no wonder that people are feeling that politics as usual doesn’t work for them anymore. I don’t blame them.

But I don’t want justified feelings of dissatisfaction to produce decisions that would bring further disadvantage. There are two primary results from the Conservative’s legacy – apathy and division. And Reform UK is exploiting both, using people’s discontent as a pawn in their plan to divide and fracture our communities.

Apathy says to people, ‘your vote doesn’t matter. Nothing changes anyway.’

But that cynicism doesn’t get us anywhere – it never built anything useful and never achieved advance for working class people.

No one wins when we give up, when we concede that there is no hope, that nothing will get better, that provides fertile ground for the second results of Conservative legacy – division. And that’s what Reform exploits.

Apathy says your voice doesn’t matter, division pits neighbour against neighbour. It offers easy, simplistic responses to complex challenges by blaming ‘others’ but it never fixes root causes.

There are very real problems that need addressing in our country. But those charlatans who hide behind division, who shout about problems whilst offering no real solutions, will not repair or improve anything. They use pain as a political pawn.

This is not new. Reform UK are putting themselves forward as the new boys on the scene. But we’ve actually seen them before. A party led by public schoolboys, who try to give the impression that they’re for the working class whilst every action they take is against the interests of working people.

Reform isn’t replacing the Tories. They’re replicating the Tories.

In the 2019 election, Reform stood aside to help Boris Johnson’s Tories win. And their Caerphilly candidate has said that Wales needs more politicians like Margaret Thatcher and Donald Trump. He is utterly wrong. Everyone who recognises Margaret Thatcher’s destruction of industries, devastation of communities, and the divisions that arose from those wounds, knows that.

That is the fight that faces us– the fight against apathy and division. The people of the Valleys communities have seen it off before. Now we have to steel ourselves against it again.

To fight division, we need realistic hope for the future. To fight apathy, we need delivery of real change. Both are underway with a Labour Government that has provided a record budget award to Wales, is introducing strengthened workers’ rights and rent reforms, increased the National Minimum Wage, allocated the highest ever NHS investment and is rightly restoring the Winter Fuel Allowance.

My good friend Richard Tunnicliffe is the Labour candidate. He’s bright, he’s local, he’s dedicated and will be a strong voice for your community. He’s not making promises he can’t fulfil. He’s not striking a political posture. He’s not pitting people against each other. He’s listening to people in the Caerphilly community, about their concerns for the area and he’s only made promises that he can keep. He’s looking to the future, underpinning everything he does with those Valleys Labour values of fairness, solidarity, and opportunity. Please give him your support.

Caerphilly’s by-election candidates for October 23

• Welsh Liberal Democrats – Steve Aicheler
• Gwlad – Anthony Cook
• Wales Green Party – Gareth Hughes
• Welsh Conservatives – Gareth Potter
• Reform UK – Llŷr Powell
• UKIP – Roger Quilliam
• Richard Tunnicliffe – Labour
• Lindsay Whittle – Plaid Cymru