After the by-election, a chance to reflect on what politics has become

Graffiti on the Reform campaign office on Cardiff Road, Caerphilly

The first story I wrote this week after the Caerphilly Senedd by-election was about a team of fighters heading to the WKU World Championships in Germany to represent Wales.

I will admit, it’s been a relief to have the time again to cover community-focussed stories like that.

As has been said many times, this was a by-election no-one wanted following the death of Labour’s Hefin David. All eyes were on Caerphilly as opinion polls suggested Reform UK were favourites to win.

The most notable poll was released a week before polling day – one that was based on actual voting intentions of people in the constituency.

When I looked deeper into the numbers, I was surprised to learn that Reform’s support was supposedly strongest in areas such as the Aber Valley, Llanbradach, and even Lindsay Whittle’s own ward of Penyrheol.

Knowing those areas had always been Plaid strongholds, something didn’t sit right.

That’s when I started to think the party was in with a chance – I even made a tentative predication when I was invited on the BBC’s Politics Wales show the Sunday before.

The media interest in this by-election was unlike anything I’ve experienced before and hats-off to Caerphilly Council for its organisation of the count and accommodating so many of the UK’s journalists.

As the dust settles, I’ve found myself reflecting more on the past few months.

Hefin’s death really affected me. We didn’t always see eye-to-eye (especially when we published stories he didn’t agree with), but he was always a firm supporter of ours.

His untimely death in August set off a chain of events which I’m sure would have saddened him.

As the campaign wore on, our community became increasingly polarised and hostile. We even found ourselves in the firing line over editorial decisions, but I look back with pride on how we covered this election.

Unlike the many Facebook groups, such as Senedd Waste and Wales for a United Kingdom – pumping out misinformation without accountability – I am here ready to justify and defend our journalism when necessary.

This was highlighted in an excellent short film produced by The Guardian during the campaign, and I want to thank the many people who have since joined Caerphilly Observer as paying members willing to support what we do.

I have seen online abuse directed to many members of our community on both sides of the debate.

The graffiti on Reform’s campaign office, following its defeat, needs to be condemned, but it should also act as a reminder that irresponsibly published words do have consequences – something I am always acutely aware of as a journalist.

Make no mistake. Reform lost this by-election because of its rhetoric around immigration, with two thirds of voters rejecting it.

A turning point, I think, came during BBC Wales’ televised candidate debate when mother Alison Vyas, appearing with her mixed-race son Cole, described how her family had been made to feel in their home town.

Mother who went viral after by-election debate speaks out on social media abuse

Alison’s husband was born in Uganda, fled the dictatorship of Idi Amin, and eventually settled in Bedwas. She placed the blame for the hostility they’d felt squarely at the door of Reform and its candidate Llŷr Powell.

That moment galvanized those opposed to Reform, but also unleashed a new level of racist abuse on social media.

When I suggested on Politics Wales that something had gone wrong in our politics for Alison and her family to feel like that, I became a target myself.

Like me getting back to community stories for Caerphilly Observer, I’m hoping things will return to ‘normal’ for a brief period before the main Senedd election in May.

But things have undoubtedly changed.

Mr Farage has said he wants to break the ‘status quo’. Well congratulations – you’ve done it. But at what cost?

Sign-up to our daily newsletter