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I hope everyone at Caerphilly Observer and all its readers have had a great Christmas and New Year. 2026 has the potential to be a pivotal year for our nation given that we have Senedd elections in May. These elections will set the course for our communities, our prospects and our public services over the next four years at least but it’s impact could well be generational. It is impossible to overstate how important they are for Wales.

As we saw in October’s Caerphilly by-election, the Labour vote has evaporated – and this is for a variety of reasons depending on who you speak to. All the predictions are that Labour will now lose their first general election or Senedd election result in Wales in over a century. Whilst it is often said that a week is a long time in politics, change is guaranteed this May according to all the pollsters.

The Caerphilly by-election showed us that there is a clear choice between Plaid Cymru and Reform.  Another way of putting that choice would be between one of hope and fear. On the one hand, you have Plaid Cymru outlining its case for an inclusive Wales that leaves no one behind. We are serious about creating a Wales that is more prosperous, has better health outcomes, tackles the endemic poverty within many of our communities and is determined to do its bit to tackle the climate emergency.

On the other hand, there is a far-right party, aided and abetted by super rich media tycoons, who are tapping into people’s genuine discontent about falling living standards to promote their own agenda of hate and division. As Caerphilly showed in October, many people have not fallen for Reform’s false promises and have rejected their Trumpian politics. Everyone in Plaid Cymru will be doing their bit to ensure that hate does not triumph this year in Welsh politics. 

This is the message that will be taken into the forthcoming by-elections following the death of Labour stalwart Christine Forehead, which has meant there is a vacant seat in the Van ward on Caerphilly County Borough Council and a vacant seat on Van Community Council. Plaid Cymru has chosen two excellent candidates in Jeff Grenfell and Alison Vyas to contest the county council and community council seats respectively. I wish them all the very best and will do my bit to help their campaigns.

It has been a quieter than normal festive period for me as I have been laid up with the knee injury I sustained at the beginning of last month. Following my operation to repair my severed patella tendon, I have been able to work online and have managed to take part in some key plenary sessions. Unfortunately, visits have been off the agenda.

Over the last few weeks, I have become adept on my crutches and am feeling confident enough to get about. This week, with help, I am planning on undertaking my first visit since the operation and I am looking forward to it as I have missed this aspect of the job a lot over the last month. I also cannot wait to get stuck into canvassing communities to speak to people about what a Plaid Cymru government could deliver for them if they vote us into power.