'I used to be Labour. No more.' – who will win Wales?
4/25/202613 min
Is Labour about to lose Wales? That’s what the polling suggests. After 27 years, Wales is seeking change. The beneficiaries look to be the outsiders, Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. Why is it this moment in particular that people are seeking new answers?
In this special episode of Coffee House Shots, James Heale goes on the road across the Welsh valleys with Luke Tryl, UK Director of More in Common. Attending a series of focus groups, speaking to people on the doorsteps and across towns in the UK, they try to find out where Wales is heading in the local elections on May 7.
Produced by Megan McElroy.
Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.
For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.
Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJames Heale· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to the Port Talbot Steelworks. Uh, in 2024, these furnaces closed after a century of steel-making production. It's in areas like this that Reform UK hope to pick up seats in the surrounding Welsh valleys. They are one of the two parties that dominate in the polls, the other being Plaid Cymru. And the last two days we've spoken to numerous voters in focus groups and on the doorsteps who very much express that desire for change. Welsh Labor has dominated in this country for more than a century. That reign looks to be coming to an end on May the 7th. [upbeat music] Of all Labor's heartlands, none has more mythos or magic than Wales. A past of pulpits and pits produced Aneurin Bevan and Roy Jenkins. One in four Labor leaders have sat for seats here. More than a century ago, Keir Hardy forged Labor's rise from the valleys. In a fortnight's time, those same valleys could finish his namesake off. We came to find out how people are feeling ahead of May the 7th.
Speaker 10:53
It don't work very well, mate.
James Heale· Host0:54
What you think about Welsh Labor?
Speaker 10:54
Well, I used to be Labor. Not no more.
James Heale· Host0:56
Really?
Speaker 10:57
Finished.
James Heale· Host0:58
Why?
Speaker 10:58
Well, they haven't done anything for us, eh?
James Heale· Host1:00
Right.
Speaker 11:00
At the end of the day.
Speaker 21:00
I'm usually Labor, but I was Green many years ago.
James Heale· Host1:03
Why not Labor this time?
Speaker 21:04
Well, well, they're struggling.
James Heale· Host1:07
What do you think of Welsh Labor?
Speaker 31:08
Crap they are.
James Heale· Host1:10
Crap they are? Okay.
Speaker 31:12
[laughs] Yeah.
Speaker 41:12
Do you have any idea how you might vote, or do you just- Not an idea ... no idea?
Speaker 11:16
Not an idea.
Speaker 41:16
Oh.
Speaker 11:17
But we've, we've gotta go forward. I mean, where have the jobs gone in Wales?
James Heale· Host1:20
And what do you reckon of Eluned Morgan, the First Minister?
Speaker 11:23
I don't think she's taken us forward at all.
James Heale· Host1:26
And what do you make of the First Minister, Eluned Morgan?