Is it time to Reform the political landscape of Wales?

Reform UK has made a significant move in Merthyr this week by drawing the attention of the UK’s media to one of the most impoverished areas in Wales. The purpose of this gathering is to unveil the party’s contract ahead of the General Election, which is scheduled for July 4. Nigel Farage strategically selected the sports and social club in the Gurnos, a community within Merthyr Tydfil, to serve as the backdrop for this important announcement. He emphasized that Wales exemplifies “what happens to a country when Labour is in charge,” suggesting that the current state of the region highlights the failings of Labour’s governance over the past 25 years.

This event marks a pivotal moment in Reform UK’s campaign, as it aims to showcase its vision and policies while critiquing the longstanding influence of the Labour Party in Wales. Farage’s choice of location underscores his commitment to addressing areas that have experienced significant economic and social challenges under the current political administration.

Boundary changes mean part of Cynon Valley merges with Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare, forming a combined constituency. The council wards in Cynon Valley that now help form part of the boundary changes include Aberaman, Aberdare East, Aberdare West and Llwydcoed, Cwmbach, Hirwaun, Penderyn and Rhigos, Mountain Ash, and Penywaun.

Your Reform candidate for the new constituency is Dr Gareth Thomas, who believes the only way to make Britain great again is to join the Reform Party and run as a candidate for the Merthyr and Aberdare constituency. He knows that real change can only happen by getting elected to Government and contributing from within Westminster.

The departing Cynon Valley Labour MP Beth Winter stated that the Labour Party manifesto for the upcoming election lacks the ambition needed to deliver for Cymru, highlighting a broader pattern of inadequacy.

Labour has a depressing record in Wales, and they want to add 30 more paper-pushing politicians in the Welsh Parliament while many residents live on the poverty line. The Reform Party is the only solution to break the Labour mould and bring real change to Wales.

Examining Labour’s record of devastation in Wales reveals a clear need for reform. Under Labour’s rule, the country has experienced governance akin to a dictatorship, with no meaningful opposition. The current leader in Wales has shown a blatant disregard for ethical campaigning and governance. The arrogance of the Labour Party was evident when they ignored the 469,571 signatures opposing the 20 MPH speed limit policy, a policy championed by Lee Waters, a former Sustrans Cymru CEO, alongside a panel of academics. This group also decided to halt all new road construction, a decision implemented by Labour. Now, next stealth tax from Labour is the introduction of road tolls.

In 25 years of Labour’s control, our NHS has deteriorated with higher waiting lists and longer ambulance delays, reflecting substandard healthcare. The education system is also in shambles. These failures are evident not just in the Welsh Parliament but also at the local level. Plans for new road construction, like the Aberdare Bypass, were halted. Instead of extending the Rhondda Fach bypass from Tylorstown to Maerdy, the council proposed an Active Travel Route, which does not meet the residents’ needs. The Rhondda, like Aberdare, remains a Labour stronghold, allowing the party to impose any policy they wish irrespective of what the residents want. The Labour Party is confident that residents will continue to vote for them or Labour’s branch party, Plaid Cymru, which has supported Labour in Wales and contributed to the country’s decline. A vote for Plaid Cymru effectively becomes a vote for Labour.

If you are satisfied with the one-party rule that has governed Wales for the last 25 years, you must contend with low wages, a failed NHS, poor ambulance response times, and Welsh Health Boards in special measures. A cancer charity has stated that Wales’s cancer waiting times are still too long, with far too many people being let down by a system that cannot cope. Healthcare professionals are working around the clock, but these treatment delays are having a devastating impact on people living with cancer and throwing lives into chaos.

Labour keeps telling you they lack funding for the Welsh NHS, but it is Labour who failed to manage the Welsh budget and leftover £150 million unspent, money that had to be returned to the UK Government. It is constant bad management by Labour and it needs reforming. Labour has failed to manage the Welsh budget, with Lee Waters admitting, “We don’t know what we’re doing on the economy. For 20 years we’ve pretended we know what we’re doing on the economy – and the truth is we don’t. Everybody is making it up as we go along.”

Labour has also failed on homelessness, with taxpayers funding over 47 organizations to prevent homelessness in Wales across 22 counties, yet the problem persists. The situation on the M4 through Newport is another Labour failure, a decision influenced by academics who do not use this stretch of motorway daily. The imposition of a 50 MPH limit to prevent pollution is ineffective given the constant gridlock, exacerbated by the reduction from three lanes to two lanes to navigate the Brynglas Tunnels. It cost £321.1m to dual a section of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road, only to impose a limit of 50 MPH.

The Labour Party has pledged to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in six years if it wins the July 4 general election. Public transport in Wales remains neglected, with Labour focusing only on the South Wales Metro.

Labour in Wales does not believe in scrutiny. They failed to hold a COVID inquiry, with Welsh Ministers and Labour backbenchers voting against it. By continually voting for a Labour Government, you endorse a Welsh government that refuses to open itself up to scrutiny.

It’s time for a change. Do you want a real alternative to Labour’s failing policies and governance? Reform UK is the party that can bring the necessary changes to lift Wales out of poverty and into a prosperous future.

105 years of a Labour MP in Cynon Valley and 25 years of Labour Devolution—it’s time for change.