Labour will ‘never step aside’ in Wales – McFadden

Pat McFadden said Labour will “never step aside” in Wales, even to prevent Reform UK from winning seats in the Welsh Parliament.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said he thinks Nigel Farage’s party and Plaid Cymru, which have topped recent polls in Wales, are both “about the politics of grievance”.

He joined campaigners in the Caerphilly constituency on Thursday morning ahead of a crucial by-election for Welsh Labour next week.

“We will never step aside,” Mr McFadden said.

“Caerphilly has been a Labour town for a long time, that doesn’t mean we take anything for granted.

“I don’t think either of the others offer a good answer for Caerphilly, because in different ways, they’ll be about the politics of grievance.

“They won’t be about the politics of opportunity, and that is what Caerphilly needs, what Wales needs, and what the country needs.”

Mr McFadden also visited Neath Port Talbot on Thursday to announce a £10 million funding package for Wales to tackle the causes of economic inactivity – such as low skills and barriers including social isolation.

The funding extends the Government’s inactivity trailblazers scheme for a second year and will help to provide support ranging from peer-to-peer support groups to mental health support.

“If you have a Welsh Labour Government and a UK Labour Government working together, you can get results,” Mr McFadden said.

Welsh Labour has held the Caerphilly seat since the Senedd was first established as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999.

But recent polling has forecast Plaid and Reform to be the two biggest parties in Wales next year and put additional pressure on Labour’s campaign in the constituency.

Mr McFadden added: “What do you want your government doing every morning – waking up, wondering what argument it can have with the UK Government?

“Or, waking up thinking, how do I deliver for the people in Wales?”

The Labour candidate in the by-election is Richard Tunnicliffe, a financial analyst and publisher.

Speaking at a press conference in Caerphilly last month, Nigel Farage announced Reform’s candidate, Llyr Powell, and pledged to “throw everything” at the campaign.

Plaid Cymru’s candidate, Lindsay Whittle, is a long-standing councillor in the Penyrheol ward and leader of the group on Caerphilly Council.

The candidates fielded by other parties are Gareth Potter for the Conservatives, Gareth Hughes for the Green Party, and Anthony Cook for Gwlad, a Welsh pro-independence party.

Steve Aicheler is running for the Liberal Democrats and Roger Quilliam is the candidate for Ukip.