Candidates for Caerphilly Welsh Parliament by-election confirmed

The candidates for a Welsh Parliament by-election have been confirmed.

The by-election was called following the death of Hefin Wyn David, who had served as Member of the Senedd for Caerphilly since 2016.

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

But opposition parties hoping to form the next Welsh government are running fierce campaigns in the constituency, which could be a bellwether for the Senedd election next May.

Poll

Plaid and Reform UK are currently forecast to be the two biggest parties in Wales next year, according to a YouGov poll published by ITV Cymru Wales.

Speaking at a press conference in Caerphilly earlier this 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.

Campaign

The Labour candidate is Richard Tunnicliffe, a financial analyst and publisher.

Welsh First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan has supported Mr Tunnicliffe on the campaign trail and expressed anxieties about her government being unable to pass its next budget if Labour loses the constituency.

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.