Former Cynon Valley MP Beth Winter quits Labour
Martin Shipton
Beth Winter, the former left wing Labour MP for Cynon Valley, has confirmed she is leaving the party because of its “authoritarian political agenda” aimed at “serving corporate interests and protecting the ruling class”.
Ms Winter was elected to Westminster in succession to the late Ann Clwyd in 2019, but when constituency boundaries changed lost to neighbouring MP Gerald Jones in a selection battle to be Labour’s general election candidate in the new seat of Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare.
Honour
In a statement Ms Winter, who in the last Parliament was the only Welsh MP in the Socialist Campaign Group, said: “Today I close the door to my former constituency office for the final time.
“Heartfelt thanks to everyone, including my wonderful staff and volunteer team, for your invaluable support, encouragement, and hard work. It really has been a team effort, and I could never have managed without you.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as the MP for my home, Cynon Valley, elected on the transformative Labour manifesto of 2019. As a proud socialist I have remained committed to that manifesto’s vision for a fairer, more equal, and greener society ‘for the many, not the few’.
“Sadly, the Labour Party no longer represents that socialist vision and I have, therefore, decided today to cease my membership.
‘Authoritarian political agenda’
She added: “Today’s Labour Party is unrecognisable. I cannot in all conscience remain in a political party that is pursuing an authoritarian political agenda whose primary objective is to retain the neoliberal status quo, serve corporate interests and protect the ruling class.
“My criticisms of the Labour Party are well-documented in my parliamentary voting record, speeches, and articles. This Labour government is squandering the opportunity to effect transformative change – it has refused to lift the two-child benefit cap; scrapped universal pensioners’ winter fuel payment; is failing to take the action required to avert climate catastrophe; supports the privatisation of our NHS; thought it acceptable to accept gifts from wealthy donors.
“Last week’s Budget was a missed opportunity, including for Cymru, resulting in continued austerity, inequality, poverty, and hardship for millions of people and leaving our public services at breaking point.
“While the additional funding for Cymru is welcome, it falls far short of what’s needed: no commitment to fair, needs-based funding or to increase Welsh Government borrowing powers; a shortfall of £575m needed to make our coal tips safe; silence on devolving the Crown Estate’s assets; no sign of the £1.1bn owed post-Brexit or the £4bn owed in HS2 consequentials.
“I am sickened by this Labour government’s complicity in Israel’s genocidal onslaught in Gaza and refusal to stop ALL arms sales to Israel. Where is our humanity?
“And the Labour Party’s unprecedented persecution and ruthless treatment of its own socialist members, representatives and voters is disgraceful. In truth, the Labour Party has left me, not me the Labour Party.
“Yet I still have that hope – rwy llawn gobaith. My belief in a fairer society for all where everyone is treated with respect, dignity, and compassion doesn’t start or end with an elected position. Much of the pressure for change comes from outside Westminster and the Senedd – from people campaigning together against austerity and in support of peace and equality.
“There is an urgency for action now. The far right is ascendant, including here in Cymru, peddling their politics of hate and scapegoating migrants and social security recipients for the problems caused by neoliberalism. This should terrify us all and be a wake-up call to take action to create a fairer, more equal, greener society for all.
“It is incumbent on us to ACT NOW to bring about that future. We can start by:
* Getting Involved in our communities. Everyone’s voice counts and has a role in making change happen. We can volunteer in our local community eg local charity, foodbank or youth club; set up or join a local campaign eg home to school transport in Cynon Valley; establish a new project which not only generates wealth but reinvests and retains that wealth within our communities.
* Building alliances and working together. As a socialist, I will continue to work with all parties that share that vision for a fairer, greener, caring, and tolerant society. We must learn to work together, leaving behind narrow sectarian positions, for the benefit of all. No one political party has all the answers, and we should engage with a range of political, civic and progressive organisations to collectively bring about the change needed. We have far more in common than that which divides us. Unity is, after all, strength.
* Speak truth to power at every opportunity. The UK is the sixth richest nation in the world. Nobody should suffer poverty, hardship, or injustice. It requires the REDISTRIBUTION of wealth and power across the regions and nations of the UK. Wealth taxes are essential. Look at the 2017 and 2019 Labour Party manifestos for many of the solutions.
“That is what I will be doing – reaching out to as many people in Cynon Valley, across Cymru and beyond to build a society that is for the many, not the few. For people, peace and planet – not profit. We can save and win that world. Let’s get to it!”
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Still not Indy yet Beth? Surely, you agree that after faithfully voting Labour without pause for 100 yrs , you can see the betrayal? I
You know if we were an independent nation we would not be suffering the right wing vagaries of our cruel, dominant neighbour.
Independent nations can still suffer from the right wing vagaries of cruel, dominant neighbours. Think about the history of Central America, ‘so far from god, so close to the USA’.
Beth Winter is correct, the Labour Party is no longer a welcome place for socialists and traditional Labour voters.
Winter would be a good fit for the Greens, hope those conversations are happening.
She is 100% correct about Labour serving corporate interests. All Senedd parties do. We effectively have a globalist uni-party with different branches.
Remember, whoever dragged you in front of a kangaroo court, it wasn’t Rhun. And for that matter, it wasn’t Adam either—though he lacked the backbone to stand up against it. Like something straight out of the Salem witch trials, Leanne Wood whipped herself into such a frenzy over you that nobody could even be sure what you’d supposedly done—apart from upsetting a certain lobbying company and, of course, being on track to disrupt Labour’s hold in Cardiff!
Wasn’t that enough to get the entire Plaid crew at Y Senedd to wake up and realise they were being played ? Leanne and Bethan were far too keen to “out Labour” Labour, do Deryn’s dirty work,when they could have given them a whipping ? No, a lot of backbones went a.w.o.l around then and the situation remains to be purged from our memory
” a political party that is pursuing an authoritarian political agenda whose primary objective is to retain the neoliberal status quo, serve corporate interests and protect the ruling class.” An accurate summing up of the Labour Party as evidenced by last week’s Budget.
Not wholly a surprise, surely, in light of her recent history with her former party.
Consistent and honest, then. Good qualities. I hope she remains politically active
I agree. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with her on every one of her politicaI positionings, but it does look as if she has authentic personal integrity and that appears to be depressingly rare among professional politicians in recent years.
Plenty of home truths there! Let’s be real: Corbyn probably would’ve won the first time around if Israel hadn’t decided to throw a spanner in the works, with Welsh Labour eager to play along. Now, Plaid Cymru may not be perfect, but she’d be far better off there—and hey, they could probably get her elected through the list system in that area. And as for Owen Smith, he’s got a lot to answer for. I mean, has anyone really explained why he suddenly legged it to Australia? I’m just hoping Al Jazeera spills the beans one day—feels like there’s a… Read more »
Beth is absolutely spot on in highlighting the contempt Cymru faces when it comes to Westminster’s approach toward us. I’m hopeful that she finds a new political home in Plaid Cymru as they share very similar views, particularly with fairness for Cymru. She’s made a brave decision and one I hope many other socialists follow her out of ‘Labour’.
I felt a little hope around the last election. Not much, but some. I thought there were enough other voices in Labour to counter Starmer’s (Mandelson’s) authoritarian march rightwards.TNot so apparently. I applaud Beth’s guts and integrity.
Plaid Cymru…”shares similar views.” Really??? Let’s be blunt. Beth’s views are naive and appropriate only to the nineteenth century. Before inviting her to rush off to Plaid Cymru, at the Carmarthen Yes March she waxed lyrical about Europe, the rise of the right and of course Palestine, never once acknowledging many calls from the crowd to recognise independence or indeed that the event was Welsh at all! She might like to defend former socialist regimes in Europe. In Estonia for example, the language was banned and being caught speaking it ended with prison – or execution. Excellent background for a… Read more »
2016?
Agree with everything except the statement that “the UK is a nation” Our country has been occupied for 741 years.
.We have far greater claim to statehood than Palestine .
Beth is the person to lead us to independence.Wake up Pldid
You have no idea what “occupation” means. What’s happening in Palestine is as brutal as in any country that the Nazis occupied in WW2 if you know about that. You demean yourself and cheapen your argument for independence by saying Wales has more right to Statehood than Palestine. You are fee to make your case,. Palestinians under Israeli occupation are not – and even those who are citizens of Israel are severely restricted in what they can say or post without facing job loss, arrest and interrogation. A Bill before the Knesset right now carries penalties of 20 years’ imprisonment… Read more »
Well said, Paul.
Palestine and Cymru have equal right to be an independent nation as defined by the United Nations.
Beth, don’t waste your experience as a politician, come to the Party of Wales –
Plaid Cymru needs people like you to defeat the enemies of Cymru and democracy and for Cymru Wales to have its respect in the world as a free independent nation.
Pob parch i Beth am ei safiad. Mae angen mwy o wleidyddion ymroddgar ac egwyddorol fel hithau. Does dim dwywaith fod y Blaid Lafur bellach yn gartref i’r rhai hynny sy’ ar y dde’n wleidyddol. Dyw’r Blaid Lafur ddim bellach ynBlaid Sosialaidd. Braf byddai ei gweld yn eistedd yn ein Senedd yma yng Nghymru – efallai gyda Plaid Cymru?
Will the last person with integrity to leave the Labour Party please remember to turn the lights off.
Beth, please don’t waste your experience as a politician. Your country needs you.
Stay active in Cymru Wales to prevent us falling victim to Ukip/Reform UK and the other fascists.
Come to the party of Wales – Plaid Cymru needs you and people like you to defend and expand democracy in Cymru Wales. Great things will follow.
Cymru Wales to have its respect in the world as a free independent nation.
Why has it taken so long for her to come to her senses is the question that should be asked? It’s our very own Beth Winter of discontent. What she says typifies Labour under authoritarian ruler Keir Starmer. Just look at the recent polls putting him at a negative rating of – 38. Incredible to think in literally 5 months UK Labour have alienated the electorate that gave him a thumping majority which has also emboldened the cocky Tories. This is the very reason why Wales will never prosper or progress as a country and why independence is our only… Read more »
I don’t think the electorate gave Starmer’s Labour a majority. Huge numbers stayed at home. Large numbers voted Reform and so cut the Tory vote. Most who did vote Labour held their noses because the tory alternative was worse.
That’s not a true mandate at all and its brittleness is going to be increasingly obvious. Given the Tories are crushed – a so called party with 130,000 members? their corporate backers deserting them, we may well get a coalition next time and it won’t include the Tories.
You are absolutely right Shan Morgan.
In 2019 labour under Jeremy Corbyn achieved the total of 10,269,051 votes across britain and in 2024 with Mr starmer a total of 9,708,716. A loss of 560,335!
We need a form of proportional representation before britain can be considered democratic!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election
Will she be giving up the MP salary 🤔
What an idiotic comment! Try reading the story again and then go back to Wales Online.
She’s not an MP anymore. Do keep up.
All good stuff, bring it on.
Beth always put the interests of her constituents ahead of the party line when she served as MP. I’m quietly hoping she will join Plaid Cymru – if she does, I will!