Plaid will target Labour ‘strongholds’ after losing by-election by single vote

Nicholas Thomas Local Democracy Reporter

Plaid Cymru is confident it can go on to win Labour “strongholds” after falling agonisingly short of a recent by-election victory.

The leader of the Plaid group in the Caerphilly County Borough Council’s chamber believes the result is a positive sign his party can challenge across the borough at the 2027 local government elections.

A single vote separated Labour winner Christine Bissex-Foster and Plaid candidate Joshua McCarthy in the race to become the new county councillor for the Aberbargoed and Bargoed ward on August 15.

Mark Thomas, the candidate for the Green Party, finished third in the by-election.

Optimism

After losing by the narrowest of margins, there is optimism within Plaid that the party can pose a serious threat to Labour at the next council elections, in three years’ time.

Cllr Lindsay Whittle, who leads the Plaid group in the council chamber, welcomed the recent result as his party’s best in the area in 25 years, and praised his candidate’s efforts.

“Despite the disappointment of losing by a single vote, this was a brilliant campaign by Joshua in his first election at the age of just 23,” said Cllr Whittle. “His performance really rocked Labour.”

“Labour will clearly be very worried that Plaid Cymru ran them so close in a seat where they have a stranglehold since winning all three seats in Bargoed back in 2004,” he added. “This was one of Labour’s rock-solid seats but it isn’t anymore.”

Perhaps with an eye on 2027, too, a senior Labour councillor has said his party will focus on engaging with voters on their doorsteps and solving their local issues.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who serves as the deputy leader of the local authority, heralded Labour’s recent by-election success and said Cllr Bissex-Foster will “work hard for the residents of Aberbargoed and Bargoed”.

With just 774 votes cast in the by-election, the turnout was “very low” and Labour couldn’t “shy away from” the fact many people hadn’t engaged in the electoral process, Cllr Pritchard conceded.

Any current political apathy is a problem all parties must contend with, he added.

“There is a general anti-politics vibe across the country, which all candidates will have had thrown at them,” said Cllr Pritchard. “Going forward, It is our job to regularly be out on the doorstep to have those challenging conversations with residents and deal with people’s issues the best we can.”

Full result for Aberbargoed and Bargoed by-election

Christine Bissex-Foster (Welsh Labour): 354 votes

Joshua Declan McCarthy (Plaid Cymru): 353 votes

Mark Thomas (The Green Party): 59 votes

There were also eight rejected ballot papers.