‘Welsh Labour’s new generation of candidates and politicians must embody real change – or risk repeat of Caerphilly’

Caerphilly was a signal that Welsh Labour needs energy, purpose, and generational renewal if it’s to earn Wales’ trust again.

When I last wrote for LabourList, I asked whether the next generation of Welsh Labour candidates would embrace the status quo or drive real change. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of becoming the prospective Labour candidate for my home seat of Casnewydd Islwyn (Newport & Islwyn).

That experience of standing again on the same streets where I grew up, speaking with old school friends and neighbours, who are surprising members of the party faithful, has been a personal reminder of what politics is supposed to feel like. People here in Wales still want Labour to succeed. But what they tell me, quietly and often, is that they want us to sound new again: more confident, more practical, more focused on delivery and pride.

A moment of reckoning

The Caerphilly by-election, just up the road from my constituency, brought those conversations into sharp focus. It was a painful night for Welsh Labour in a constituency that had been safely red for generations.

It’s tempting to reach for local explanations or blame individual missteps. But the truth is broader and more important: Caerphilly revealed fatigue in our governing party.

After twenty-six years in government, Welsh Labour carries the weight of incumbency. Policies that drove reform, devolution and fairness now risk being perceived as distance or distraction when public services feel under strain. On the doorstep, voters don’t want lectures about voting systems, they want shorter waiting times, better schools, and obvious, visible progress.

The Plaid Cymru challenge

One of the most striking outcomes of the by-election was the performance of Plaid Cymru, who are increasingly magnetic to younger, idealistic voters who once would have voted or even joined Labour without hesitation.

Plaid’s message, and its hyper-local candidate, Lindsay Whittle, projected confidence for those wanting something more ambitious than managerial politics. The irony, of course, is that many of Plaid’s most expensive promises depend on the very fiscal framework they claim to reject. That being Wales’ ongoing participation in the United Kingdom. But the details matter less than the energy and that’s what Labour must learn from.

Complacency is dangerous. Some in government may even still believe Plaid can simply be managed through cooperation. That is naïve. Plaid aren’t our partners in waiting; they are now more overtly than ever competitors for the moral and generational leadership of the Welsh left and left-minded voters.

They are “out-Labouring” Labour in tone and imagination, and unless we answer that challenge head-on, they will continue to grow in the very communities that are foundational to our movement.

READ MORE: Wayne David: ‘What really happened in Caerphilly by-election’

New generation, new instincts

That’s where the next generation of Welsh Labour candidates comes in. The new intake standing across Wales in 2026 has a choice to make: we can hope to inherit power, and some sort of bestowed comfort, or we can re-earn the right to wield it for our communities.

To do that, we must refocus our politics around delivery, dignity and direction. The question people now ask is “who is to blame?” and they evidently consider the incumbent heavily when forming their answer.

For us, that means talking less about constitutional architecture and more about jobs, clean energy, apprenticeships, transport, digital infrastructure, and pride in public services. It means being as comfortable talking about technology and global trade as about cost-of-living and community.

The voters we lost in Caerphilly didn’t turn away out of ideology either, they drifted because they stopped feeling heard. Re-engaging them requires radical honesty with ourselves and them: acknowledging where government has fallen short, listening without defensiveness, and matching moral conviction with managerial competence and vision for the future.

Renewal is loyalty

The party that delivered the NHS, the minimum wage and devolution did so because previous generations were brave enough to modernise, and demand more, when the moment demanded it.

In the wake of Caerphilly, that moment has come again. The new generation of Welsh Labour must lead a programme of radical generational change in policies and methods. We need to make Wales the small-nation success story of the 21st century: powered by clean energy, exporting advanced manufacturing products, and using technology and investment in it to strengthen communities that feel hollowed-out by the post-crash world.

That requires clarity of mission from Cardiff Bay and courage from candidates across Wales. It means being willing to challenge orthodoxy inside our own movement and to speak with the language of hope, not habit.

Subscribe here to our daily newsletter roundup of Labour news, analysis and comment– and follow us on Bluesky, WhatsApp, X and Facebook.

Learning from Caerphilly

Caerphilly’s result should be understood not as a collapse but as a correction. It stripped away the comfort of assumed loyalty and reminded us that affection for Labour is now conditional. That condition can be met but only through delivery, competence and authenticity.

The new generation must show that we understand the scale of the task. We must be the ones who turn frustration into progress, who prove that government can work for ordinary people again, and who make Welsh Labour the natural home for ambition and compassion.

If we can do that, Caerphilly will be remembered not as the beginning of decline but as the moment Welsh Labour found its purpose again: younger, hungrier, and ready to deliver.

Share your thoughts. Contribute on this story or tell your own by writing to our Editor. The best letters every week will be published on the site. Find out how to get your letter published.

• • SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour– contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected].
  • SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning.
  • DONATE: If you value our work, please chip in a few pounds a week and become one of our supporters, helping sustain and expand our coverage.
  • PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or projects, email [email protected].
  • ADVERTISE: If your organisation would like to advertise or run sponsored pieces on LabourList‘s daily newsletter or website, contact our exclusive ad partners Total Politics at [email protected].