Mon, 17th August Cardiff 22°
Nation.Cymru wordmark
Advertisement

News

Reform wins council by-election in Llanelli

By Mark Mansfield
County Hall, Carmarthen. Photo Richard Youle

Martin Shipton

Reform UK has won its first seat on Carmarthenshire County Council, comfortably gaining Llanelli’s Lliedi ward from Labour.

The new councillor, Michelle Beer, is the wife of Gareth Beer, who came within 1,505 votes of unseating the sitting Labour MP for Llanelli, Dame Nia Griffith, at last year’s general election.

The couple live in Kidwelly, around eight miles from the ward she now represents.

Mrs Beer got 568 votes, followed by Labour’s Andrew Bargoli on 312, Independent Sharon Burdess on 116, Plaid Cymru’s Taylor Reynolds on 107, Conservative Richard Williams on 93, Independent Alison Leyshon on 86, Liberal Democrat Jonathan Burree on 41 and Gwlad’s Wayne Erasmus on 9.

[mid-content-banner]

Opinion polls

Reform’s victory is in line with recent opinion polls, which would see the right-wing party defeating Labour in many predominantly working class seats in Wales and England.

In February Stuart Keyte became Reform’s first elected councillor in Wales when he won a by-election in the Trevethin and Penygarn seat on Labour-dominated Torfaen council. He went on to claim that his victory means no Labour seat in the country is safe.

Mrs Beer, Reform’s second elected councillor in Wales, is a practising Christian, having received Ministry training at the Bible College of Wales in Swansea, which is owned by a Singapore-based Pentecostal church. Previously she ran a short-lived PR company called Ferry Cake Consultancy, which closed down in 2020 after becoming loss-making.

[lower-mid-content-banner]

'Awful result'

A Welsh Labour source said: “This is an awful result for us. We have campaigned solidly on local issues like the threat to Ysgol Heol Goffa, the local school for children with additional learning needs. Reform has been nowhere.

“There has been a lot of misinformation about the Stradey Park Hotel [which was originally intended to house asylum seekers] and also concern over the planned benefit cuts by the UK Government.”

The by-election was caused by the death of previous councillor Anthony Leyshon, who was elected as a Labour candidate in 2022 but left the party in September 2024 with his ward colleague Rob James to become an unaffiliated Independent. Cllr James was formerly the leader of the opposition Labour group on Carmarthenshire County Council.

For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News

101 comments

Fanny Hill

God help us!

Reply
Stephen Thomas

Good luck to the electors who voted reform and i hope they wont come.to regret it-but i know they will. Voting for an English fascist party who want to see Cymru cease to exist is a massive act of self-harm and they will not work for the benefit of ordinary people only the wealthy

Reply
Adrian

I know I'm probably talking to the wall here, but you're never going to understand what's going on for as long as you keep deluding yourself that Reform is a 'fascist' party. The reason Farage appeals to people is because he's talking about the issues that people are most concerned about: issues that the other muppets are trying to pretend don't matter.

Reply
Steve D.

Every party talks about the issues, no difference there. However, people are not voting for these reasons - they are voting because they are fed up with the traditional parties. I understand that but to just blindly believe in Farage (hardly a commoner being a former commodity broker) isn't wise. It happened regarding Brexit and look at the mess that created. Yes, people should protest but learn from the past and protest wisely.

Reply
Peidiwch bradychu'ch gwlad

You've fallen in his trap. That millionaire doesn't care, he just says what people want to hear. He's a fanaticist like that man from Austria.

Reply

In reply to Peidiwch bradychu'ch gwlad

Adrian

Why is it relevant that he's a millionaire? So is Starmer, Johnson and Corbyn - are you as outraged about that?

Reply

In reply to Adrian

Bilbo

You're not seriously using the establishment to justify the supposedly anti-establishment?

Reply

In reply to Adrian

Matthew

He's made most of his money actively working against working people, either by working in the City of London to make himself and people like himself very wealthy, or by standing aside when decisions are made that affect them whilst still earning a salary from being there. See the EU fisheries committee as an example.

Reply
Llyn

You are correct Reform UK are not a Fascist party. They demonstrably are a far-right English nationalist party.

Reply

In reply to Llyn

Eric Blair

Carmarthenshire voting for English Nationalists?

Reply

In reply to Eric Blair

Llyn

Hi Eric, I say this as I see nothing about the party that indicates any Welshness. What policies (beyond scrapping the million Welsh speakers by 2050) would you say was brought to the table by the Welsh Party? How would Reform UK be different if Wales did not exist and the party in Wales is run from England and their campaign and policies for 2026 will be made in England.

Reply
Paul

I see your point and I also note that if anyone says anything slightly in favour of Reform they receive a negative response but perhaps if Reform gain a voice in the Wales election as a result of a protest vote against what appears to be a lacklustre choice it might show everyone what they’re really like. (After all they are yet to be tested) Surely it’s better than using Westminster as a test bed.

Reply

In reply to Paul

Fanny Hill

So it’s ok for Reform to ruin Wales with their Far Right agenda?

Reply

In reply to Fanny Hill

Paul

If there is going to be a protest vote for Reform do you really think that it would be better the other way around?

Reply
Stephen Thomas

Hes promised the world to all and will only give to his rich friends. You dont have anything in common with a privately educated commodities broker from London He took our European rights from us but kept them for himself an other reformers. His policy is to have a british team in every sport and to stop the teaching of Welsh in our schools. Check the smug bastard’s speeches

Reply
Annibendod

Adrian, do you really think that the populist stance Farage takes and his personal agenda are one and the same?

Reply
Fanny Hill

Actions speak louder than words.

Reply
Bilbo

Would "protofascist" be a better label?

Reply
Matthew

As much as I can't stand Farage or Reform you are partially correct. Reform in my opinion are populists. It's worth noting however that fascists usually use populism early on to gain popularity among voters, but by the time you can tell that they are fascist it's too late to do anything about it, so the concern that people have about Reform being fascist is not based on nothing. The way they conduct themselves is an early warning sign of dark days to come.

Reply
Don Western

And Labour allowed Port Talbot steel works to close. They really do care about Welsh workers! Don’t think so!

Reply
Geraint

It hasn't closed. Port Talbot has only paused its operations following the UK government's deal with TATA to invest in an electric arc furnace. Once built, this will use UK scrap steel (the vast majority of which is currently exported to overseas EAFs) to continue steel-making in Wales. EAFs are perfectly capable of supplying all steel grades far quicker and more cost-effectively than blast furnaces.

Reply

In reply to Geraint

Thomas

Are you really gullible enough to believe those electric arc furnaces will ever be built?

Reply

In reply to Thomas

Geraint

Skanska Technology has already been working on the project since the autumn of 2024 and now with planning consent given, Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed as the main works contractor. I can only judge the situation from what I've been reading in the press and I haven't seen anything to suggest that TATA plans to renege on the agreement. What evidence do you have that supports your cynicism?

Reply

In reply to Geraint

Thomas

I don't doubt a large amount of taxpayers' money will be spent on consultants and contractors, and I don't doubt that Tata will go along with it and invest some of their own money for long enough to allow the noise about the redundancies to die down. But will Tata or the government stay committed to the project when it reaches Final Investment Decision and they are on the line for more than a billion pounds? I suspect the government will decide it has other priorities and Tata will decide they can make steel cheaper in India. The evidence that supports my cynicism is my experience. In my experience, governments throw hundreds of millions at consultants and contractors for all sorts of projects, but invest in the construction much more rarely (M4 relief road, Swansea tidal lagoon, Severn barrage, Heathrow expansion, Wylfa, north/south Wales transport links...) and foreign investors in major projects are only interested for as long as there is either a solid government backing or a genuine economic incentive (which there isn't here because cost of production in India is so much lower). Maybe your experience is different, so perhaps you give me the evidence that supports your trust in Labour and an Indian conglomerate?

Reply

In reply to Thomas

Geraint

There are many instances where government money has been used to successfully support private enterprise in Wales. Ford made some 22 million engines in Bridgend providing highly paid jobs for four decades. Similarly, Rockwool in Pencoed, still going after 46 years, and Airbus in Broughton have both benefitted from government subsidies. Unless you've heard something specifically to cast doubt over this project, we should stay positive for the future prosperity of Port Talbot and that of wider Wales.

Reply

In reply to Geraint

Marc

That is nonsense using scrap steel affects the quality of the steel produced tremendously.

Reply

In reply to Marc

Geraint

Yes, the quality of the scrap steel is vital in determining the properties of the finished steel, but the technology has advanced tremendously since 1907, and EAFs are now able to produce a wide range of steel grades, even those products previously only achievable using the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method.

Reply
Eric Blair

Plaid would have let Port Talbot close as well, just like Labour they don't want a thriving vibrant free market economy with money in peoples pockets, they want people dependent on handouts to keep their vote.

Reply

In reply to Eric Blair

Annibendod

Er no, they were calling for it to be nationalised.

Reply

In reply to Eric Blair

Geraint

Sorry, Eric, but that myth is somewhat tired and is simply right-wing populist propaganda. It doesn't reflect reality one bit. Centre-left parties such as Plaid Cymru, Labour and (to some extent) the Liberal Democrats know only too well that a vibrant and growing economy is essential for the delivery of good social policies. You may question their priorities and the effectiveness of economic policy, but it doesn't help anyone to have a depressed economy in Wales.

Reply

In reply to Eric Blair

Fanny Hill

Are you suggesting Labour and Plaid are buying people’s votes? Thought that was more up Farage’s mates Trump and Musk’s street.

Reply
Matthew

Farage certainly doesn't care, didn't he say that voting Leave would save the UK steel industry? How did that turn out?

Reply
Micky Williams

The old chestnut of calling people you don't agree with "Fascist" does not work any more. Are you calling the majority of people who voted, "Fascist"?

Reply
Jeff

One of the polls has an interesting background. Like to see the association with a reform registered address and the pollsters connection to it.

Reply
Rhufawn Jones

Mae Sir Gâr wedi hen fynd rhwng y cŵn a'r brain. Bûm yno yn ddiweddar. Llawn gwladychwyr a Chymry taeog. Gormod o foch yn y winllan.

Reply
Mab Meirion

Brexit and Reform geographical overlay of same areas?

Reply
Mab Meirion

I guess the train that is bound for glory doesn't run on TfW lines...

Reply
Gwyn Hopkins

With Lliedi ward so gullible as to vote for a sordid, extreme right-wing English Nationalist party, Llanelli was clearly not rock-solid Labour after all. The sanity of a party whose leader is a bosom pal of imbecile Donald Trump, who recommended disinfectant injections as a remedy for Covid-19, is highly questionable. Reform UK Leader, Nigel Farage, formed UKIP in 1993, abandoned it to form the Brexit Party in 2018 and then formed Reform UK in 2021. What political party will he next form, I wonder? The emergence of Reform is certainly extremely bad news for Carmarthenshire – and Wales.  

Reply
John Ellis

My sense - I've actually heard it voiced sometimes on vox pops - is that quite a bit of the current surge of support for Reform is driven by a sense that in the current climate of chronically crumbling public services and apparently endless austerity, voters are taking the view that the traditional political parties have failed to deliver and so they're inclined to 'give this new lot a try'. And that this inclination is showing itself most obviously in economically depressed area.

Reply
Fanny Hill

And the result of that will be even worse. Remember Brexit and all those mugs who voted Leave just to send the government a message? Remember all the breast beating and cries of remorse? Thats where sending a message got us.

Reply

In reply to Fanny Hill

Fanny Hill

Not to mention the damage to our economy.

Reply

In reply to Fanny Hill

Paul

I think it’s more likely to happen in next years election than the next Westminster one because a lot of people don’t think that the Welsh Government does much and so it won’t affect them if Reform do well but it will send a strong message to the Prime Minister who doesn’t take any notice of Wales

Reply

In reply to Fanny Hill

John Ellis

I'm just offering a possible - and, indeed I suspect, quite a likely - explanation. Not remotely an endorsement, because I think that you're right!

Reply
Fanny Hill

I know the figures still wouldn’t add up but Plaid didn’t help putting up a no hoper. Are they going to run him again in Llangennech?

Reply
Steve D.

Once Labour could select a donkey to run and still win, now it seems that donkey could well be a Reform donkey in the future instead. No matter how bad Reform's image, policies or candidates they might put forward (I'm not saying Reform's Llanelli candidate is bad in any way, that would be unfair, but the party's vetting system is extremely poor) it does look like many people are going to vote for them regardless. Guess they'll just have to learn the hard way.

Reply
Jeff

A few English council reform lot have refused to do any training to do with diversity or climate . That opens the council up to legal challenges, they think they are in the US but laws apply here that are different and those laws are not made by the council. Lincolnshire got rid of the flood teams. They get lots of floods. All reform do is wreck. This will be in real time very fast.

Reply
John Ellis

I read that at least some of the newly elected Reform councillors in eastern England have already opted to resign. My impression - though that's all it is - is that they decided to stand as candidates on a wave of enthusiasm and zeal, but not believing that they had all that much chance of being elected. But quite a few of them actually were, and now that reality's hit home they feel daunted!

Reply

In reply to John Ellis

Peter J

I think the same could be said for some tory MPs in 2019, and labour ones in 2024.They didn't expect to be elected, and are not suited to the role or lifestyle whatsoever. The difference is that the Westminster gig comes with a 95k salary, plus expenses, which makes it harder for many of them to resign!

Reply

In reply to Peter J

John Ellis

You're probably right. Certainly I recall, during the time when I was back living in the north-west of England and was for 25 years involved in local politics, the odd candidate in council elections who agreed to be nominated as a 'paper candidate' without any expectation of being elected. And who then, by some unanticipated quirk, found themselves the winner, and immediately stood down in sheer terror!

Reply

In reply to John Ellis

Jeff

There are lots of issues, the costs so far for people to stump up for re elections for one councillor can be £20k+. That is out of your council taxes (should you live there). Many critical services are now under threat. One council have a 19 and 20 year old handed a serious care brief and their past is worrying people needing that care. reform are just a bunch of cosplay wannabe's. No wonder at the far right religious money getting to nige and what his views are one women's rights (don't forget reform is not a political party as such, its Nige's grift so orders to be followed)..

Reply

In reply to Jeff

John Ellis

'One council has a 19 and 20 year old handed a serious care brief ...' Is that the one with the 19-year-old newly elected youngster who now finds himself with the responsibility for social care for young people who cheerfully commented that he would surely be on top of that portfolio because it was only a year and a half since he was, legally speaking, a 'child' himself?!

Reply
Adrian

They're sensible enough not to waste money on quasi-religious nonsense. Watch those councils - and now Llanelli - go from strength to strength.

Reply

In reply to Adrian

Jeff

Does she think the grand canyon was created by a biblical flood? Seen this? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnv1evn2p2vo

Reply

In reply to Jeff

Annibendod

Some arguments you can never win Jeff. He has a binary good/bad world view and has swallowed the right-wing culture war propaganda handbook whole. You can't win them all.

Reply

In reply to Annibendod

Fanny Hill

I agree but it’s quite good fun winding him up! Does he walk around with a big key in his back?

Reply

In reply to Adrian

Fanny Hill

What quasi religious nonsense would that be? Lliedi just elected a Reform councillor who claimed the Holy One told her to stand there. Which bit of Christ’s teaching fits in with Reform’s vilification of asylum seekers and refugees?

Reply
Thomas

Jeff, Can you explain under what law you believe a legal challenge could be brought for dropping diversity or climate training? And do you really think the Lincolnshire County Council flood team had Canute-like powers to hold the waters back? Was it the lack of a flood team that caused the floods, or the fact that it is a low-lying county that has always flooded?

Reply

In reply to Thomas

Jeff

I didn't say not doing the training. The training sets you up to know what you can and cannot do. That fails because basically they swallowed a massive dollop of nige hubris and think they are being clever, it is a minefield in decisions they could take. Then it comes back to bite. Done similar training myself to make sure company is not open to doing the wrong thing and we understand that sex, ability, ethnicity etc are not going to be an issue which any decent human would do. It is easy to understand. Apart from reformers it seems.

Reply

In reply to Thomas

Fanny Hill

Can’t wait for the rainy season.

Reply

In reply to Thomas

John Ellis

Ironic that parts of the south of Lincolnshire were for centuries very considerably fenlands under water most of the time. Rising sea levels are likely to repeat that history.

Reply
Steve D.

Straight into the arms of an English based party not concerned about the issues facing Cymru - well done!

Reply
Peidiwch bradychu'ch gwlad

Please stop using the internet

Reply
Jeff

Paranoid, huh. There is a poll that has nige as the worst pm ever. He also has a lot of interesting mates, like the Tates. Now she has to deliver. Guess how it will go. First up is finding there are laws and rules to follow, declarations to make. Also nige is going to take crypto donations. That means untraceable.

Reply
Adrian

I think you'll find that Captain Wet Wipe is currently the most unpopular PM ever.

Reply
Jeff

How many riots has he stoked?

Reply
Eric Blair

"There is a poll that has nige as the worst pm ever." Can you not see the inherent stupidity of that comment?

Reply
Annibendod

A disappointing outcome. Very proud of the young Plaid candidate who worked very hard. A bright future in front of him I'm sure. The results confirm an insurgent Reform party. This is the first result in the county to demonstrate a clear swing from Labour to Reform. At the GE, one swing had been Conservative to Reform and another had been the splintering of the Labour vote to Plaid, Libs and Greens. Lliedi demographics reveal a ward with particular challenges with regards to deprivation. A much higher than average percentage of retirees and lower than average highest qualification achieved. All of these have proven to be signifiers elsewhere of support for Reform. I'm not sure that insulting Reform's electorate is helpful. A deep dive needed now and informed political strategy.

Reply
Eric Blair

"A much higher than average percentage of retirees and lower than average highest qualification achieved. All of these have proven to be signifiers elsewhere of support for Reform. " You're right, people said the same about Vote leave voters as well, if I recall correctly the majority of voters who voted in the EU referendum in Wales voted leave, doesn't bode well for those in Wales who like to think of themselves as better than the rest of us.

Reply
Annibendod

"doesn’t bode well for those in Wales who like to think of themselves as better than the rest of us." Bit of a take/stereotype that isn't it? Works both ways.

Reply
Fanny Hill

Plaid stuck a spoiler in with a candidate who has another year to go before finishing his degree at KCL. How could he do justice to the people of Lliedi from London. Of course if he’s that good he’ll be Plaid’s choice for Llangennech. I told you to vote tactically!

Reply
Annibendod

Are you putting yourself forward? I would urge you to get involved. The young man did himself some credit. We will see more from him. Many folk are very ready to criticise but when it is time to knock the doors I don't see them around. Don't get me wrong, the party often gets things wrong but I have more time for constructive criticism coming from those who are on the ground so to speak. I would welcome your involvement if you felt you had something to offer.

Reply

In reply to Annibendod

Fanny Hill

Annibendod, I’m flattered by your invitation but my days of walking the streets, so to speak, are well and truly over.

Reply
R W

The people of Llanelli seem to have completely lost the plot since the Stradey Park Hote business. Let's hope they come to their senses sooner rather than later!

Reply
Fanny Hill

Pity they didn’t do that yesterday.

Reply
Bilbo

Isn't this one of the old Flemish colonies?

Reply
Chris

The Reform victory in Trevethin in Pontypool is the first result in any election in my entire life which made me fall out of the same chair I've sat in for over 50years.

Reply
Karl

And under England's control. You keep not believing in Cymru and promoting hate parties who offer nothing for normal people. In fact want our rights and public services gone. Shameful cruelty.

Reply
Annibendod

Well, you've all talked the talk. Let's see what you actually DO when you get elected. We are watching.

Reply
Welshman28

Yet again Labour comes out with excuses blaming Reform for all their woes. When will Labour WAKE UP and admit that after 25 years of NOTHING in Wales they cannot blame REFORM OR PLAID OR CONSERVATIVES. They must look and importantly accept their failures not blame others people. When Labour won the election FM said a new dawn has began working with central government in London, why do we see already they are splitting . Residents will give people chances but they have run out for Welsh Labour

Reply
Fanny Hill

If the performance of the Reform councillors recently elected in England is anything to go by, you're probably right. Having a councillor who was unable to run a marketing and pr consultancy at a profit, something which is usually a veritable money making machine, doesn't instil much confidence. Let's also not delude ourselves as to her role as councillor.She is there to represent all people in the ward regardless of their race, creed or colour, not just Reform voters. Now the Stradey Park debacle, the jewel in the crown of the Reform campaign is long gone, I look forward to actually seeing what Mrs Beer's going to tackle next. Not expecting much.

Reply
Undecided

This result is hardly a surprise (to me at least). What puzzles me is that Plaid did well in the most recent national poll; but are performing badly in actual Council elections in areas where they must win to be the largest party next year. Perhaps neither are reliable indicators?

Reply
Annibendod

Actually won the previous two by-elections in the town. Two very good results in fact.

Reply
Undecided

Really? Lost to an independent in Elli ward last year (Plaid fourth). Lost to the Lib Dem’s in Neath, lost to Reform in Bridgend and couldn’t even find a candidate in Torfaen. I admire your optimism; but the numbers are telling a different story.

Reply

In reply to Undecided

Annibendod

Won Hengoed and Dafen. Elli has long voted for right wing candidates - Robert Buckland being just one. Do you know the ward?

Reply

In reply to Annibendod

Undecided

Fair enough; but my original point stands I believe. For Plaid to be the largest party, it has to win in the South Wales towns, cities and Valleys. There is no getting away from it and the evidence so far is at best equivocal. If Reform consolidates in Llanelli, I wouldn’t put decent money on Adam Price being elected. Plaid will get 2 seats; but not 4.

Reply
Tony T

That doesn’t mean that we aren’t allowed to moan about the result.

Reply
Fi yn unig

The disease is taking hold here now. There must always be hope that the latest wake up call for Welsh people will be heeded and this one says INDEPENDENCE or ERADICATION. It is a binary choice. Choose life Cymru.

Reply
Thomas

The only party that really believes in Independence is Gwlad, and they secured 9 votes - presumably the candidate and his family. Plaid seem to believe in it, but only as an abstract concept rather than an actual policy, and they secured a massive 8% of the vote. Llanelli might not be Gwynedd, but clearly the independence campaign has a very long way to go.

Reply
Undecided

Agreed. That figure takes some doing as I think you have to get 10 electors to nominate you to stand!

Reply

In reply to Undecided

Fanny Hill

Trussonomics?

Reply

In reply to Fanny Hill

Undecided

Actually I have since discovered that Gwlad managed to get only 2 votes in another Llanelli by election this year or last. Their entire support must be commenting on here.

Reply
Gerallt Llewelyn Rhys.

Agree and that's why they are flying high.

Reply
Fanny Hill

Did you say that when Labour won the last GE? I think not.

Reply
Annibendod

https://golwg.360.cymru/newyddion/2176426-rhun-iorwerth-rhwng-plaid-cymru-reform-fydd

Reply
Boni

Well done Reform. Next year the Senedd.

Reply
Garycymru

Fascism or its supporters have no place in Wales. They're on the same level of threat as child abusers.

Reply
Daniel Pitt

Never thought I'd see working class people endorse a party that regards prolific sexual predator Jimmy Savile as a "working class hero." How far we have fallen.

Reply
Brychan

Michelle Beer lives with her husband Gareth in New St, Kidwelly, some eight miles west of Llanelli itself. Have to question how she is able to support the residents of Lleidi. This result clearly shows the dissatisfaction with Labour but also the self inflicted hollowing out of Plaid Cymru in Llanelli.

Reply
hdavies15

Blaming others for their own evident limitations has become Plaid's default stance for some time. Lots of vision and ideals but sadly lacking in really getting much done.

Reply
Garycymru

I really wouldn't feel safe having reform voters around my children. I do hope the remaining decent people in Llanelli make sure those types know they're not welcome in the community.

Reply

Leave a reply

Replying to Stephen Thomas Cancel

Hes promised the world to all and will only give to his rich friends. You dont have anything in common with a privately educated commodities broker from London He took our European rights from us but kept them for himself an other reforme...

Comments are reviewed before they appear.