Labour majority on Caerphilly council, but leader lost seat

There was a tension among Labour at Newbridge Leisure Centre – where the votes were being counted for wards on the east side of Caerphilly – throughout the morning, with whispers that the two seats in Ynysddu – Mrs Marsdens’ ward – were under threat.

And it didn’t take long for those fears to be confirmed, with Ynysddu the fourth ward in the borough to declare its results – despite a turnout (45.78 per cent) well above any other ward being counted at Newbridge.

Mrs Marsden recorded just 7.9 per cent of the vote, while Independents Janine Reed and Jan Jones won 42.5 per cent and 42.9 per cent of the votes respectively.

With Labour’s John Ridgewell not standing for re-election, Phoebe Marsden stood to replace him, but received just 6.7 per cent of the votes.

The new Independent councillors for Ynysddu Janine Reed and Jan Jones.

“We are pleased to have been chosen to represent all the people in the valley and pledge to listen to people and continue to work hard on their behalf,” said Cllrs Reed and Jones. “We are amazed by the turnout.

“It was because people are angry.

“People in the valley felt they were not being listened to. It showed in the turnout and in the vote.”

Mrs Marsden declined to comment when asked by the Local Democracy Service.

Following changes made to the ward boundaries in the Caerphilly council area, the number of councillors has been reduced from 73 to 69.

That means that, in real terms, both Plaid and the Independents have made gains on their pre-election situation, despite having the same number of councillors as before.

Labour has lost four seats, but still maintains a majority of 21.

Among those to hold their seats was deputy leader Jamie Pritchard, of Labour, in the Morgan Jones ward, and the leader of the Plaid Cymru group Colin Mann in Llanbradach.

Labour's Nigel George and Philippa Leonard retained their seats in Risca East.

Nigel George, Philippa Leonard and Arianna Leonard all retained their seats for Labour in Risca East.

"I'm absolutely delighted," said Philippa Leonard. "We've got so much in the pipeline and I'm thrilled to be able to continue that for our community."

Both Cllr Leonard and Cllr George thanked the people of Risca East for their support, and on behalf of Arianna Leonard, who couldn't make it to the count.

Kevin Etheridge, Independent, held his seat in Blackwood, alongside fellow Independents Nigel Dix and Andrew Farina-Childs.

Independents Andrew Farina-Childs, Nigel Dix and Kevin Etheridge retained their seats in Blackwood.

“What we do is engage, contact and consult,” he said. “We ran a positive election going door-to-door. We knocked over 3,000 doors in Blackwood. It pays to see people face-to-face.

“To achieve 1,800 votes and get three Independents in in Blackwood, and to win the Ynysddu ward, is a major success.”