News

Conservatives welcome Starmer’s U-turn on grooming gang inquiry

Published

11 months ago

June 18, 2025

Welsh survivor at heart of call for transparency and justice

TWO prominent Welsh Conservatives have welcomed the announcement of a long-awaited UK-wide public inquiry into the handling of grooming gangs — and are calling on the Welsh Government to cooperate fully and transparently.

Both Samuel Kurtz MS, who represents Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, and Paul Davies MS, who represents Preseli Pembrokeshire, have issued strong statements in support of the inquiry and urged Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay to meet with a Welsh survivor of grooming and abuse who has become a key voice in the campaign for justice.

The developments follow pressure in the Senedd from Welsh Conservative Leader Darren Millar MS, who earlier this week challenged First Minister Vaughan Gething over his government’s refusal to back a Wales-specific inquiry earlier this year.

Mr Millar has led calls for a comprehensive investigation into how devolved public bodies — including local councils, social services, the NHS, and the Children’s Commissioner — responded to organised sexual exploitation across Wales. He also urged the First Minister to release all relevant correspondence and documentation, and to meet with “Emily,” a Welsh woman who was groomed as a child, trafficked across the UK, and raped more than a thousand times by gangs of men.

Emily’s story, which has already been raised in both the Senedd and Westminster, has prompted renewed scrutiny of safeguarding failures within devolved Welsh services, and calls from survivors and campaigners for a dedicated inquiry focusing on Wales.

Welcoming the UK-wide inquiry, Paul Davies MS said: “Now that an inquiry into grooming gangs has been confirmed, the Welsh Government must cooperate fully by ensuring that all relevant correspondence with police, councils, and social services is published.
Brave victims and survivors like Emily must be heard, and I hope that the First Minister will at least meet with her to listen to her experience.
We must now make sure this inquiry delivers justice for every survivor. There is no room for delay.”

Samuel Kurtz MS added: “This inquiry is long overdue. It should have commenced six months ago, and it is deeply disappointing that the Welsh Government voted against establishing a Welsh inquiry at the time.
Equally concerning was the decision by Pembrokeshire’s Labour MP to oppose a national inquiry during a vote in Westminster.
With a UK-wide inquiry now confirmed, the Welsh Government must demonstrate transparency by publishing all relevant correspondence with the police, local authorities, and social services.
Most importantly, the First Minister should meet with Emily — a courageous Welsh survivor who has spent years campaigning to protect other children. Listening to her story is the very least she deserves.”

The Welsh Government has not yet confirmed whether it will publish the relevant documents or agree to a meeting with Emily. However, support for her campaign is growing across party lines, with several Members of the Senedd now backing a motion calling for full transparency and a direct meeting with survivors.

Earlier this year, Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay were criticised for voting down a motion to hold a Wales-specific inquiry into the handling of grooming and child sexual exploitation cases, despite mounting evidence that the issue is not confined to English towns and cities.

Campaigners argue that many of the same institutional failings identified in previous high-profile English cases — such as Rotherham, Rochdale, and Telford — may also be present in Wales, but have been overlooked or under-reported.

The UK-wide inquiry, announced after months of pressure and a high-profile campaign, marks a significant U-turn by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, whose party previously voted against a similar proposal in the House of Commons. The new inquiry is expected to examine patterns of grooming, failures in police and council responses, and the extent to which public bodies were aware of the abuse but failed to act.

News

Parties make final push as Wales prepares to vote in historic Senedd election

Published

11 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Campaign leaders criss-cross country in last-minute battle for crucial votes

WALES heads to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, May 7) after a frenetic final day of campaigning that saw party leaders, candidates and activists make one last push to win over undecided voters in what is being described as the most unpredictable Senedd election in modern Welsh history.

With polling stations due to open at 7:00am, parties spent Wednesday targeting key battleground constituencies across the country, including the new Ceredigion Penfro seat, amid growing expectations of a fragmented Senedd and a dramatic shake-up in Welsh politics.

The election is the first to be held under Wales’ new expanded Senedd system, with 96 Members of the Senedd being elected across 16 large constituencies using a proportional closed-list voting system.

Reform UK appeared to finish the campaign with significant momentum following a major rally on Tuesday attended by party leader Nigel Farage. The event drew large crowds and considerable online attention as Reform attempted to convert strong polling figures into seats in Cardiff Bay for the first time.

Farage used the rally to attack both Labour and Plaid Cymru, while positioning Reform as the party of “change” for disillusioned voters. Reform campaigners have focused heavily on immigration, cost of living pressures and opposition to what they describe as “wasteful government spending.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth spent the final day presenting his party as the main alternative to both Labour and Reform UK, insisting Plaid could “build a fairer Wales” while warning against what he described as “divisive politics.”

Labour figures, including First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader Huw Irranca-Davies, urged voters not to “take risks” with public services, arguing only Welsh Labour could protect the NHS and local councils during a period of economic uncertainty.

Labour activists were heavily focused on turnout operations in traditional strongholds, amid polling suggesting the party could lose ground after decades as the dominant force in Welsh politics.

The Conservatives attempted to rally core voters with warnings about both Labour and Reform, while also focusing on farming, the rural economy and healthcare waiting lists.

In west Wales, Conservative candidates Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz spent the day meeting voters and carrying out final campaign visits across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, arguing their experience and local knowledge would be important under the new electoral system.

The Liberal Democrats and Green Party also maintained visible campaigns in several areas, hoping tactical voting and the proportional voting system could help them secure representation.

Across Wales, campaign teams handed out leaflets outside transport hubs, supermarkets and town centres, while social media campaigning intensified throughout the day.

Political analysts believe turnout could prove decisive, particularly because the new voting system means relatively small shifts in support could determine the allocation of the fifth and sixth seats in many constituencies.

The campaign has been dominated by debates over the NHS, farming, the economy, transport, tourism and the rising cost of living, alongside concerns about the future direction of Welsh devolution.

Polling stations open across Wales from 7:00am until 10:00pm on Thursday, with counting due to begin on Friday morning.

The Herald will provide live election coverage online throughout polling day and count day, including updates from count centres, candidate interviews and reaction as results emerge from across west Wales and the rest of the country.

News

Plaid Cymru projected to lead Senedd as Labour faces historic collapse

Published

11 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Final poll suggests Welsh politics could be on the brink of a major realignment

PLAID CYMRU is on course to become the largest party in the Senedd, according to the final YouGov MRP projection for ITV Cymru Wales before polling day.

The model suggests Labour’s century-long dominance of Welsh elections could be coming to an end, with Plaid projected to win 43 seats in the newly expanded 96-member Senedd.

Reform UK is forecast to finish second on 34 seats, while Labour is projected to fall to just 12.

The poll, based on responses from more than 4,600 adults between April 25 and May 4, puts Plaid Cymru on 33% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 29%. Labour is on 12%, the Conservatives on 9%, the Greens on 8% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

Labour facing major losses

The projection points to a dramatic collapse in Labour support across Wales.

YouGov’s central estimate would represent a notional loss of 32 seats for Labour compared with the 2021 result under the new electoral system.

It would also be Labour’s worst result at any major Welsh election since 1906.

The model suggests Labour may fail to top the poll in any of the 16 new Senedd constituencies, and could return no members at all in four of them.

In west Wales, Labour’s support is projected to have fallen into single figures in some areas.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, who leads Labour’s list in Ceredigion Penfro, could also be at risk if the projection proves accurate.

Reform surge

Reform UK is projected to make major gains, rising from just 1% of the vote in 2021 to 29% in the final pre-election model.

The party’s support appears to be spread widely across Wales, though it is weaker in Cardiff and strongest in parts of the south Wales valleys.

One of the most striking projections is in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, which includes the Merthyr Tydfil area where Keir Hardie was elected as Wales’s first Labour MP in 1900.

There, YouGov’s central estimate puts Reform UK narrowly ahead on 34%, Plaid Cymru on 33%, and Labour on 14%.

Smaller parties

The Conservatives are projected to win just four seats, which would be their weakest devolved election result.

That would leave them one short of the five members needed to form an official political group in the Senedd.

The Greens are forecast to enter the Senedd for the first time, winning two seats in Cardiff.

The Liberal Democrats are projected to win one seat in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, keeping Jane Dodds in the Senedd.

No majority expected

No party is projected to win the 49 seats needed for an outright majority.

YouGov’s modelling suggests Plaid Cymru would be best placed to lead the next Welsh Government, but would probably need support from another party.

Plaid and Labour together reach a majority in most of the model’s simulations, while a Plaid-Green arrangement does so far less often.

A Reform-Conservative majority appears unlikely in the projection.

Under the new D’Hondt voting system, small movements in vote share could still make a significant difference, particularly for the final seats in each constituency.

Polling stations open tomorrow, Thursday, May 7.