The Red Wall Falls Dramatically in Connah's Quay

Connah's Quay in Flintshire, North Wales is a typical working class town of approximately 17,000 people. It's a town that has a rich history for one particular political party, Labour, having had the monopoly of county councillors for what seems as long as sliced bread has been in existence. Nearly 500 years of history changed in one day.

Why did the majority of its residents choose to vote Labour for so many years? One could argue that it was because Labour were known as the 'working class' party, supposedly supporting those who haven't been to a private school or born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Labour claimed to stand up for those who worked hard for minimal reward. However things change eventually. Connah's Quay has always had Labour councillors, some who had senior positions in Flintshire County Council. They generally did a half decent job, but things were starting to get tough for the locals in this town, the cost of living crisis in particular, but Labour councillors dropped a huge metaphorical bomb on the people of Connah's Quay when they voted for a large increase in Council Tax, this felt like a dagger to the heart. Labour, famed for helping people all of a sudden decided to add to the financial woes for many of the townsfolk.

Up steps a large group of independents, promoting the phrase 'People Before Politics'. A few tiny printed words at the bottom of the Labour leaflets showed the party up for who they really are, I'm talking about how they talked on the doorsteps about promoting local businesses, whilst at the same time having their leaflets printed more than 200 miles away, whereas the independents chose to use local printing firms (and there are plenty of them). It's just one thing in a line of somewhat hypocritical words that were coming from the red lips of Labour candidates. The people of Connah's Quay may not be living it up like those who occupy towns like Wilmslow, but they are wise, they've lived through good times and bad, but they can spot a phony a mile off.

So up comes May 5th, time for the election, Labour confident they would have done enough to keep council seats, they even bought in the big guns and large groups to persuade the locals to put a cross in the Labour box as they had done for so many years. A sea of change was coming though, just as I described in my last article, 'Is Flintshire in the Midst of an Independent Revolution?', I wasn't wrong, but I did not expect how much it was about to change. At the count in Connah's Quay one independent candidate after another was announced, it was looking like a landslide. At lunch time there still wasn't one Labour councillor who'd won a seat in Connah's Quay, then by the end of the day, quite unbelievably the entire red wall in the town was completely and utterly dismantled. For the first time in living memory Connah's Quay will not have a single Labour county councillor. The independents, the majority of which were rallied and helped by Bernie Attridge, one of Connah's Quay's true heroes were having a great day. Together they've embarrassed Labour and have promised change, never before since Flintshire first came into existence in 1536 has Connah's Quay had all independent county councillors. Putting that in perspective, that's nearly 500 years, that is how big this result is. Only time will tell if change actually happens, but for now a town which houses Flintshire's Labour Club will not be represented by anyone who wears a red rosette.

I spoke newly elected independent councillor, Bernie Attridge, following the conclusion of the count, Bernie said, "I am absolutely thrilled that the constituents of Connah's Quay Central Ward put their trust in Debbie Owen and I. I want to thank everyone who voted for us." Talking about the historical day for Connah's Quay, he told me, "First of all, across Flintshire there are an unprecedented amount of new Independent councillors, all of whom have done an incredible job. The people of Flintshire have spoken, they want change and that's what they'll get. I am willing to put past differences aside and work alongside Labour and the other parties for the good of Flintshire and Connah's Quay." I asked him about the other Independents he had helped during this election, he responded with a huge smile on his face, "I am so proud of them all, they've all ran great campaigns and deserve to be serving the people of this county. The public want change, and they will get it."

Congratulations to those who've managed to take or keep an independent seat, now it's time to make good on your promises and make life that slightly bit easier for the people of Connah's Quay.

1 Kings Croft
Connahs Quay
Flinsthire
CH5 4UR

philwoods@mail.uk

This is a local politics story, based on the county council election results in a typical Welsh town. This dramatic result that has relevance across the UK

This release was published on openPR.