BETH WINTER is right at home in the valleys communities of south Wales in the extra-large new constituency of Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr. She has spent her time since leaving Labour working on community campaigns. Winter, former Labour MP for the Cynon Valley quit the Labour Party because she said it left her and no longer represented her socialist values.

I met the socialist campaigner in her election office in Aberdare indoor market, where she says she feels far more at home with the working class of Aberdare, and the rest of her valley’s constituency, than she ever did in the “viper’s nest of Westminster.”

We talk about her campaign, how voters are responding to Winter and why the former solid Labour vote in the Valleys is running away to Reform UK, which is full of Tories.

“A lot of people in the valleys just want change, and I’ve had people say ‘we’re treated like peasants,’ and on the doorstep, people feel really angry.

“I’ve been at hustings meetings with the other parties, and I’m increasingly pushing that all progressive parties and left-leaning people have got to reflect on how we’ve reached this position.

“We’ve all got to accept some responsibility because after 27 years of Welsh Labour we still have the highest child poverty rates (32 per cent) in all of Britain, and these valleys have still got the highest levels of morbidity, ill-health and higher levels of unemployment.”

Winter explains to me that she’s concerned that this election might end up just putting sticking plasters on a system that needs fundamental change.

“That’s why I’m standing to try and give that a platform, and it has been really positive both in terms of the people involved in my campaign, but also on the doorstep.”

Winter and her campaign team have had to reassure voters that they are not representing the Labour Party.

I ask she if has been enjoying getting out to speak to people, and she said she “loves it. But I’m frustrated that I’m not able to do more of it because this is a vast constituency.”

Winter says that because of the sheer size of the constituency, it isn’t possible for anyone, including the larger parties, to canvass in traditional ways, which leaves a lot of the campaign being conducted on social media.

One of the public hustings where Winter went down really well was a youth session where over 100 young people turned up.

She said the young people were really concerned about the Reform candidate, who they said was mainly speaking about migrants, and they really didn’t like that.

“About 2 per cent of the population in these valleys are from ethnic minorities, but we’ve got the highest levels of deprivation.

“We’ve got to look at how capitalism has allowed this to happen. People have lost hope, and because of cultural changes like the disappearance of miners’ institutes, these were a hotbed of political activity.

“The membership of trade unions has declined, so those old opportunities for people, working class, in particular, to access and be exposed to our socialist politics have declined.”

Since Winter left Labour, she has been working at the community level with Leanne Wood, the former Plaid Cymru leader and socialist from the Rhondda Valley.

Her campaign has been rooted in community activism and building wealth that stays in the valleys through community ownership.

“Instead of the wealth that was extracted from Wales, how do we create things like community energy, social enterprises, and local businesses?” Winter asks.

Winter was keen that I also include her campaign team in the interview, and they told me that whatever happens in the election, the campaign within the community will continue.

One of her campaign pledges is not to take the full Senedd member salary of £89,000 if she is elected, instead taking something similar to what she earned as a trade union activist.

I ask her how she was going to use the money to fund community projects and who would make those decisions.

“I haven’t made a decision on the figure yet, but it would probably be £30-£35,000, and I will probably look to set up an independent community group to target the money at community activism.”

The polling of the Senedd election is tight, and we talk about how the smaller parties are setting out red lines as a price for their support for a Plaid Cymru government to stop Reform UK.

I ask Winter if she had decided what she would be seeking for her constituents to gain her support.

“Progressive parties have got to unite around core issues alongside people in our communities. I want opposition to austerity and help with the cost-of-living crisis.

“I want community wealth-building and doing politics differently. I will try to bring people together from our community with the people in power because we need to do politics differently.”

I ask Winter what happens next if she is not elected on May 7.

“I don’t know, but politics is in my blood because I was raised by socialist parents, so my activism and socialism are in my blood.

“I’m still involved in a home school transport campaign, fighting a school closure and justice for the Palestinian people, so I’ll never stop.” 

David NIcholson is Morning Star Wales reporter.