Home » Swansea West candidates reflect on General Election

Swansea West candidates reflect on General Election

SIX months ago the dust was settling on a general election in which 335 MPs out of 650 were elected for the first time and a new Labour Government was ushered in.

For thousands of losing candidates it was a case of back to the day job after weeks of knocking on doors, canvassing support, and becoming a public figure in their constituency. The UK’s first-past-the post system offers no prizes for second place.

Now candidates for the Swansea West seat who polled fewer votes than winner Torsten Bell, of Labour, are reflecting on last July and about what they’re up to now.

Gareth Bromhall, Trade Union and Socialist Coalition – votes 337, share of vote 0.9%, up 0.9% compared to 2019 general election

Mr Bromhall works as a call-handler for the Welsh Amubulance Service Trust and is also an ambulance service representative for trade union GMB. He described himself as a campaigner who has been involved in a lot of activism, which helped him in last summer’s election.

“Talking about contentious issues is something I do a lot,” he said. “We are a relatively small force in Swansea and everything we raised for the election we raised ourselves, but some days we were on a par with bigger parties with the number people we had out there.

“It was heartening when people said I was the only candidate that had knocked on their door. It happened time and time again, in Sandfields and some of the estates I went to. People found it important being listened to, that they’d had that conversation.”

Mr Bromhall said it was possible that other candidates knocked on these doors after he had. He added: “There weren’t many hustings events, unfortunately. I think they’re not really the done thing any more.”

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) describes itself as seeking to help trade unionists, socialists, and working class social movement and community campaigners put candidates against “pro-austerity establishment politicians”. Mr Bromhall said: “We are a left-wing party. We’re calling for the establishment of a new workers’ party.”

He said operating against the backdrop of a UK Labour Government was different compared to the previous Conservative administration, but he added: “We still think we need a new workers’ party.” The 32-year-old has stood as a prospective Swansea councillor and Senedd member before, and said he would “absolutely” stand in a future general election.

online casinos UK

Patrick Benham-Croswell, Reform UK – votes 6,246, vote share 17.5%, up 10.7%

Patrick Benham-Croswell, of Reform UK (Pic: Richard Youle)

The former Army officer has many years business experience and is a qualified commercial and civil mediator. He describes himself as an entrepreneurial chief executive and managing director on networking website LinkedIn.

He has published books and pamphlets on warfare, why he voted to leave the European Union, and “net zero” carbon emissions. He contributes to a publication called The Conservative Woman and also has a blog called Views From My Cab, which reflects his current work as a driver of articulated lorries.

Mr Benham-Croswell, of Kent, used to serve in the cavalry regiment of Wales and border counties and joined the Swansea Bay Business Club around 10 years ago before work took him elsewhere. He said he would like to move to Wales’s second city.

Reflecting on the general election he said he sensed Reform UK would do well. “On the streets I felt like it was going to happen,” he said. “There was huge enthusiam and support from almost every sort of person. I think most of our voters came from Labour.”

Asked if he would have done anything differently, he said: “I would have done a hell of a lot more of the same. I was pretty much an army of one though. The snap election caught us on the hop. If the election had been in October I think we would have been an army of 150.” He added: “The British, and Welsh in particular, are incredibly polite and tolerant. I think I only had one leaflet ripped up.”

The 61-year-old said he hoped to stand as a Senedd candidate next year and felt Reform UK was on the rise. “The number of supporters on my database has more than doubled since the general election campaign,” he said.

Peter Jones Green Party, votes 2,305, vote share 6.5%, up 5.7%

Peter Jones, of the Green Party (Pic: Richard Youle)

Mr Jones said he was pleased with his party’s Swansea West result last July and also surprised by the low turnout of 48%, which was more than 11% down compared to the 2019 general election.

Would he have done anything differently? “With the resources we had I think we did as much as could,” he said. “What was interesting was that I focused on areas I was familiar with, and a lot of Labour-intending voters said they were very sympathetic to the Green Party and might well be tempted to vote for us in future elections.”

Mr Jones, 76, is a former Labour councillor, representing the Sketty ward where he lives. He said he didn’t encounter any hostility while out canvassing, and that he had got on very well with winning candidate Mr Bell when they’d had a meeting.

Mr Jones is now a co-chair of the Swansea and Gower branch of the Green Party and serving as its secretary. He is also a trustee of Swansea Environment Centre, a governor at Bishop Gore School, and will take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch later this month.

He said he would consider standing as prospective Green Party councillor in the 2027 local Government elections, and potentially as a Senedd candidate next year, but added that another general election campaign was at this stage “very unlikely”.

Michael O’Carroll, Liberal Democrat – votes 4,367, vote share 12.2%, up 5.8%

Michael O’Carroll, of the Liberal Democrats (Pic: Richard Youle)

Standing for office was “very strange”, said Mr O’Carroll. “You get people recognising you on the street or when you knock on doors,” he said. “It’s encouraging, but slightly disconcerting in another way. You become this persona – it’s quite weird.”

The 40-year-old, who works for his party and is also studying a PhD in politics at Swansea University part-time, said a small minority of voters could occassionally be dismissive, but that he found canvassing to be a positive and interesting experience. “I absolutely love it,” he said. “You meet a whole range of the population of Swansea. You don’t get that chance most of the time.”

Mr O’Carroll has stood three times now as a Swansea West general election candidate, and said the Lib-Dem vote share had gone up from 3% to 8% to 12%.

“We are on track to keep growing in Swansea, and hopefully by the time of the next general election we’ll be ready to take on the Labour Government,” he said. “I would love to give it another go.” The Senedd elections in 2026, he added, were also a “big year” for his party.

Tara-Jane Sutcliffe Conservative Party – votes 3,536, vote share 9.9%, down 18.8%

Tara-Jane Sutcliffe, of the Conservative Party (Pic: the Conservative Party)

It’s been a case of one election to another for Miss Sutcliffe, who went on to serve as an independent election observer for parliamentary elections in Uzbekistan last October.

She said she’s also returned to various activities promoting global biodiversity and climate resilience, including serving on a panel with the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Miss Sutcliffe, of Carmarthenshire, is a director of the West Wales Biodiversity Information Centre and is serving a second term on the council of the National Trust.

She said she continued to be politically active, and hosted a Christmas dinner and fundraiser with party colleagues including the new shadow secretary of state for Wales, Mims Davies MP, and the leader of the Senedd group, Darren Millar.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have stood as a parliamentary candidate for Swansea West – a hugely enriching experience,” said Miss Sutcliffe. “As a first-time candidate there’s a tremendous amount to learn, particularly on the practical, process side of things, and in which regard I’m grateful to my agent and colleagues in the Welsh party.

“The short campaign period was perhaps the most busiest six weeks ever. Exhausting, and all-consuming. But hugely rewarding. You’re learning all the time, from and with colleagues and all those you meet on the campaign trail. And there’s nothing quite like having survived your first hustings, or your first count as a candidate!”

She said she felt it was an exciting time to be a Conservative in Wales “as we look with vigour to next year’s Senedd elections”.

Gwyn Williams Plaid Cymru – votes 4,105, vote share 11.5%, up 5.6%

Gwyn Williams, of Plaid Cymru (Pic: Plaid Cymru)

“I was under no illusion that I was going to win but it was good to challenge the incumbent (party) and the system,” said Mr Williams. “I was happy to have that opportunity. It was our best ever result in Swansea West.

“I think Plaid generally did quite well in Wales. We will always be a party with fewer resources.”

It was the second time Mr Williams, a consultant opthalmologist at Swansea Bay University Health Board, had stood as a Swansea West general election candidate. Some people whose doors he knocked on turned out to be patients of his. Mr Williams said would he run again if selected by Plaid, but would also gladly support a better colleague.

“Democracy is really weird in Britain,” he said. “It only really exists at the time of an election. There is a ‘free for all’, people say things, you can have hustings, and anything is possible. Afterwards you disappear into the masses.”

The 45-year-old, of Swansea, urged anyone interested in politics to consider standing in an election – whatever the party – and he hoped Plaid could make further inroads before the next one.

He said it was important to try to make Swansea West – traditionally a safe Labour seat – unsafe. “The system, for all its flaws, is the one we have,” he said. “It’s so important that it’s robust.” Mr Williams said he reckoned some voters felt “jaded” and were turning to Reform as a result. “I’d encourage people not to lose hope in the system, and for people to get involved,” he said.

Author