Bridgend 2022: Election Preview – Bridgend & Pencoed

Sitting councillors seeking re-election are in italics. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by party and then surname.

Brackla East Central (elects 1 councillor)

• Electoral History: New ward.

Candidates

• Conservative: Tyler Walsh.
• Independent: Mark Payn.
• Labour: William Kendall.
• Plaid Cymru: Philippa Richards.

As this is a new ward with new boundaries here’s a map to avoid confusion (image).

Of the new Brackla seats, this one might be within touching distance of the Independents. Mark Payn has been heavily involved in local community groups including the “Save Our Fields” campaign and the Tremains Woodlands project. So he has the profile needed to put in a serious challenge for the seat.

The Conservatives might be confident that the demographics of the ward might suit them. However, as in other wards, Labour may stand to benefit by default from any national or local swing against the Conservatives.

The Brackla East Central ward is taking part in a Welsh Government voting pilot. All electors in the ward will be able to vote early at polling stations on Tuesday 3rd May and Wednesday 4th May (as well as the usual Thursday election day).

Brackla West Central (elects 1 councillor)

• Electoral History: New ward.

Candidates:

• Conservative: Keith Hughes.
• Independent: Francesca Sullivan.
• Labour: John Spanswick.

As this is a new ward with new boundaries here’s a map to avoid confusion (image).

This is perhaps the easiest of the Brackla wards to call. Given his length of time in office, local name recognition and higher rates of referral activity, John Spanswick ought to retain his seat for Labour.

The only possible stumbling block is that he retained his seat in 2017 because he got votes from across the entirety of the old four-member Brackla ward. That’s now been reduced to a few dozen streets. If his usual support is concentrated outside the new ward – in the Meadows Estate or some of the streets with starter homes for young families (i.e. Hazeldene Avenue), for example – then it could be a close result.

The Brackla West Central ward is taking part in a Welsh Government voting pilot. All electors in the ward will be able to vote early at polling stations on Tuesday 3rd May and Wednesday 4th May (as well as the usual Thursday election day).

Brackla West (elects 1 councillor)

• Electoral History: New ward.

Candidates:

• Conservative: Aniel Pucella.
• Independent: Lisa Lewis.
• Labour: Johanna Llewellyn-Hopkins.

As this is a new ward with new boundaries here’s a map to avoid confusion (image – eveything within the blue lines).

This one is a bizarre “L-shape”, taking in the Meadows Estate, the streets to the south and west of Princess Way (Gwaun Coed, Priory Oak etc.), Haywain Court, Coychurch Road and Erw Hir/Longacres.

It has the leafier parts and retirement-friendly bungalow suburbs that could lean Tory. It also has the Meadows Estate – which has long ranked towards the top of deprivation measures – which you would expect to lean Labour demographically.

On top of that, there are quite a few placards around the ward in support of the Independent candidate, Lisa Lewis, who’s a Trustee of a highly successful local allotment association/market garden on the Meadows Estate.

It’s difficult to call.

The Brackla West ward is taking part in a Welsh Government voting pilot. All electors in the ward will be able to vote early at polling stations on Tuesday 3rd May and Wednesday 4th May (as well as the usual Thursday election day).

Cefn Glas (elects 2 councillors)

• Electoral History: New ward.

Candidates:

• Conservative: Gillian Bird, Joshua Chohan.
• Independent: David Harrison.
• Labour: Jon-Paul Blundell, Charles Smith.

A new ward formed by the merger of the old Cefn Glas and Llangewydd & Brynhyfryd wards.

While I’m sure the Independents and Conservatives will put in a shift, it’s difficult to see either of them unseating the two sitting Labour councillors with sizable majorities between them – unless there’s a big swing against them.

Coity Higher (elects 3 councillors)

• Electoral History: New ward.

Candidates:

• Conservative: Melissa Humphreys, Claire Lewis, Samuel Ofunwa.
• Independent: Alan Wathan, Amanda Williams, Martin Williams.
• Labour: Zoe Blundell, Jamie Henderson, Robert Thomas.

This one’s made up of former Coity, Pendre and Litchard wards.

They need to keep their expectations in check, but on a good night the Independents could get a clean sweep. They seem to have the most visible and longest-running campaign in the ward (largely in part through the community council’s activities) and the highest-profile candidate(s).

Amanda Williams has proven to be one of the star performers of the 2017 intake – finishing near the top of the attendance and member referrals tables – and you would expect her to be comfortably re-elected.

Pendre has traditionally been Labour-leaning, while Litchard has often swung between Labour and the Conservatives. How Parc Derwen votes could decide it, given that it was only about half its current size at the last local elections.

You would expect Coity’s traditional Independent-mindedness to spill over into Parc Derwen, but both Labour and the Conservatives have been active on the ground there in the past. Maybe there’ll be enough Conservative and Labour votes across the ward as a whole to ensure one of them can perhaps sneak a seat in third place, but the Independents should be aiming to win two.

Pencoed & Penprysg (elects 3 councillors)

• Electoral History: New ward.

Candidates:

• Conservative: John Butcher, Ian Williams.
• Independent: Alex Williams.
• Labour: Barry Doughty, Melanie Evans, Richard Williams.
• Plaid Cymru: Leanne Lewis.

This new ward consists of the former Hendre and Felindre wards (which covered most of Pencoed town itself) and the Penprysg ward, which covered parts of the north of Pencoed and Heol-y-Cyw. In 2017, all three wards elected a combined 4 councillors, but that’s now been reduced to 3 – making the race tighter.

Pencoed is perhaps overlooked compared to the other main town in the county, but it’s important politically.

Replacing the Pencoed level crossing and bridge is being held up as an important future infrastructure project by the council – though nothing is set in stone yet. Pencoed has also been selected as a strategic development site in the draft Local Development Plan, which could see further expansion of the town eastwards – which might not be popular with everyone.

It perhaps speaks to Labour’s confidence that they’ve put up a full slate. On a very good night for Labour, all of them could win – but that’s unlikely.

Alex Williams should have a big enough local profile to retain his seat as an Independent – and would probably be towards the top of the shortlist for a Cabinet Member in an alternative administration – though he’ll have to win votes across the entire ward, not just the former Penprysg.

Pencoed has increasingly become suburbanised. While it’s normally been a fairly reliable source of Labour votes, the Conservatives managed to win seats in 2017 – though both of those (Alex and Julia Williams) later left the group.

Leanne Lewis has already been elected unopposed as a town councillor in a rare Plaid Cymru success in the county. She could do better than people expect given that the lack of access to Welsh-medium education in the town has been raised as an issue.

Oldcastle (elects 2 councillors)

• Electoral History: 2 Labour (1995, 1999); 2 Lib Dem (2004); 1 Lib Dem, 1 Lab (2008); 2 Labour (2012); 2 Conservative (2017).

Candidates:

• Conservative: Paul Chohan, Matthew Voisey.
• Independent: Freya Bletsoe, Ian Williams.
• Labour: Angela Morelli, Martin Smidman.

One of the few wards in Bridgend where there haven’t been any changes as a result of the boundary review.

Oldcastle is, generally speaking, divided between a leafier suburban bit (Merthyr Mawr Road and the streets off it, Wyndham Crescent, Picton Gardens) and a more urban/built-up bit (Jubilee Crescent, Old Brackla/Waunscil Avenue and the streets around Nolton Street).

The Conservatives won both seats for the first time in 2017, but the ward has had some strong Labour support in the past – even the Lib Dems have done well. So it’s not impossible that a third party – in this case, the Independents – can come through and win a single seat or both seats.

If you were playing it safe, you would see the Conservatives keep one of the seats, but winning both again will be a tall order. Labour would be happy with one seat as long as it denies the Independents, given that Ian Williams in particular has been one of the most consistently outspoken critics of Bridgend Council over the last term on social media.