The Cynon Valley Party (

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

: ''Plaid Cwm Cynon'') is a political party formed in 2016 to campaign for people living in the

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. Cynon Valley lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash is in the south of t ...

, including the towns of

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

and

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also * Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf Mountai ...

, in

Rhondda Cynon Taf Rhondda Cynon Taf (; RCT; also spelt as Rhondda Cynon Taff) is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It consists of five valleys: the Rhondda Fawr, Rhondda Fach, Cynon, Taff (Welsh: ''Taf'') and Ely valleys, plus a number of towns and vil ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. The party won a council seat on

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council ( cy, Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Rhondda Cynon Taf) is the governing body for Rhondda Cynon Taf, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The council headquarters are located in the community of Cwm Clydach o ...

in May 2017. The Cynon Valley Party was founded in September 2016 by two

businessmen, Andrew Chainey and Graham Marsh. It was registered with the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

on 13 September 2016. The party held its first meeting on 20 September, with membership open to anyone concerned about local issues affecting the Cynon Valley, regardless of their support of the wider policies of national parties. Initial concerns raised included local transport links, such as the proposed Northern Cross Valley Link and Southern Cross Valley Link road to Mountain Ash. The party de-registered as a political party on 6 November 2020.

Electoral performance

At the

elections on 4 May 2017 The Cynon Valley Party fielded nine candidates, winning one of the seats for the

Penrhiwceiber Penrhiwceiber is a small Welsh village and community (and electoral ward) in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf that lies south of the town Aberpennar and north of the village of Tyntetown, and is one of many villages that lies within the C ...

ward in a surprise result. New councillor Gavin Williams had ousted one of the veteran

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

councillors, Jane Ward, to take the seat. Andrew Chainey of The Cynon Valley Party stood in the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...

in the

constituency. He came fifth, with 4.4% of the vote, ahead of the Liberal Democrats. Gavin Williams lost his seat on RCT County Borough Council in March 2021, due to not attending a council meeting for over 6 months. The council declared his seat vacant and a by-election was arranged to fill the vacancy. The party didn't stand any candidates in the

2022 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council election The 2022 Rhondda Cynon Taf election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 54 members across 46 wards to Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. On the same day, elections were to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as par ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cynon Valley Locally based political parties in Wales Political parties established in 2016 Politics of Rhondda Cynon Taf Political parties disestablished in 2020