Voter turnout in Merthyr Tydfil has been among the lowest in Wales for years
Wales Online
20:30, 14 Apr 2026
I’m born and bred in Merthyr so I find the apathy highly frustrating(Image: WalesOnline)
There’s a problem in Merthyr Tydfil and it’s not a new one.
Voter turnout here has been among the lowest in Wales for years.
In the last Senedd election in 2021 only 46.6% of people across Wales voted.
In the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney constituency it was 34.8% – the lowest in Wales.
With the 2026 election coming up I went out to speak to people in the town to try find out why.
The first stop was the town centre.
It was 9am on a Friday morning there were plenty of people around but of all the people we stopped not one wanted to answer our questions. We were told “no thanks” more than anything else.
So we changed tack and headed up the A470 to Trago Mills where there plenty of people popping in for a coffee or, more specifically, to pick up lawn mowers. Only one of the 15 or so people we approached agreed to speak.
They didn’t seem to know there was an election on at all but did say they hadn’t voted previously and weren’t up to date with the changes coming for May 7.
Our third stop was Cyfarthfa Park. On a gloriously sunny, if windy, day the main passers-by here were dog walkers, young parents, and elderly people.
It was here we had most success but still no-one wanted to be named or filmed.
Two women in their 80s agreed to speak. As the pair sat on a bench, just opposite the lake, they told me they’ve voted Welsh Labour all their lives – not surprising given this is historically a Labour heartland – but now they’re not even sure if they’ll vote at all.
They said they feel “lost” with the new system for Senedd Cymru elections. On top of that they feel let down by Labour.
But at the same time they’re worried about what parties like Reform UK or Plaid Cymru might do.
So they’re stuck, they explained, feeling unclear on who to trust and unsure if it’s even worth it.
A 22-year-old man had a very different take. He told me he doesn’t vote because “the Welsh Government doesn’t do anything – it’s all the UK Government”.
When I explained what the Welsh Government is actually responsible for – like the NHS in Wales, schools, housing, and transport – he was genuinely shocked.
No-one had ever explained it to him before.
Then I spoke to a man in his 40s who said he’s voted in Senedd elections for years and this time he’s planning to back Reform UK.
He said the Welsh Government has “no common sense” pointing to things like the 20mph speed limit and Wales being a “Nation of Sanctuary”. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
I asked why those stuck out to him. I explained there had been a 25% decrease in roadside injuries, according to early Welsh Government data, showing that lives have been saved by the default speed limit being lowered.
Additionally the spending on the Nation of Sanctuary scheme is just a tiny fraction of the Welsh Government’s £27bn annual budget.
For him,it all comes back to one thing: he believes Prime Minister Keir Starmer holds the real power anyway.
I’m born and bred in Merthyr. I love the place but it’s frustrating seeing people switch off from voting and also politics more generally.
There was one thing everyone I spoke to agreed on. They’re not happy about plans to increase the Senedd from 60 to 96 members.
People talked about the cost, they said they weren’t asked, and many said they don’t understand the new voting system at all.
That confusion matters. Studies have shown that when people don’t understand how voting works they’re much less likely to take part and, honestly, this hits home.
What we’re seeing now isn’t just apathy.
It’s years of people not being given the knowledge or confidence to take part.
I’m 24 and I voted five years ago when I was 19. Just out of sixth form college I hadn’t been armed with the knowledge by school, or college, but my mam.
The only political education I remember in school was one lesson on the Merthyr Rising in 1831. Important history – but it was 195 years ago. I wasn’t taught about how politics actually works today, what the Senedd does, or why voting matters.
Merthyr’s low turnout isn’t just a statistic – it’s a warning.
Because if people feel confused, ignored, and fed up they won’t vote – and that’s when democracy starts to have a real problem.
What I found wasn’t people being lazy or uninterested – it was people feeling confused, fed up and, in many cases, completely disconnected from politics.
And that really worries me before May 7.
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