Newport independent councillors on Partygate and election

Non-aligned candidates performed well in last week's council election, winning clean sweeps in the Bettws and Lliswerry wards.

Rows over political scandals such as 'Partygate' have dominated headlines for months, but rather than joining in with the sound and the fury over Westminster, city councillor Kevin Whitehead - who leads the Newport Independents Party group - said he and his colleagues had stuck to grassroots issues.

"I think we’re not councillors among the community – we’re go-to people," he told the Argus. "That’s our secret, where people say ‘I’ve got an issue, I’m going to see Kevin’. They don’t call me councillor."

He and his colleagues Janet Cleverly and Jason Jordan all held their seats in Bettws, and Cllr Whitehead said residents were more concerned about the rising cost of living than the latest political scandal.

Newport Independents Party Cllrs Janet Cleverly, Kevin Whitehead and Jason Jordan.

"A lot of people now are so disaffected," he said. "I just think people have got more important issues to worry about, and that’s whether they’re heating or eating. Utility bills are rocketing, now we’re going to have these interest climbs.

"I just think that’s far more important. The Boris stuff, Keir – that’s trivial. [People have] got a harsh reality whether they can feed their kids, whether they can clothe them to go to school, how they’re going to pay their rent."

THE ELECTION RESULTS FROM AROUND GWENT:

• Blaenau Gwent council back in Labour hands as leader loses seat
• Leader loses seat but Labour retains majority on Caerphilly council
• Labour misses out on stealing Tory majority in Monmouthshire in coin toss
• Newport remains red as Labour sweeps to victory in council elections
• Conservatives wiped out in Torfaen as Labour increases majority

He said he and his colleagues had worked "in the background" to identify people who were financially vulnerable and "do what we can for them".

"We’ve done it all through the pandemic and I think the vote reflected that - we were always there as go-to people."

Independent councillors for Lliswerry ward (L-R) James Peterson, Allan Morris, Mark Howells & Andrew Sterry.

Allan Morris retained his seat in the Lliswerry ward, where he and fellow independents took all four seats with huge majorities.

Like the Bettws trio, he said a focus on local matters had paid off.

"We have worked tirelessly in the ward for the last five years - each one of the candidates has established themselves as a community champion," Cllr Morris told the Argus. "Most importantly we’ve communicated with people.

"We’ve been seen, we’ve got a high profile, and we’ve done our homework – the people responded by supporting us."

The four independent Lliswerry candidates would be "grasroots councillors", concentrating on bringing more services to the area, he added.

"We’re going to concentrate on things for our youngsters to do, improving our area, improving the cleanliness of the area," Cllr Morris said. "We think for the size of the ward there are very few facilities there – we’re going to be looking to improve that."