Date announced for Caerphilly Senedd by-election

A by-election to fill the seat held by the late Labour Caerphilly politician Hefin David will be held next month.

The Welsh Parliament confirmed that a vote will take place in the constituency on Thursday 23 October.

Mr David died suddenly on 12 August at the age of 47. He had been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Caerphilly since 2016.

A UK Labour minister has admitted that the election will be "very challenging" for the party, saying Reform is the party's biggest threat.

Welsh Labour will be fighting to defend the seat, which it has held since the institution was opened as the National Assembly for Wales in 1999.

It won half of the Senedd's 60 seats at the last election in 2021, and already needed the help of at least one opposition member to pass laws and agree its budget.

Losing a seat could make it harder for Labour to get its business through the Welsh Parliament, as politicians approach the next full election in May.

Plaid has announced that Lindsay Whittle will stand for the party, while Labour and the Conservatives said they will announce candidates later.

Plaid Cymru was the first to reveal its candidate, picking the former Caerphilly council leader.

Whittle, who is a councillor of the ward of Penyrheol, said the circumstances of the by-election were "tremendously sad and my thoughts remain with Hefin's loved ones".

"The people of Caerphilly deserve a passionate local representative in the Senedd. I'm determined to offer a positive agenda, to give this area a fair deal," he said.

Whittle previously served as an assembly member for Plaid between 2011 and 2016.

Hefin David died suddenly in August.

Wales Office minister Nia Griffith said the by-election will "very challenging" for Labour, which returned to power in Westminster just over a year ago.

"After 14 years of the starvation of funds to public services and seeing wages not keep up with prices, people are feeling very very down, and so they are looking for change.

"So what we've got to say is, look, we have began to change things.

"After only a year... we haven't been able to do as much as perhaps people would have wanted us to have done. People are impatient for that change. I understand that.

"They are looking for any alternatives as answers.

"What I would say is be very careful of jumping to somebody who has got all slogans but no foundation."

She said Reform "is the biggest challenge because they are very good at saying those slogans without explaining exactly how they are going to do something."

It is the first Senedd by-election since 2018, when a vote was held to replace the seat vacated by the death of former minister Carl Sargeant, and the fifth by-election to be held since 1999.

It may be the last - with by-elections being scrapped under the new voting system for the next election in May 2026.

Mr David's funeral was held on Monday afternoon - senior figures from across the Welsh political spectrum were among the hundreds who attended the service in Gelligaer.

The politician was found dead at his home in Nelson, in the Caerphilly county area, a day before his birthday.

In a statement to the Welsh Parliament, presiding officer Elin Jones said: "I have announced that the Caerphilly by-election will take place on 23 October 2025 and have written to the returning officer asking him to arrange for the poll to take place on that date."

A Labour spokesperson said: "Our process has started and we're hoping to announce our candidate at the weekend."

A Welsh Conservative spokesperson added: "The circumstances leading to this by-election are tragic and our thoughts continue to go out to Hefin's loved ones at this difficult time.

"As with any by-election, the Welsh Conservatives will contest the seat and will shortly begin the process of selecting a candidate."