Gilfach Goch Independent Socialists

16/08/2026

Our thanks and solidarity go to the South Wales firefighters and all emergency workers dealing with the wildfires. Do your bit by not being stupid or careless.

13/08/2026

Another great day in the community calendar. When Margaret Thatcher said in 1987 there was no such thing as society, we knew she was wrong. Yesterday, we proved it. Gilfach Goch is a fab community in which people look out for each other.

09/06/2026

Thirteen miners from Gilfach Goch were arrested and prosecuted for their part in the Tonypandy Riots. News reports state the trial of the thirteen lasted six days in December. During the trial, they were supported by marches and demonstrations by up to 10,000 men, who were refused entry to Pontypridd.

Home Secretary Winston Churchill sent in troops and police against striking miners. It is timely the struggle against fascism was recognised with this blue plaque.

A Blue Plaque commemorating the Battle of De Winton Field will be unveiled on 13th June, 12:30pm at the Cambrian Colliery Lodge, Tonypandy (NUM club). The Battle of De Winton Field took place on 11th June 1936 when 6,000 anti-fascist demonstrators gathered in Tonypandy to oppose a rally by the British Union of Fascists. This was more than a local event – it was part of a wider fight against fascism across Europe.
Join us for the unveiling of the Blue Plaque – all are welcome.
More information here 👉 https://orlo.uk/oW3kC

25/05/2026

12/05/2026

We take no pleasure in seeing the turmoil in the Labour Party following last week's disastrous election. But make no mistake, this is the chickens coming home to roost. You can't hollow out and privatise public services, see people's living standards decline, stand by while the Israeli state commits genocide and then wonder why working class people abandon you.

Any new leader would have to stop outsourcing of services and flow of profits to venture capitalists, and think about radical change. Farage has offered change, and the results show people are hungry for it. His kind of change though will only favour big business and the millionaire class.

What we favour is a shift in power towards the working class and a redistribution of the nation's resources. An end to sewage in our rivers and seas. An end to landlordism, where speculators snap up properties to make a buck while young people can't afford the rent or get a mortgage. An end to reliance on food banks. And so on.

Yes, Keir Starmer will go, but he should take his cronies and lobby group backers with him. Then there might be the prospect of radical change in favour of ordinary people.

Pontypridd MP Alex Davies-Jones resigns from the Home Office, the third junior minister to go.

08/05/2026

Llongyfychiadau, Plaid Cymru, on a resounding win in the Senedd election. A new chapter awaits us in Cymru. Congratulations also to the progressive candidates elected, including two Greens for the first time from Wales Green Party.
Plaid Cymru RCT Councillors - Cynghorwyr RCT Plaid Cymru
Green Party of England and Wales

We are of course saddened that Beth Winter missed out on being elected. She would have been a fantastic advocate for working class people. We were proud to have contributed to her campaign, with thousands of leaflets delivered, hundreds of kilometres walked from door to door, and endless hours dedicated to counting and delivering leaflets, and stuffing envelopes.

We are reminded that politics is about more than elections and is about a process of community organising and working for a better society, for example by Stand Up to Racism Valleys.

As that great trade unionist Bob Crow once said "if you fight sometimes you win, if you don't fight you're guaranteed to lose."

The fight goes on against Reform and its negative, divisive influences.