Every day, Welsh councils deliver the services that people depend upon.
They educate children, care for vulnerable people, maintain roads, provide homes and support communities through both everyday life and times of crisis.
Across Wales, there is real strength in our local services and the knowledge they have of the communities they support, even as they operate under ever-increasing pressure.
Against this backdrop, it is a tremendous honour to have been appointed as Leader of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA).
Having served as a councillor for 14 years and as Leader of Torfaen County Borough Council since 2016, I have seen first-hand the difference local government makes to people’s lives.
I have also seen that the very best outcomes are achieved when councils and national governments work together in trusted partnership.
As Wales enters a new political chapter, councils continue to face significant and growing pressures.
Demand for social care is rising, schools are supporting children with increasingly complex needs, and local authorities are being asked to deliver more at a time of sustained financial constraint and rising costs.
These challenges are real, and they require honest recognition. But in responding to them, we also need to be careful about the way we talk about our communities and our public services.
Too often, the narrative can drift towards describing decline, fragility or failure. That does not reflect the full picture in Wales.
Across the country, there are volunteers helping other residents, along with dedicated public servants and councils that continue to innovate, adapt and deliver under pressure.
Local government is not simply managing problems; it is actively shaping solutions every day, supporting families, investing in places and helping communities to thrive.
Councils are responsible for far more than is often recognised, delivering more than 700 different services that underpin everyday life in Wales.
We should not talk our communities down. Instead, we should recognise their strengths, build on what works and focus on how public services can enable further progress and enrich people’s lives.
That means a partnership between national and local government that is grounded not only in responding to pressure, but in a shared ambition to improve outcomes and strengthen confidence in the places people call home.
Ultimately, all tiers of government serve the same people and are accountable to the same communities.
I begin this role with optimism. Not because the challenges ahead are small, but because I have seen exactly what local government can truly achieve when we work together.
By strengthening the partnership between local and national government and focusing on the positive change we can make together, we can build stronger, fairer and more resilient communities for generations to come.
- Registration has opened for the WLGA’s annual conference, ‘Local leadership for a resilient Wales: local government in the new Senedd term’. The event takes place from 16-17 September in Swansea. See WLGA website to find out more and book your place.