Standing Up for Swansea: July 2026
July has been nearly as busy as it has been hot. I’ve been working hard to drive forward the landmark 10 year Pride in Place programme to support residents to revitalise the area north of the city centre, ‘Swansea Northgate’, and launched a new campaign for more affordable bus travel in our city alongside my normal coffee mornings and surgeries. We are also sadly going to need to reignite our campaign to secure the Osprey’s future with the WRU reviving their threat to the future of the club.
At the other end of the M4 – or should I say up the M6 – you will have seen that Andy Burnham has started his premiership on the issue that comes up every week when I’m out door-knocking: the cost of living. He’s set out immediate help with electricity bills to help give everyone some breathing space. But there’s lots more to do, and I’m glad to have been asked to keep playing my part as a minister in both the Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions. As the first representative of Swansea to be a UK government minister in half a century, I’ll make sure our city’s voice is heard as we keep up the drive on the cost of living and so much more. keep delivering with the cost of living. I was delighted to be asked to continue my role in his Government and will be doing everything I can to help deliver meaningful change to households across the country as part of it.
As always, get in touch if there is anything I can help with or that you’d like to discuss. You can get me on: torsten.bell.mp@parliament.uk.
All the best,
Torsten
Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
Hot Uplands: Thank you to everyone that came along to my Uplands coffee morning , especially as it was on a very hot Saturday. I was very grateful to St James Church for hosting, which had lots of advantages but sadly not air conditioning! The discussion ranged widely, with the futures of our city centre and of young adults probably sparking the most debate. I hold these coffee mornings regularly across the city so please do come along.
Breathing space: I’ve warmly welcomed Andy Burnham’s pledges to give families breathing space on the cost of living. Making sure we raise family living standards after years of wages flatlining and bills rising is what led me to run to be your MP in the first place – having spent the previous decade researching the problem and developing policies to address it. The new PM has taken swift action by cutting the 5% VAT charge from electricity bills from the start of October – in time for the bigger bills we all face over the winter. It’s not just households that will benefit – care homes, charities and some small businesses will do so too.
The Prime Minister has also committed to move power out of Whitehall with the creation of No10 North – and this is needed as much in South Wales as it is the North of England. Ensuring more parts of the country can play a big part in its economic prosperity is part of the longer term answer to tackling those cost of living pressures.
Bus bargains: Affordable buses are vital in Swansea. They bring footfall to our city centre, while connecting people with jobs, appointments and friends. I'm glad that it’s been announced that bus fares will be capped at £2 in England, but this is something I’ve previously called for in Wales and that the Welsh Government now needs to make it happen. Otherwise the danger is we see Swansea families being disadvantaged rather than getting the same respite from the cost of living. I launched a petition calling for this £2 bus fare cap in Swansea Market – you can get involved here. Those relying on our buses deserve not just a better service, but lower fares.
Community Champions: It’s essential no part of our city gets ignored. That’s why I fought for a £20 million long-term investment from the UK Labour Government to help revitalise communities that are the gateway to our city centre, including Brynmelyn, Waun Wen, North Hill, Dyfatty and Hafod.
How the money gets spent, in what we’re calling “Swansea Northgate”, is down to local residents to decide, and the project has taken some big steps forward lately. Thom Lynch, co-founder of award-winning local charity Matthews House, has been appointed to chair the Neighbourhood Board overseeing the project and this month applications opened for the Board itself. Thom and I were blown away by the level of interest from so many people with strong ties to the area, and what we heard when interviewing so many great people. Those roles will be confirmed asap, with events kicking off in earnest from September. Keep your eyes peeled and get involved (there will be more opportunities to apply to join the board in the months ahead).
Local results: As well as big campaigns, a lot of my work involves supporting families, charities, clubs and business in Swansea West with a huge range of problems – and celebrating their successes. This month, my team and I have helped out with more than 700 cases ranging from problems with housing to help with the cost of living. Here are some examples from July:
Pharmacies are a cornerstone of communities, but Jhoots let ours in Morriston down. When one of their workers was left waiting months for wages they were owed after the company went into administration, I stepped into to make sure they were paid the wages they had been promised.
Confidence in our justice system is vital – to individuals affected by crime and to our society. When a constituent contacted me to express concern about how their case had been handled by the police, I stepped in and made sure that person got the clarity they had been look for. Staying in contact with the police to ensure my constituent received the support, updates and engagement they needed throughout the process, I was pleased to help that person get some of the answers they needed during a very difficult time.
I’ve also been enjoying the sunshine while out and about door-knocking with the Swansea West Labour team. A great excuse to stop off at Joe’s Ice Cream!
Swansea United: It was brilliant to attend the opening of the Flip the Streets exhibition at the Volcano Theatre – Swansea’s inspiring answer to a national problem: keeping our communities strong and united at a time when too many people want to divide us. Flip the Streets is a community inclusion initiative that brings people together to create collaborative graffiti murals reflecting the values, diversity and identities of the communities they 5represent. More than public art, these projects help people see themselves reflected in the spaces they use every day.
Since its launch, Flip the Streets has delivered nine projects with schools, youth groups, rehabilitation centres, university students, faith communities and sports centres, creating lasting artwork and stronger community connections along the way. The exhibition was made possible by the creativity and commitment of hundreds of people – all of whom I hope are feeling very proud to have played a part in creating Swansea’s powerful reminder of how art can bring people together.
End of term for Swansea Schools: As another school year draws to a close, well done to everyone that has got through exam season. But it's worth remembering that schools are about much more than exams. They're where young people build confidence, discover talents they didn't know they had, and create memories that stay with them long after they've left. That was on full display when I had the pleasure of attending Bishop Gore's closing night of We Will Rock You. I was simply staggered by the quality of the production, made even more special by a moving tribute to south Wales legend Bonnie Tyler, who passed away earlier this month. Huge congratulations to everyone involved - from the cast and crew to the staff, volunteers and parents who made it happen. And for those performers taking their final bow before leaving school, what a way to end this chapter. I wish every one of them the very best for whatever comes next.
Thanks for reading. As always, if there’s something I can help you with just get in touch by emailing torsten.bell.mp@parliament.uk.