An annual music festival could launch in Cardiff rivalling the Edinburgh Fringe if Labour keeps control of the council in May. Labour has run the city since 2012 and Huw Thomas has led the council since 2017.
Now in a candid interview ahead of the local elections on May 5, Mr Thomas has argued his case for another five years in power. Over coffee in a Cardiff Bay cafe, the council leader revealed his frustration with delays to the new bus station, when a congestion charge might come in, and plans for a new music festival. Building new council housing and raising education standards is where he said he feels Labour has achieved the most since he became leader, as well as drastically reducing the number of rough sleepers.
"We’ve turned around a situation,” he said, “where one in 10 16-year-olds were leaving school at 16 with no destination into further education or employment—that’s now less than two in 100. That’s going to make such a big difference to the life outcomes of our young people. Likewise, the 1,000 council houses we will have built by the end of this year is a direct material improvement in the lives of people who are now living in those houses. We’ve brought homelessness down to record levels, from 100 rough sleepers a few years ago to fewer than 20 now. That’s a big difference we’ve made to the quality of life for those people.”
