Tag Archives: Voting

📢 Caerphilly People First at the Caerphilly Hustings 🗳️

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Monday was an exciting and important day for Caerphilly People First! 🎉 We were delighted to be invited to take part in the Caerphilly hustings as part of Learning Disability Wales’s Ready to Vote project. 🙌 The event took place at Y Banc in Caerphilly town centre 🏛️ and brought together politicians from four political parties: Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives, the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats. It was expertly chaired by our very own Ffion Poole, who did a fantastic job guiding the discussion 👏✨

Our members played a key role in the hustings by asking thoughtful and important questions to the candidates hoping to be elected to the Senedd on Thursday 7th May 🗳️. The topics raised included:

🦷 Access to NHS dentists
🚌 Free bus passes for people with learning disabilities
🎓 Support for people with learning disabilities in schools and colleges

Other attendees also asked questions about housing 🏠 and jobs 💼, making sure a wide range of important issues were discussed. It was great to hear directly from each candidate and learn their views on the issues that matter most to our members 💬. Events like this help make sure that people with learning disabilities have a voice and can make informed choices. We encourage everyone to take part in the election on Thursday 7th May 🗳️ — your voice matters, so make sure it’s heard! 💪🗣️

Democracy & Voting Workshop

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A big THANK YOU to Gerraint and Simon from Learning Disability Wales for delivering a fantastic workshop yesterday! 🙌 With the Senedd elections coming up on May 7th 2026, it was the perfect time to learn all about democracy and voting. We had great fun using the pop-up voting station 🗳

👉 Different ways to vote:
In person at a polling station 🏫
By post 📮
By proxy (someone you trust votes for you) 👥

👉 How to register to vote:
You can register online 🌐
You need your details (like National Insurance number)
Make sure you register before the deadline ⏰

👉 How to find your constituency in Caerphilly borough:
Visit the UK Government website 🔍
Enter your postcode 📍
It tells you where you vote and who represents you

We also got creative making our democracy paper chain ⛓️💡We shared ideas about what we want to see changed and improved in our communities! Why voting is important:

It gives you a voice 🗣️
It helps shape your future 🌍
Everyone’s vote matters ❤️

Our members really enjoyed this fun and informative session 😄 We learned so much and had a great time together! 👏 Thanks again to Gerraint and Simon for making it so engaging!

Two Great Days at National Council

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Amy and Christy from Caerphilly People First attended the **All Wales People First National Council meeting on 10th and 11th March at Galeri Caernarfon.🚆 We travelled by train from Cardiff with other staff and members from All Wales People First, and the journey was smooth.

🗓️ Day 1

We started by going through the minutes from the last meeting.
We checked the actions that had been completed and asked questions if anything was unclear.
👨‍💼 Joe Powell, Chief Executive of All Wales People First, gave us an update about the important work they are doing across Wales.
🗣️ Speaking up for Caerphilly
Amy spoke on behalf of our members.
She shared concerns about:
💻 GP appointments moving online
📱 The new e-consultation system for booking appointments.
Amy explained that some people with learning disabilities may find online systems difficult to use.
👏 We are very proud of Amy for speaking up and sharing our members’ views.
💬 National Council Review
All the representatives had a chance to talk about:
✅ What is working well
⚠️ What could be improved
There were really good discussions and lots of positive ideas shared.

🗓️ Day 2

We were joined on Zoom by the Senedd Engagement Team who gave a presentation about voting.
🗳️ Voting is important because:

  • Your voice matters
  • You can help choose who makes decisions
  • It helps create change in your community
    📅 Remember: Elections are in May.
    🏡 Homes Not Hospitals
    Joe also shared an update about the Homes Not Hospitals campaign.
    This campaign is about making sure people with learning disabilities can live in their homes and communities with the right support, instead of staying in hospital for long periods.
    Everyone agreed this is really important work.
    📱 Sharing Social Media Ideas
    We also had some group discussions and shared ideas for good social media posts.

It was great to see everyone:
😊 Taking part
💡 Sharing ideas
🗣️ Talking about their lived experiences
🚶‍♀️ A Lovely Walk Around Caernarfon

We also enjoyed a lovely morning walk around Caernarfon. It is a beautiful place with lots of history. We saw the famous Caernarfon Castle, a huge medieval castle built over 700 years ago by King Edward I. The castle is a very important part of Welsh history and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 🏰 It was great to see such an amazing place while we were there.

It was also really nice to Catch up with other People First members, and spend time with the All Wales People First team. Thank you to everyone for a friendly, positive and productive National Council meeting!