🧵 9/9

As attention turns towards the 2026 Senedd election, understanding these differences in framing will be an important part of assessing how audiences encounter political information across the UK’s media landscape.

#impartialityproject #Caerphillybyelection #Senedd #Welshpolitics

Contrasting media coverage of the Caerphilly by-election in Wales with UK-wide news: how did broadcasters balance parties and leaders? — Researching the impartiality of political news In UK-wide media, the Caerphilly by-election result was framed around Reform UK’s defeat, the terminal decline of Labour in Wales, and the implications for Keir Starmer’s UK government in Westminster....

🧵 8/9

Read our latest blog post on the coverage around the Caerphilly by-election here: tinyurl.com/yc46mcpw

#impartiality #impartialityproject #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection #byelection #Senedd #Welshpolitics #Reform #PlaidCymru #Labour #WelshLabour

🧵 7/9

Overall, the analysis suggests that UK-wide & Welsh news outlets approached the by-election through different editorial lenses: one centred on UK political trends, the other on devolved & local context.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #Caerphillybyelection #Senedd #Welshpolitics

🧵 6/9

Individual candidate mentions on TV & online were also relatively evenly distributed, with Reform UK’s Llŷr Powell referenced most often due to ongoing reporting relating to Nathan Gill.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #Caerphillybyelection #Senedd #Welshpolitics #Reform

🧵 5/

Across the Welsh TV, online & X output, Labour, Reform UK, Plaid Cymru & the Conservatives were among the most frequently referenced parties, with Labour receiving the most coverage as the governing party in Wales & the party defending the seat.

#impartiality #Caerphillybyelection #Labour

🧵 4/9

Mentions of parties & leaders broadly reflected their roles in the campaign, their positions in the Senedd, & key events.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection #byelection #Senedd #Welshpolitics #Reform #PlaidCymru #Labour #WelshLabour

🧵 3/

Welsh broadcasters placed greater focus on Plaid Cymru’s victory & the local significance of the result, while also covering the wider implications for Labour, Reform UK & other parties.

#impartiality #Caerphillybyelection #Welshpolitics #Reform #PlaidCymru #Labour #WelshLabour

🧵 2/9

UK network news tended to frame the by-election in relation to UK political dynamics, including Labour’s performance & Reform UK’s position in national polling.

Plaid Cymru’s win featured within this wider context.

#impartiality #Caerphillybyelection #Reform #PlaidCymru #WelshLabour

🧵 (7/7)

The research in this blog post was conducted by @stephencushion.bsky.social, @mattwalshjourno.bsky.social, @maxwellmodell.bsky.social & myself.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #politicalreporting #politicaljournalism #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection

🧵 (6/7)

These findings raise questions about how impartiality, agenda-setting & visibility interact during election periods — particularly when UK & devolved political narratives collide.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphillybyelection

🧵 (5/7)

Social media coverage was balanced but low in depth, with few direct quotes or detailed policy discussions.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #politicalreporting #politicaljournalism #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection

🧵 (4/7)

Welsh broadcasters gave greater space to local issues & candidates, while UK network news focused on the result’s meaning for Labour & Reform nationally.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #politicalreporting #politicaljournalism #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphillybyelection

🧵 (3/7)

Plaid Cymru, despite winning the seat, received less UK-wide coverage than Reform UK, whose campaign was often framed through Westminster implications.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #politicalreporting #politicaljournalism #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphillybyelection

🧵 (2/7)

Reform UK received almost as much attention as Plaid Cymru, driven by Nigel Farage’s visibility & the Nathan Gill controversy.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #politicalreporting #politicaljournalism #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection

🧵 (1/7)

Key findings include:

Labour dominated overall coverage — reflecting its position as the governing party in Wales & the seat’s long Labour history.

#impartiality #impartialityproject #politicalreporting #politicaljournalism #journalism #politicalcommunication #Caerphillybyelection

Contrasting media coverage in Wales of the Caerphilly by-election with UK-wide news: how did broadcasters balance parties and leaders? — Researching the impartiality of political news In UK-wide media, the Caerphilly by-election result was framed around Reform UK’s defeat, the terminal decline of Labour in Wales, and the implications for Keir Starmer’s UK government in Westminster....

A new blog post from the impartiality project at @cujournmedcul.bsky.social, analyses how BBC Wales & ITV Wales covered the Caerphilly by-election across TV, online & social media.

🔗 tinyurl.com/yc46mcpw

🧵👇

#impartiality #impartialityproject #journalism #Caerphilly #Caerphillybyelection

@sashasimic.bsky.social in today's @mstaronline.bsky.social says the #Caerphillybyelection was a reason to be cheerful.
#FuckRacistReform

Caerphilly Silly-Billies Swear-Iny Daffodily Nationalists Without fail, one wails when they think of Wales. Cold, raining, Llyod George – it's all ‘y’s and ‘g’s and very little else. Norfolk is mile...

rubbish welsh place

#caerphillybyelection #wales #caerphilly #plaidcymru #reform #goawales

heebeegbnouz.com/caerphilly-s...

#Caerphillybyelection

#Caerphillybyelection

Peter Brookes @BrookesTimes @thetimes on #Caerphilly #CaerphillyByelection #PlaidCymru #Starmer - political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com

Dave Brown’s #RoguesGallery after #GuillaumeFouace @Independent on #Caerphilly #CaerphillyByelection #PlaidCymru #Farage #Starmer #Badenochm - political cartoon gallery in London original-political-cartoon.com

Eluned Morgan says Wales is at a crossroads, and it’s a battle that will resonate across the UK buff.ly/o7atW7j #chartist48 .@PrifWeinidog #caerphilly #caerphillybyelection

Original post on scicomm.xyz

[UKpol, Wales]

Well done Plaid Cymru for holding off Reform in a Senedd by-election. It's striking to see the Labour and Tory vote go from a combined 63% four years ago to 13% today.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/24/plai...

#PlaidCymru […]

Welsh Labour – the perfect dictatorship/Wales’ Ozymandias The reason for bringing up the PRI in a piece about Welsh Labour is that there is one immutable fact that in every single year the ‘perfect dictatorship’ was dominant in Mexico, Labour has been dom…

Is Welsh Labour’s perfect dictatorship faltering?
#caerphillybyelection

Prescient erthygl gan Morfil Mawr

yserengoch.cymru/2025/06/23/w...

Labour loses Caerphilly for first time in over 100 years Podcast Episode · The New Statesman: politics and culture · 24/10/2025 · 17m

Good late night emergency podcast from ⁦‪the New Statesman‬⁩’s ⁦‪Harry Clarke‬⁩-Ezzidio & ⁦Ben Walker‬⁩ on the #CaerphillyByelection & familiar problems for Labour of lack of consistent branch-level campaigning outside elections podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Great result for Plaid Cymru in #Caerphillybyelection Congratulations 🙌

Commiserations to the Russian candidate on failing to get elected in Caerphilly, despite the best efforts of the media

#bbcbreakfast
#r4today
#ReformUK
#CaerphillyByElection

Plaid Cymru ousts Labour in Caerphilly byelection Rhun ap Iorwerth’s party, which wants Wales to become independent, seizes Senedd seat after Reform UK challenge

#CaerphillyByElection

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

@reformparty_uk out in force this evening in #CaerphillyByElection