New Welsh MP denies there was any deal with Keir Starmer for his seat

-Credit: (Image: WalesOnline)
-Credit: (Image: WalesOnline)


When Alex Barros-Curtis was selected as the Labour candidate for Cardiff West it’s fair to say there was a backlash. He was one of two candidates accused of being parachuted into their Welsh constituencies with little or no links to Wales due to their relationships with Labour’s high command.

Social media erupted and even Labour supporters had their say. Cardiff West is long one of Labour's strongholds. It was the parliamentary seat of George Thomas and was both a Senedd and parliamentary seat of Rhodri Morgan while its MS is Mark Drakeford. There was particular discontent that someone from London had been put into what was seen as – and was confirmed to be – a Labour safe seat. Online the responses to Labour's announcement that Mr Barros-Curtis had been selected as Labour's candidate were cutting. "'Selected' is doing some heavy lifting here," said one riposte. "What does he know about our constituency exactly?" another asked. One person wrote: "Another parachuted non-Welsh non-local candidate. Labour are treating Wales with utter disrespect and contempt." You can remind yourself of all that here.

Eight weeks on he’s now about to sign on a home in the Welsh capital and is getting used to the city he will soon call home. He admits being aware of the online abuse but said his husband had taken it harder than him. "You just have to kind of put it out of your mind," he said. "Whereas my husband was very much more kind of sucked into it."

READ MORE: Elderly man in care home unmasked as rapist who attacked an 11-year-old girl

READ MORE: Murder investigation launched after 'serious assault'

There was no big plan for him to go for the seat, he says. Long-time Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan announcing he wasn't going to stand again took many by surprise when he made his announcement on May 27 – four days after the election had been called.

Mr Barros-Curtis had, he says, wanted to be an MP when he was younger but then became a lawyer. He had worked in parliament for Andy Burnham MP and advised Welsh MP Owen Smith during his leadership bid. He was then part of Keir Starmer's successful leadership bid and in 2020 he became the Labour Party's executive director of legal affairs.

He was not on any list for selection anywhere when Rishi Sunak stood in the rain and announced a July election. "But then because it all changed and am election got called suddenly, Kevin stood down, there was a period where applications were open for people to go in for what we call retirement seats, some where the party hadn't finished selection for battleground seats.

"Conspiracy theories will abound but the first time I properly spoke to [Kevin Brennan] was when I'd been selected and he was very kind. I was selected and announced on Friday and [then on] Saturday morning I came up and had some meetings and he took me round the constituency which was really good. But it was very sudden.

"It was never the grand plan. My job then was very, shall we say, busy it was the hardest job I've ever done but also the most rewarding and contrary to some of the speculation it was not a deal with Keir. He has many, many other things to do and I was just doing my job."

And, contrary to some of the "non-Welsh" jibes, returning to this side of Offa's Dyke was in fact something of a homecoming for a man who grew up in the north of Wales and went to Gronant Primary School and Prestatyn High School. "Because I am Welsh I'd always thought it would be nice to go back to Wales and obviously this opportunity presented itself and I applied for it and got it. But obviously I wouldn't put the application in without being a very long conversation with my husband and I said I wouldn't do it without him. And actually I think he was probably a stronger proponent of it than I was because I guess having done the job I've done, particularly the last four years and having seen a little bit of how the sausages are made, I could see more of the downsides whereas he could say: 'You'd be great and offer something'."

They are, after battling many cancelled viewings, about to sign on somewhere to live in the constituency and will split their time between London, their existing home, and the Welsh capital. "Cardiff is punching above its weight and it's just had Taylor [Swift] and Oasis coming," he said. "It's a city that's compact, which is great, and so many great restaurants and getting to know the area, making some friends, and we can't wait to take the car and go out of the city for walks," he said. For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.

Asked his priorities, he said: "From speaking to Kevin [Brennan], Huw [Thomas] the council leader, and Mark [Drakeford], and Eluned, the thing I really want to make a priority is Ely, not just because of what happened two years ago but you feel the disenchantment on the doors. I definitely felt that and I'm not getting into Ely and Caerau about who has the better deal. Funding would be absolutely great and that's inevitably part of it but community investment I want to build that credibility locally. Now 31 people have been charged with the riots, and there's the IOPC report, and it's about whatever the outcomes of those ensuring there aren't repeats and flashpoints but how we can get better relationships." For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.

Many of the class of 2024 will admit being overwhelmed about the reality of their new jobs, dividing their lives between constituency and Westminster, learning the rules and setting up offices, hiring staff, all while meeting their constituents' needs. It can be, he says, overwhelming. "You do have to be careful if you want to be seen as taking constituents for granted. I'm very cognisant of the perception of me. A few people said to me at the count: 'What cabinet role are you going to get?' and I just laughed. I wasn't expecting a role, it wasn't a deal, and the parachuting – to use the vernacular – for some greater agenda, it's because I want to play my part and be a good constituency MP. I have good relationships with the Prime Minister and the cabinet – that's surely only a good thing for the people I represent. It doesn't mean I'm going to get [chancellor] Rachel [Reeves] going: 'Yeah, here's a million for that and £250,000 for that' but it means I can fight my corner and have a constructive relationship. And with the Welsh MPs with more of us coming together and the more leverage we have to fight for that. I do want to be a hardworking politician and I won't just do Cardiff West work – I'm on the modernisation committee, and that's about trying to modernise procedures here and raise standards based on Johnson/Truss years which had a direct detrimental impact in the election to us all and to me as a constituency MP."