Ex-mining town that voted Leave received millions in EU cash but now claims it was misled
One hundred and fifty years ago, Ebbw Vale’s blast furnaces roared with pig iron and coal, forging a revolution that sent rails to Stockton and Darlington for the world’s first steam locomotive railway line, and later steel for Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is even said that 40,000 bricks at the foot of the Empire State Building came from near this South Wales Valleys town. Today, the same ground is silent. The steelworks that once employed 12,000 people until the 1960s – and by the early 1920s had put 34,000 men on the payroll of the Ebbw Vale Steel, Iron & Coal Company – were demolished in 2002. The surrounding coal mines, which produced 2 million tons of coal a year, have long shut. The town centre, still clinging to one of the region’s last weekly markets, is a familiar strip of pound shops, bookmakers and amusement arcades. Even the road signs seem to have erased the place: absent from England all the way to within ten miles, the only marker on the M4 a logo for the now-closed Festival Park shopping centre. Ebbw Vale’s industrial past, once the engine of a thriving community, now stands in stark contrast to its present economic struggles.
The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Powerhouse
The Ebbw Vale Steelworks, established in 1790, grew to become the largest steel mill in Europe by the late 1930s, renowned for high-quality steel. At its peak, the works fed packed cinemas and social clubs with regular pay packets. That golden age is preserved in the grand headquarters building of the Ebbw Vale Works Museum, where marble floors and internal stone arches still evoke a past prosperity. Volunteers there – three of the final workers from the plant – now help run the museum, which holds a comprehensive archive of the region’s coal, iron and steelmaking history. But the closure of the steelworks in 2002, together with the earlier collapse of coal mining in the surrounding valleys, brought catastrophic job losses and economic hardship. Blaenau Gwent, the county that includes Ebbw Vale, now has one of the lowest employment rates in Wales. According to the New Economics Foundation, it has just 7.6 job vacancies per 100 universal credit recipients. Life expectancy for both men and women is among the lowest in England and Wales – a grim irony in the constituency of Aneurin Bevan, founder of the NHS.
A Shower of EU Money – and a Question of Trust
Given this backdrop, the European Union poured substantial regeneration funding into Blaenau Gwent. The most prominent sign when driving into Ebbw Vale is not for the town itself – population 20,000 – but a European Union marker in front of an ironworks relic, noting the €1.9 billion (£1.6 bn) allocated to West Wales and the Valleys some 20 years ago. Plaques and signs across the region reflect millions more. Over 15 years, the county received nearly $200 million in redevelopment funds. Specific projects include: a £350 million regeneration of the former steelworks site, now called “The Works,” housing a college and an employment park; more than £80 million for the upgrade of the A465 Heads of the Valleys road, completed last year; over £8 million to reopen the Ebbw Vale to Cardiff railway line in 2008, with a total project cost exceeding £22 million; a £2.3 million cable car, opened in 2015 to connect the high street to the revamped railway station; and £11.5 million for the Bank Square regeneration, which included a four-metre high stainless steel dragon costing £22,000 and an 11-metre high clock called “Echos” – more often described locally as a “cheese cutter.”
Yet the visible investment has failed to win hearts. Phill Edwards, who runs the town’s weekly market, stands next to the cable car – mockingly called the “Stannah stairlift” – and calls it a waste of money. According to the BBC, the lift has broken down hundreds of times since opening and costs £41,000 a year to run. “What’s wrong with a flight of stairs when money could be spent on much more worthwhile projects that really make a difference for people?” he says. “You see, the EU money, it’s all about creating things that shine and sparkle. It’s not right to suggest we’ve turned our back on investment [by voting Leave], because for real people, it was never there.” Many residents echo that sentiment: the funding, they argue, provided cosmetic surgery – new plaques, shiny bits of infrastructure – but failed to generate well-paid jobs or meaningful economic growth.
Why Ebbw Vale Voted Leave Despite the Cash
That disconnect helps explain why, in the 2016 EU referendum, 62 % of people in Blaenau Gwent voted to leave – the highest proportion in Wales. The conundrum has been explored extensively, but the answer is not black-and-white. Locals offer a range of reasons, revealing a deep sense of betrayal and unmet expectations.
Alan Waite, 73, who worked at the steelworks for 35 years, voted Leave because of the money being sent to Europe. “Yes, that’s great [that the town received EU funding], but it was nowhere near the amount of money we were sending over there,” he says. Roger Burchell, also 73, with 33 years at the plant, adds: “Farage is a good talker, he said what we wanted to hear.” Carl Hobbs, 70, standing outside the Wetherspoon pub on the high street, calls Brexit the “worst thing we ever did. We had a lot of grants given by the EU. But we were fed a lot of wrong information. Told we deserved better.” Dominic Roberts, a sweet stallholder, says: “I voted because of the extra support for the NHS, but it was all broken promises. We was hoodwinked, completely.” Paula Coleman, owner of a small gift shop, recalls: “I thought it was going to mean more jobs, a better standard of living. People hoped for more. It hasn’t come and now we live with it.”
The research briefing adds further voices. Maria Williams cited immigration and the desire for the UK to regain control over its borders and justice system as reasons – despite Blaenau Gwent having a low foreign-born population. Maureen Windmill felt EU money was spent on the wrong things. Ann Williams, a retired hotel worker, voted Leave believing the town would be fine after Brexit. The common thread is a perception that EU funding was mismanaged by bureaucracy and failed to address root economic problems. As Victoria Winckler, author of a Bevan Foundation report on EU funds and Brexit, noted, the spending did not translate into tangible benefits for many. Councillor Wayne Hodgins, an independent councillor for Brynmawr, sums it up: “Yes, the spending wasn’t always perfect, but there was a commitment I think we’ve struggled to get here, whether it be because of issues with the Welsh or UK governments.”
Post-Brexit Realities: New Funds, Old Problems
A decade after the referendum, Ebbw Vale continues to face deep economic struggles. The UK government’s replacement for lost EU funds – the Shared Prosperity Fund (SPF) – was rolled out in April 2022. Simon Hart, then Welsh Secretary, promised no more “vanity projects.” However, a report by the Welsh government flagged concerns over a lack of cooperation with the UK government on the spending, with councils complaining of difficulties submitting bids. Money has trickled through: last June, a new engineering campus at Coleg Gwent opened thanks to £1.5 million from the SPF. This year, the SPF was replaced by the Local Growth Fund, which will provide £1.5 billion in grants over three years to support economic growth. But the impact is not yet visible to many. As Councillor Hodgins observes: “Many hoped that Brexit would lead to money better spent. But it hasn’t happened here. And now you look back, and some will wonder if it was better than if we did stay in the EU.”
Economic indicators for Blaenau Gwent remain bleak. As of the year ending December 2023, the employment rate stood at 69.4 % – below the Welsh average – while unemployment was 4.1 %, higher than the Welsh average. Economic inactivity has increased. Average weekly earnings have historically been below the Welsh average, with the gap widening; the median annual salary is around £30,734, slightly below the UK average. Blaenau Gwent contains some of the most deprived areas in Wales, with significant challenges in income and employment.
Amid these struggles, community resilience endures. On the high street, three women from the Big Bocs Bwyd community shop and kitchen carry bags of donated food to provide healthy meals for children at local schools at “pay as you feel” prices. Operated from a modified shipping container and supported by the school and local council, the initiative aims to combat food insecurity. Emma Prosser says: “We just want to believe in a better future for our town, our people. For too long we’ve been played like pawns, many have now lost interest, but we’ll never give up helping each other. And that’s what makes Ebbw Vale what it is, in Europe or outside it.”
