WALES — Voters in Ebbw Vale's constituency did not elect a single Labour Senedd member in the May Senedd election. Three of the six seats in the constituency were won by Plaid Cymru, with the remaining three claimed by Reform UK.

Ebbw Vale had the highest proportion of Leave voters in Wales during the 2016 EU referendum, with 62% supporting departure from the European Union. The Ebbw Vale steelworks closed in 2002. Following the closure, Blaenau Gwent received the maximum amount of EU funding available for structural and regional development programs. Up until the 2016 Brexit vote, the number of jobs in the Blaenau Gwent area steadily declined, and median wages decreased in real terms. The UK has not fully replaced the EU funding shortfall since Brexit.

A report from the Bevan Foundation stated: "It is pretty clear that whatever else EU funds may have achieved, they didn't boost the fortunes of Blaenau Gwent and many other parts of Wales. If these towns were showered with cash, it appears to have gone straight down the drain."

Lindsay Whittle, a Plaid Cymru representative for the constituency in the Welsh Senedd, said: "What the Brexit vote showed was the depth of despair and how people felt left behind. I think now, with more information available and a lot more engagement on the subject, a lot of people here now regret that decision." Whittle added, "More and more, people in Wales are seeing that Westminster does not work for them. The EU referendum and the mess afterwards are a big reason for that."

The former steelworks site has seen redevelopment, including a new railway station that opened in 2015. The site now hosts a hospital, a leisure center, a college, a public-private cybersecurity research center, and two tech firms. The Goldworks, a coworking and business support hub, opened on the site in 2024. Ebbw Vale is part of the Welsh government's £100m Tech Valleys program. Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen have announced a joint blueprint for growth, aiming to capitalize on Welsh government investment and funding for deprived areas.