n By Hajera Blagg


Angela Moss, a teaching assistant hailing from the rural town of Ystradgynlais, told Landworker of some of the struggles her community faces.


“Public transport is a big issue,” she said. “To get to the nearest cities, we have to take two or even three buses.”


Angela said she was very happy to see a trade union presence at the Royal Welsh Show.


“It’s so important to raise awareness of the work that unions do,” she said. “It’s vital that people in roles like mine know that there are trade unions that will support us and speak for us.”


Meanwhile, Anne Packer, who lives in the town of Usk, spoke of the challenges facing retired people in rural areas.


“I have no mobile signal, and the internet cuts out every other day,” she said. “It’s difficult to keep in touch with people, and isolation can be a big problem. Bus services are virtually non-existent. If I didn’t have a car, I’d be in a real pickle.”


Many people visiting the Royal Welsh Show came from further afield, like Unite member David Knight, from Castle Cary in Somerset.


David works as a learning and development officer for the Methodist Church, and he’s a member of Unite’s Faithworkers Branch.


David told Landworker that even though on the “face of it, villages like ours look very picturesque and chocolate box”, he said rural poverty blights these areas.


“I work closely with food banks, and it’s estimated that 10 per cent of our picture-perfect village uses food banks,” he noted.


Challenges for the retired – Anne Packer


David was enthusiastic about Unite’s presence at the Show.


“There are very few opportunities for people to connect with unions,” he said. “In many workplaces, unless you have an issue at work, you don’t often see the union. That’s why it’s great to see Unite here.”


David would know more than anyone the importance of Unite maintaining a presence at shows like the Royal Welsh.


“I myself joined the union at a show,” he said, explaining he signed up at the Greenbelt Festival in Northamptonshire. He didn’t know that there was a union for faith workers like him, until he discovered Unite’s stand at the festival.


While a significant part of Unite’s work at the Royal Welsh Show is recruitment – Pasty and his colleagues sign up scores of members every year – it’s not just about new joiners. It’s also about countering far-right narratives that are now worryingly taking hold in working-class communities.


This year, this aspect of Unite’s work is especially important. After all, it wasn’t only bluetongue virus that cast a shadow on the Royal Welsh Show – there was another unwelcome visitor – Reform leader Nigel Farage. His party has surged in the polls ahead of the Welsh Senedd elections next year.


29 uniteLANDWORKER Spring 2026 Ukranian Cossacks steal the show


Pasty Turner hands out Landworker


Pasty believes it is only by talking to people, listening to their concerns and offering them hope that far-right ideologies can be tackled.


“What Nigel Farage is doing is offering people false promises – this idea of going back decades to a perfect time that never existed in the first place,” he said.


“He’s using fear politics to prey on a certain type of person. We can win them back only by offering our own vision of hope.”


All photos: Mark Thomas


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