Town once dubbed UK’s ‘white sock capital’ bids for Queen’s jubilee city honour

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Merthyr Tydfil is bidding for city status to mar the monarch’s 70 years on the throne

The town once dubbed Britain’s “white sock capital” and where the world’s first steam locomotive was built could become a city under an audacious bid for global recognition.

Merthyr Tydfil, in the South Wales Valleys, is home to a key milestone in the Industrial Revolution after Richard Trevithick built the first steam loco there in 1804.

Now, 217 years later, the town’s local MP believes it should become a “City of the Valleys”, nestling in the foothills of the Brecon Beacons.

He wants it to win a race for city status to mark next year’s Platinum Jubilee, when the Queen celebrates 70 years on the throne.

Labour MP Gerald Jones said: “When people ask me, ‘Why should Merthyr Tydfil be made a city?’ my answer to them is, ‘Why on Earth not?’

“Why should Merthyr Tydfil be less deserving than Preston; Newport; Stirling; Lisburn or Newry?

“What secret formula do these, and other cities have that Merthyr Tydfil lacks?

“The answer, of course, is that Merthyr Tydfil is as industrious, as ambitious and – I might be biased – even more beautiful. It is thoroughly deserving of city status.”

Merthyr’s four big 18th Century ironworks fired the Industrial Revolution, with the Valleys famous for coal and steel.

The town also hit the headlines in 2003 when it was branded the UK’s “white sock capital”, with residents said to be buying more pairs than anywhere else in Britain.

Its campaign for city status is backed by the local council and residents, said Mr Jones, which shows “their pride in Merthyr Tydfil and our collective ambitions for its future”.

He added: “We are a town that has shaped the world for generations.

“If this bid is successful, Merthyr Tydfil will take its place amongst the great cities of our country and face its future with the pride and determination it has shown over the centuries.”

Other towns already in the running or set to enter the battle to become one of the select few granted city status next year include Southend-on-Sea, Essex; Newport on the Isle of Wight; Reading, Berks; Boston, Lincs; Swindon, Wilts; Dudley, West Mids; Medway, Kent; and Middlesbrough, Teesside.