It's between Labour and the Lib Dems here
Sunday, April 15, 2007

Haven't you heard? The whole of Cardiff is a two-horse race between Labour and the Lib Dems. At least that's what they will tell you.

Laughing in the face of the actual statistics, the Lib Dems argue with some gall that 'everyone knows the Conservatives and Plaid can't win here'. Well, it's news to me, and news to Tory candidate Jonathan Morgan too I'm sure; he'll be devastated to learn he has no chance in Cardiff North despite being 6,400 votes closer to Labour than his Lib Dem counterpart.

So, how do they do it? Surely it's not an outright lie? No, even for politicians that would be going too far. Instead, the Lib Dems cheekily use council election results to calculate their graphs, making it look as if they are in second place, whereas they are actually in third. But where they genuinely lead, as in Cardiff Central, suddenly the council election results are an irrelevance and assembly election history is of primary importance.

The most staggering thing about this ploy is that it's about as convincing as a Didier Drogba 'injury'. If you're motivated enough to vote you're probably curious enough to wonder why the Lib Dems are bragging about council seats in the middle of an assembly election campaign. Why bother?

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posted by Blamerbell @ 7:50 pm, ,


The facts about Rhodri and Iraq
Monday, April 09, 2007

I should have been listening to Rhodri Morgan's interview on Good Morning Wales last week a little more closely. The World Socialist Web Site was much more attentive and appears baffled by the Welsh Labour leader's remarks on the Iraq war (hat tip Dylan J-E).

The article quotes Rhodri saying that those concerned about the war in Iraq were “probably Guardian-reading, chattering-class Labour supporters” whose impact would only be “slight.” I presume, he doesn't count himself among them.

As First Minister, Rhodri never stated an opinion on the war, as his Lib Dem opponent in Cardiff West never ceases to remind us.

But the impact of this muesli-munching majority/minority should not be understated. A recent poll by ICM for the BBC asked: "Which, if any, of the following issues do you think will be important to people when it comes to deciding which political party to vote for in the Welsh Assembly elections?"

Predictably, the Health Service came top on 90%, but a whopping 44% said Iraq. The Guardian-reading chattering classes are evidently on the march. Whoever they are, 44% does not equal "slight".

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posted by Blamerbell @ 6:12 pm, ,


Is Iraq an issue for Wales?
Wednesday, December 13, 2006

For the past couple of weeks I've been getting to know the Assembly election candidates in Rhodri Morgan's Cardiff West constituency.

The Tories and the Lib Dems are putting up young candidates, aged 21 and 23 respectively. Plaid, meanwhile, are going with an old hand, Neil McEvoy. He's a former Labour councillor whose name still makes mouths froth with rage in the First Minister's back yard.

And the reason he switched was Iraq. The Lib Dems, too, are determined to make an issue of it in the election campaign. Their candidate, Alison Goldsworthy, claims to have put in Freedom of Information requests for any statements made by Rhodri Morgan about Iraq. She claims there are none.

But Councillor Richard Cook, Rhodri Morgan's agent, says he can't understand why Iraq should be an issue. It has nothing to do with Wales, he says.

My feeling is that it has rather a lot to do with Wales. Our taxes fund the weapons we use in Iraq and our boys (and some girls too I suspect) are asked to go out there and fight.

Most people know that Rhodri personally opposed the war - his wife Julie voted against it in parliament. I wonder if his continued reluctance to put that on the record will harm him at all in next May's elections?

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posted by Blamerbell @ 11:55 am, ,