Worst Cafe in Wales opened by Ukip.

There were heated scenes yesterday as protesters staged a demonstration outside a newly-opened UK Independence Party shop and cafe.

Worst Cafe in Wales?

According to the Wasting Mule

"Around 30 people gathered outside the shop on Glebe Street in Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Cardiff South and Penarth constituency, which has been held by Labour for decades, is said to be one of Ukip’s target seats"

Which is optimistic seeing they came 5th in the 2012 Byelection

Cardiff South and Penarth by-election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Stephen Doughty	9,193	47.3	+8.4
	Conservative	Craig Williams	3,859	19.9	−8.4
	Liberal Democrat	Bablin Molik	2,103	10.8	−11.5
	Plaid Cymru	Luke Nicholas	1,854	9.5	+5.3
	UKIP	Simon Zeigler	1,179	6.1	+3.5
	Green	Anthony Slaughter	800	4.1	+2.9
	Socialist Labour	Andrew Jordan	235	1.2	N/A
	Communist	Robert Griffiths	213	1.1	+0.7
Majority			5,334	27.4
Turnout			19,436	25.7	−38.2
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	+8.4

According to the Wasting Mule.  "Members of Ukip and protesters exchanged frank views in the doorway to the shop".

At the same time

One protester said: 

I was walking home the other day and I saw this UKIP shop opening up and I was horrified. This my town which I love.
“We’re surrounded by people who are all absolutely appalled that they will be opening. We don’t want this happening in our town. It’s a disgrace.”

 The Ukip Parliamentary candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth said: “

As regards what is happening outside here I think it is fabulous that people from all sorts of different political persuasions can express their views and that’s the reason we have opened a cafe here in Penarth because we don’t just want to chat to people who already agree with us.
“If I get elected, I’m not only going to be representing the views and interests of people who have voted for me, I’m going to be representing everybody. So I’m really keen that people come along irrespective of their political leanings and share their ideas with us about who they believe Britain should be better governed.”

There you are Ukip are nice democrats who are wiling to listen to us

One person they may not listen to is former Plaid Leader Dafydd Wigley.

Now Plaid Cymru election coordinator and former party leader Dafydd Wigley has fired a broadside at Ukip as activists prepare for a showdown at the polls in May.

Lord Wigley claimed that both Plaid and Ukip supporters may be “frustrated” with the Westminster establishment but insisted the two parties had nothing in common.

He said: 

[The] thought of Nigel Farage having his finger on the nuclear trigger fills me with apoplexy.”

Lord Wigley said 

Wales could not ignore the Ukip dimension” but argued the party’s goal to take the UK out of the European Union was “diametrically opposed” to Welsh interests.

 “We receive far more money from the European Union, by way of the Objective One money, the convergence funds and now the European Structural Funds coming to Wales [than] we pay in. Our agricultural sector is 80% dependent on the European Union. “It would be absolutely crazy for Wales to turn our back on Europe which provides such assistance.”

He said: 

“The reality is that Ukip merely want to see all these powers go to Westminster: they want to see Westminster strengthened – Plaid Cymru wants to see Westminster with fewer powers over Wales.”

Mr Wigley said the choice facing people in Wales was: 

“More Westminster or less Westminster telling us what to do?”

He added:

 “Don’t give me that drivel, Mr Farage, about London looking after our well-being; we know the historic facts – and we know how this continues today. We feel the daily consequences in terms of squeezed public services, of how London has consistently refused to put right the shortfall of the Barnett block.
“We can’t trust London now more than we have been able to do so in the past. And having Mr Farage there in No 10 does nothing, nothing at all, to raise our hopes of doing better.”

Somehow I think if Dafydd fancies a cup of coffee in Penarth there's one cafe he will be avoiding.

Labour's John Cruddas can progressives work with him?

It has been long suspected that in the two  devolution  referenda of 1979 and 1997 the Labour leader at the time (Callaghan,and Blair) had no real belief in the proposals.

Blair in particular when in the Shadow Cabinet was shocked  when he realised that his then leader the  late John Smith refereed to Scottish Devolution as "Unfinished Business) Smith  actually believed it.

Looking a t Ed Miliband there does not seem to be any real desire to continue with the process and there doesn't seem to be desire in the ranks of Labour in Scotland Wales let alone Westminster for a real devolution settlement  apart for reasons of political expediency.

So it welcome to here Labour's policy review chief Jon Cruddas

saying .

The British state is "no longer fit for purpose" and people are "disenchanted"

He said political parties were at risk "of being past their sell-by date".

Labour would have to harness modern technology to bring government "closer to the people", he argued.

In a speech to the Institute for Government, Mr Cruddas warned: "People feel a sense of being locked out of government and they know it."

He said people in the modern UK felt a "sense of abandonment" about politics.

"They are losing confidence in the ability of our public institutions to serve a notion of the common good," he said.

"Those who take decisions on behalf of others, whether in the public or private sector, are too often unaccountable.

He argued:

 "Our established political parties are in danger of being past their sell-by date.
"Their tribes are shrinking, their membership is declining, their hierarchies and bureaucracies too slow and cumbersome.
"Arguably they stifle innovation, creativity and initiative."

He said that where once political parties were "vital intermediary institutions between people and the state", in some parts of the country they had "become so disconnected from society they can no longer fulfil this role properly".

And he called for greater use of technology to create "a new way of governing our country".

It is when Mr Cruddas called for a "more federal union, which gives English, Scottish and Welsh people a stronger voice and more control over their lives and a new model of the state to do it". That perhaps we should sit up an notice.

In the next Parliament we could have a Plaid,SNP,Green Bloc who in a hung parliament  will be looking  who to support .

Neither Cameron or Miliband look like  worthy recipients of the backing of  such a Bloc but maybe Mr  Crudass could be someone they can work with.

Constitutional change will be an important issue in the next parliament and it will not deliver Independence  which I think is the only real solution

Although  attempts are being made to derail it spearheaded by t Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown  backed by the Unionist media saying politicians in Scotland must stop obsessing about constitutional change and focus on improving people's lives.

What Brown is real saying is "obsessing about constitutional change"is threatening my  Party in Scotland 

A odd statement after what Cruddas appears to be calling for and we can only speculate who really speaks for Labour,

But alliances will have to made a progressive forces will have to seek any in Labour (if they exist) who are prepared to work with them.

John Crudass may be one of them hopefully  and like John Smith he really believed in what he says we can only wait and see,

Unionist papers in hype over Smith commision

—-

The Unionist media  are making much of the Smith  Commission’s recommendations

 None of them seem to mention these are  recommendations.by the commission  as   Wings Over Scotland  poiints out are not law, and are not binding on any government or party.

As we in Wales know  Commission recommendations are rarely implemented in full, and with only 5 months to go before the General Elections if the recommendations  are to be implemented in full before then it will be surprising we may have to wait to see in the Labour and Tory Manifestos how serious they are are about it.

It may be that we will see almost identical paragraphs in the Blue and Red Tories manifestos.

For David Cameron the Smith recommendations seem to be an excuse for his EVEI agenda


Wales of course get nothing and if EVEL does go through making English MPs de facto members of the English Parliament  and the 40 Welsh MPs who may vote on some issues will be swamped ever mare than they are now.
The response from our own Politicians seem at first to be postive

 First Minister Carwyn Jones has said.Wales should be offered the same devolved powers as Scotland

He accused UK ministers of having a "piecemeal approach" to devolution, following publication of the Smith Commission's  report.

Mr Jones said control of assembly elections and air passenger duty must be devolved to Wales.

"If it's going to Scotland and not to Wales, how else are the people of Wales meant to look at it other than it being discriminatory on the part of the UK government?" he said."We cannot continue with this piecemeal approach to devolution and changing the UK."

He added:

 "We need a proper conversation that treats all four nations as equals, and which develops a long-term view on what the new UK should look like."This stuttering, ever-changing series of offers is confusing to people, and ultimately extremely damaging to the prospects of the union staying together in the long-term."

Mind you Carwyn only says Wales should be offered not given the same powers as Scotland  maybe he and his Labour colleagues secretly hope it will be rejected i n a referendum?

Owen Smith the Shadow Welsh Secretary seems to more lukewarm and we must ask ourselves once more who in fact is the leader of Labour here.

The Unionist may be sincere in their response to the Smith Commission but the phrase "Pinch of Salt" comes to mind.

Are deprived areas victims of FPTP?

The Wasting Mule online Part of a South Wales town has been named the most deprived area of Wales in a new government report.

St James, in Caerphilly – identified as St James 3 in the Welsh Government’s new Index of Multiple Deprivation – had already been ranked as one of the 10 most deprived places in Wales in 2005, 2008 and 2011.
The area, which includes Lansbury Park, was ranked the second most deprived place in the Welsh Government’s 2011 Index, behind part of Rhyl West.
Rhyl West 2 is now deemed the second most deprived part of Wales.


The new data shows seven of the 10 most deprived areas in 2011 remained in the most deprived 10 in 2014.
1. Caerphilly, St James 3 (2)
2. Denbighshire, Rhyl West 2 (1)
3. Wrexham, Queensway 1 (9)
4. Rhondda Cynon Taf Tylorstown 1  (10)
5. Bridgend, Caerau 1 (8)
6. Caerphilly, Twyn Carno 1 (3)
7. Rhondda Cynon Taf, Pen-y-waun 2 (15)
8. Merthyr Tydfil, Merthyr Vale 2 (17)
9. Cardiff, Splott 6 (36)
10. Denbighshire, Rhyl West 1 (7)

As Welshnotbritish points out these areas are areas where Labour's hegemony runs large and he has provided a useful proof


I remember when Plaid were running RCT  one of their councillors remarked that Plaid were diverting resources to the most deprived areas which were usually represented by Labour  and that the wards which had a Plaid representative were not seeing any benefits;

Its to his credit he believed it was the right policy but it shows the problem enhanced by our electoral system.

Labour can take  deprived areas for granted and see no reason to change things

Opposition Parties. however enlightened have no reason to court these areas as they continue to vote Labour

The deprived however areas are open to the far right BNP or Ukip who can blame  immigration even if the number of Immigrants in these  areas are minimal

Under First Past the Post (FPTP) these areas are doomed to have Labour representation for most of the time.

Could the Single Transferable Vote make a difference. If the Council Wards , Assembly and Westminster constituencies consisted of 4 seats then it will mean that these areas have more than one party member representing them. Who will be seeking their support in forthcoming elections. and would have to deliver. Or at least seem to.


Labour have taken these votes for granted or rather they have taken those who do not vote for granted /
It makes no difference to Labour if people in these areas vote or not they still win. and they can concentrate on marginal wards .

Indeed our current electoral system encourages this .

What kind  of democracy relies on the apathy or historical support for a party that abandoned deprived areas  for over a generation.

BBC and Party Manifestos.

The BBC seemed to have bowed to pressure and include Plaid.SNP and Greens in the web page showing what the Parties have currently on their manifesto  for 2015.

We can therefore ask the Question.

 If you recognise  that these Parties will be playing a prominent role in the forthcoming election . Why are you still refusing to include them in the "Prime Minister" debates?


Personally I am opposed to these debates we are not electing a Head of State Mrs Windsor got that job and she can offer it to any one who can form a government .

The scenario where Alec Salmond is called to the palace and asked to form a government of SNP ,Plaid,Greens SDLP  and maybe progressive Labour MOs may be fantasy but it is not unconstitutional.

The Prime Minister must also be a Member of Parliament though that included the Lords.

A hastily created Lord Blair of Sedgefield  back at Number 10 anyone. The Horror.

Though God help the weakest members of society if the Tories or Ukip are handed the reins of power for the next 5 years.

Nearly all have something of merit in them , Though unsurprisingly I find the SNP, Green and Plaid the nearest to my thinking.

Looking at it it will be difficult for any the Parties to enter in a coalition with either Labour or Conservatives but the former  with a bit of prodding might be at least worth keeping in power .

The influence of Ukip on Con,lan and even the LibDems  with rearguards Immigration is abundantly with all trying to be seen to be tough. on the matter. 

But as the  we saw with the promises made to the Scottish electorate if they voted NO in the recent referendum the reality the day after a election often see Key points of a Manifesto thrown out of the Window.

They are often wish lists but they are important partly because the second chamber tend to give a easy rise to Bills that have been promised in the winning Parties Manifesto/.

My advice is to take all the "promises" about increasing the number of Doctors or increasing employment  or reducing Taxes with a pinch of salt but use it as a guide to see who is closer to what you actually want.

we will inevitably be disappointed if our preferred  party enters government especially those of us who are backing a progressive platform but I will be voting once again for hope.

AM's deserve pay rise but so do everyone else.

After Yesterdays Blog  in  which I commented  on the fact that many people from working families are now in poverty  partly due to a vast increase in insecure work on zero-hours contracts, or in part-time or low-paid self-employment and that nearly 1.4 million people are on the controversial contracts that do not guarantee minimum hours, most of them in catering, accommodation, retail and administrative jobs. News that members of the Welsh assembly could get a £10,000 pay rise after the 2016 election, looks like a bad joke.

The increase would be 18% more than their current basic pay of around £54,000.

First Minister Carwyn Jones and members of his cabinet would see their pay rise to £140,000 and £100,000 respectively.

There is admittedly a case for the increase 

Sandy Blair, chair of the remuneration board, said the increase would reflect the responsibility of the job.

"With new responsibilities come new expectations on AMs," he said.
"We are proposing a salary for AMs which reflects the weight of responsibility they carry."
''We hope that the people of Wales will share our view of the standing of our National Assembly, the quality of individual they should expect to seek election and the level of performance they should demand of them."

He added 

Clearly, people in Wales are facing difficult economic circumstances and there is great pressure on public spending,"
"But that is precisely why Wales needs to attract the highest calibre people to be members of the National Assembly.
''Wales needs good governance and good government. That requires a strong, effective National Assembly.
"For it to be so, the individual members of the assembly must be exceptional in their motivation and abilities and remunerated accordingly."

But  there's a case for everyone in Wales to have a pay rise and we need exceptional Nurses,,Teachers  etc.  

It real bad timing for this to come out only a few days after it was announced that All NHS staff in Wales on ‘Agenda for change’ pay scales will receive a 1% consolidated pay rise from April 2015 in a deal agreed between health worker trade unions and the Welsh government.
In January 2015, the same staff will also receive an across-the-board £187 payment as part of a 2014–2015 pay settlement.
The Welsh government is also guaranteeing that all NHS staff will be paid at least the living wage from the beginning of 2015.

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander if you forgive the cliche.


There's also a call to increase the number of AM if that should happen would our AMs then find that they have a pay cut?

The political parties have given a cautious reaction to the proposals.

A Labour source said the matter "will need to be discussed by the group in the assembly".

A Welsh Conservative spokesman said the party remained "committed to a reduction in the cost of Welsh politics" and hoped "as many people as possible have their say" in the consultation.

Plaid Cymru said the proposals "seem out of step with public sector pay" but would discuss them with the other parties.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats said they would respond to the proposals "in due course", but added that they had argued that AMs' pay should be frozen for the duration of the current assembly, "at a time when budgets have been squeezed".

So there's no clear rejection from any Party

Lets me clear if  AMs are to be treated as other public sector workers (because that's what they essentially are) then any pay increase should be line.

The report has some merit in that it highlights the increasing role of the Assembly and our AMs   but if they are working harder then surely support staff are also doing so. 

Have they an equal claim.?

There may well be a case for a larger increase to match increased responsibilities and workload,but now is not the time.

It's the same the whole world over,

 Today's Guardian reports that

Insecure, low-paid jobs are leaving record numbers of working families in poverty, with two-thirds of people who found work in the past year taking jobs for less than the living wage, according to the latest annual report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
The research shows that over the last decade, increasing numbers of pensioners have become comfortable, but at the same time incomes among the worst-off have dropped almost 10% in real terms.
Painting a picture of huge numbers trapped on low wages, the foundation said during the decade only a fifth of low-paid workers managed to move to better paid jobs.
The living wage is calculated at £7.85 an hour nationally, or £9.15 in London – much higher than the legally enforceable £6.50 minimum wage.

They go on

As many people from working families are now in poverty as from workless ones, partly due to a vast increase in insecure work on zero-hours contracts, or in part-time or low-paid self-employment.Nearly 1.4 million people are on the controversial contracts that do not guarantee minimum hours, most of them in catering, accommodation, retail and administrative jobs. Meanwhile, the self-employed earn on average 13% less than they did five years ago, the foundation said.Average wages for men working full time have dropped from £13.90 to £12.90 an hour in real terms between 2008 and 2013 and for women from £10.80 to £10.30.

Meanwhile  the Wasting Mule reports that

 Jobseekers in Wales have had their benefits stopped a whopping 70,000 times in the last two years, 

Figures show  show the scale of the Government’s attempts to get tough on people who don’t meet tough criteria to prove they are actively looking for work.

The Mule goes on to say 

.The coalition’s tough new rules allow jobcentres to withhold benefits if claimants fail to accept a job they are offered, refuse to attend training, don’t follow instructions from a Jobcentre advisor – or cannot show they are actively seeking work.Failing to meet those tough criteria will see job seekers allowance stopped for between four weeks and three years – depending on the severity of the offence.The sanctioned then face applying for rent and food money through a hardship fund.

Pontypridd MP Owen Smith said the sanctions were being used as a punishment to “penalise some of the most vulnerable people in Wales”.

“Of course the benefits system has to be fair, and of course we want to encourage people out of work to actively seek work,” he said.

“However, the use of targets by the Department of Work and Pensions is discrediting the system and leading to people genuinely in need of support, either because they are unable to work or because of some other issue that has legitimately prevented them reporting to Job Centre Plus, being unfairly penalised.”

He said that he met people every week who are struggling to cope with sanctions.

“Each week I see in my surgery people being forced to use food banks, or unable to provide essentials to their family, because they have been sanctioned often on the flimsiest of reasons,”

 A DWP spokeswoman claimed the sanctions were “necessary” but denied job centres were set targets.

She said

 “more than 70% of claimants said they are more likely to follow the rules if they know they risk having their benefits stopped.”“They are used as a last resort in a small percentage of cases and fewer people were sanctioned this year compared to last year, showing more people are now doing all they can to find work,”

If it  is"a mall percentage"70,000 in two years indicate a higher rate of unemployment that current figures appear to show..

I am reminded of a Women who had turned to prostitution claiming that the Money was better than the dole and the humiliation not much worse

No one can argue that unemployed people must actively seek work but there appears to be a culture appearing in which no matter what people do at some time or other they will be sanctioned  in order to teach them a lesson in life.

It also shows that the much vaunted Con/LibDem  government figures on falls in unemployment should be taken in contest.

People rarely use the term Working Class these days but it is extraordinary that our politicians including Owen Smiths leader can go on and on about "A squeezed middle class. when the Working Class are being stamped on".


It seams nothing has changed 


As the Old goes


She was just a poor man's daughter,
Victim of the rich man's whim,
For he f***ed her and he left her,
With a sore and bleeding quim.

CHORUS:
It's the same the whole world over,
It's the poor that get the blame,
It's the rich that get the pleasure,
Ain't it all a bloody shame.

Oh, she went up to the city,
For to hide her bleeding shame,
But a Labour leader (the landlord up and) f***ed her,
Put her on the street again.

See him in the House of Commons,
Passing laws to combat crime,
While the victim of his evil,
Walks the streets at night in shame.

See him with his hounds and horses,
See him strutting at his club,
While the victim of his whoring,
Drinks her gin inside a pub.

See him riding in his carriage,
Past the gutter where she stands,
He has made a stylish marriage,
While she wrings her ringless hands.

See him at the fine theater,
In the font row with the best,
While the girl that he has ruined,
Entertains a sordid guest.

See her on the bridge at midnight,
Throwing snowballs at the moon,
She said, "sir, I've never had it,"
But she spoke too f***ing soon.

Standing on the bridge at midnight,
Picking blackheads from her crotch,
She said, "Sir, I've never had it,"
He said, "No, not f***ing much."

See her standing in Picadilly,
Offering her aching quim,
She is now completely ruined,
It was all because of him.

See him seated in his carriage.
Riding homeward from the hunt,
He got riches from his marriage,
She got sores upon her c***.

Standing on the bridge at midnight,
Throwing cunt-rags at the moon,
First a scream, a splash, Oh goodness!
Has she done a f***ing swoon?

When they dragged her from the river,
Water from her clothes they wrung,
And they thought that she had downed,
Till her corpse got up and sung.....

Then there came a wealthy pimp,
Marriage was the tale he told,
She had no one else to take her,

So she sold her soul for gold.

Plaid will need to double it seats in 2016 to be relevant.

I can imagine the day after teh Scottish referendum the Unionist parties slapping themselves on the back  and assuming that the SNP would now collapse into despair and  infighting as it had in 1979.

I must admit I expected a fall of in support for the Party and both the Tories and Blue--Labour allies making gains .

But I had in been in Scotland during the campaign.


Who outside Scotland saw a fundamental change in political campaigning.

Although I saw indication of this I try to be objective because I was reading Pro YES Blogs and tried not to be swayed into to much optimism.

Still ii bet even the SNP have been shocked with the phenomena

 Yesterday tthe SNP new leader Ncola Sturgeon who locks like she can even surpass Alex told a rally of more than 10,000 people at Glasgow SSE Hydro:  that membership of the SNP had surpassed the 90,000 mark.

She said 

 “Reaching over 90,000 members is an extraordinary achievement - up from some 25,000 on referendum day - and underlines the huge energy and dynamism in Scottish politics which is driving SNP poll ratings to record levels.

Indeed :  Membership of the Labour Party for the whole of the UK is about  189,53 and the Tories 174,000. They would both have to be approaching 2 million members  to match the SNP.

But Ms Sturgeon  has now set her eyes not back to the referendum but to next years General Election

“I am in no doubt that independence, and exercising full powers in Scotland, is the best future for this nation - and would also act as a catalyst for reform south of the border.”

She added:

 “The old Westminster system doesn’t work for Scotland, we know that all too well.
“But you know what, it doesn’t work for many other parties other UK either. So when we send a strong team of SNP MPs to Westminster, we will seek to build alliances with progressive forces across these islands.”

“My aim is that the SNP wins the general election in Scotland, and there is every prospect of a hung parliament at Westminster.
“The SNP would never act to put the Tories in power. In these circumstances, our constructive approach is that the SNP will seek common cause in a balanced parliament with progressive forces across the regions of England, Wales and Northern Ireland to rebalance the UK in political and economic terms.
“Scotland can play a leading role in this process, and bring an end to the failed austerity economics which has gripped the front benches of the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems at Westminster.
“In turn, we can build wider support for some of Scotland’s priorities - such as achieving the powers we were promised by the No campaign, and preventing a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons being dumped on the Clyde.”

She added:

“That is the outward-looking, forward-looking perspective we will bring to the general election campaign - which I believe will carry huge support in Scotland, and be welcomed by most people south of the border too.”
She highlighted the possibility of SNP MPs working with Welsh nationalists in Plaid Cymru and the Green Party at Westminster.

With both these parties led by women - Leanne Wood of Plaid Cymru and Natalie Bennett for the Greens - Ms Sturgeon said: “Westminster be warned, the age of female politics is here and it’s not going away.”

It echos  Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards  announcement  that they  will form 'anti-austerity bloc' with SNP and Greens in bid to stop 'catastrophic' Labour and Tory policies, 

It looks like the two parties have already agreed a strategy  Mr Edwards  who is likely to lead the Plaid Westminster Group said the parties were “signed up to a strategy that radically redefines the role of the state to one which is based on a model more associated with the United States where the public sector is starved of cash and only provides a bare minimum of services”.

“We warned at the time, and have been proven correct, that reducing public investment too sharply would reduce economic output therefore prolonging the length of the recession. Deficit reduction targets have been missed comprehensively...
“Labour have said they will match Tory spending plans if they form the next Westminster government. Based on the plans of the Treasury, by the time that the deficit is eliminated in 2018-19, spending on public services as a share of GDP will only be 38%, far lower than anything we witnessed under Thatcher governments.
“Spending on public services as a percentage of GDP has not been that low since 1938.”
Mr Edwards said the parties were “signed up to a strategy that radically redefines the role of the state to one which is based on a model more associated with the United States where the public sector is starved of cash and only provides a bare minimum of services”

For Plaid it will be vital  to increase their numbers at Westminster . The SNP are heading for a majority of Scottish seats and will need to ensure that Wales will not be a side show over Scottish Aspirations and a rise in  the call for English votes for English Laws.

Plaid probably hope to win Ynys Mon, Cerdigion and Llanelli but if it is to play a role in the 'anti-austerity bloc it may have to set its sights higher

Maybe its time Plaid stated to talk itself up.

Uplands on Swansea at last an intresting Welsh by-election.

At last a Welsh by-election with an Interesting result Swansea's Uplands Ward saw "Independent" Peter May retake the seat  that he narrowly lost to Labour in May 2012

The Full Results Thanks to greendragon for the this

MAY, Peter Nicholas Independent 671 (E)
GRIFFITHS, Fran Welsh Labour / Llafur Cymru 533
THOMAS, Janet Mary Welsh Liberal Democrats - Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru 215
WAKELING, Ashley The Green Party - Plaid Werdd 179
DWAN, Pat Independents @ Swansea 158 
ALLARD, Josh Welsh Conservative Party Candidate 154
FITTER, Rhydian Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales 104
JOB, Ronnie Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition 31

Not a very good result for the other parties but the LibDems in particular saw their vote collapse.

Well not entirely, because victor Peter May had stood under the  LibDem banner last time. 

I have only included the two parties to make it easier to read for a full list see  here

Nick Davies	Labour Party / Plaid Lafur	1302
John Bayliss	Labour Party / Plaid Lafur	1207
Neil Ronconi-Woollard	Labour Party / Plaid Lafur	1161
Pearleen Sangha	Labour Party / Plaid Lafur	1099
Peter Nicholas May	Liberal Democrat / Democrat Rhyddfrydol	1089
Stuart James Rice	Liberal Democrat / Democrat Rhyddfrydol	975
Janet Mary Thomas	Liberal Democrat / Democrat Rhyddfrydol	812
Jayne Woodman	Liberal Democrat / Democrat Rhyddfrydol	782

So Mr May had lost by a mere whisker while in 2008 he had comfortably topped the poll  again for the full list here

Name / Enw	Party / Plaid	Votes / Pleidleisiau
Peter Nicholas May	Welsh Liberal Democrats - Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	1828
Stuart James Rice	Welsh Liberal Democrats - Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	1706
Jayne Woodman	Welsh Liberal Democrats - Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	1495
Janet Mary Thomas	Welsh Liberal Democrats - Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	1488
Sybil Edith Crouch	Labour Party - Plaid Lafur	817
Andrew Daniel Connell	Labour Party - Plaid Lafur	792
Ian William James Ross	Labour Party - Plaid Lafur	765
Derek James	Labour Party - Plaid Lafur	729

Note also that the  LibDem candidate in the by-election Janet Mary Thomas  was a former council colleague of Mr May.

With me so far? Good.

For  Mr May had been the LibDem Candidate in Swansea West (which Uplands is part of) in the 2010 General Election and came dam close to puling of an historic victory.

General Election 2010: Swansea West[6][7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	Geraint Davies	12,335	34.7	-7.2
	Liberal Democrat	Peter May	11,831	33.2	+4.3
	Conservative	René Kinzett[8]	7,407	20.8	+4.8
	Plaid Cymru	Harri Roberts	1,437	4.0	-2.5
	BNP	Alan Bateman	910	2.6	N/A
	UKIP	Timothy Jenkins	716	2.0	+0.2
	Green	Keith Ross	404	1.1	-1.1
	Independent	Ian McCloy	374	1.1	N/A
	TUSC	Rob Williams	179	0.5	N/A
Majority			504	1.4
Turnout			35,593	58.0	+1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.7

It now gets even more bizzare for the 2010 cadidate for teh Tories René Kinzett[had been the LibDem candidate

General Election 2005: Swansea West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Williams	13,833	41.8	-6.9
	Liberal Democrat	René Kinzett	9,564	28.9	+12.3
	Conservative	Mohammed Abdel-Haq	5,285	16.0	-3.0
	Plaid Cymru	Harri Roberts	2,150	6.5	-4.1
	Green	Martyn Shrewsbury	738	2.2	+0.2
	UKIP	Martyn Ford	609	1.8	-0.2
	Veritas	Yvonne Holley	401	1.2	N/A
	Socialist Alternative	Robert Williams	288	0.9	N/A
	Legalise Cannabis	Steve Pank	218	0.7	N/A
Majority			4,269	12.9
Turnout			33,086	57.1	+1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-9.6

It must be very confusing in Swansea West for the electorate.

But it bears the question 

How much do our elected representatives believe in the policies of the party under which banner they stand. Or is a merely a way of getting elected?

Still congratulations to Cllr May he clearly has local following and the people of Uplamds may (no pun intended) got themselves a decent councillor

 I wonder if the LibDems in the next council election will run a full list or put up just three candidates  hoping Cllr May comes back into the fold after the election?