Wednesday 22 May 2013

Porthcawl a Ukip stronghold? Maybe not.

News from the Wasting Mule that Two former Welsh Conservative candidates have defected to UKIP, is interesting.

Both are however from the same area and therefore the Mules claims that this is signs of a surge of support for the 

Caroline Jones, who last October stood as Tory candidate in the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner, said she had resisted an attempt by Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies to get her to stay with his party.

Ms Jones, a café owner from Porthcawl who joined the Conservatives in 2009, stood for the party in Aberavon at the general election in 2010 and in Gower at the National Assembly election in 2011.

Another former Welsh Conservative candidate from Porthcawl, Chris Smart, has also joined UKIP. A right wing Tory, he was second on the party’s South Wales West regional list at the Assembly election in 2007.



If Alun Cairns had resigned his Assembly seat after being elected MP for Vale of Glamorgan in 2010, Mr Smart would automatically have become an AM. the Conservative home page states that he was a former Leader of Porthcawl Town Council.


In 2008 held his Newton seat in May’s elections by just 14 votes, was declared bankrupt on June 6 by the High Court of Justice” here

Small wonder that the Tories made every effort to make sure that wasn't drafted into the Assembly by making sure Alun Cairns clung on to his regional
Seat

The two defection probably point out the state of membership of the Tory party in Wales rather than a sign of surge of support for Ukip here.

 Caroline Jones who only joined the Conservative party in 2009, and yet stood for the party in Aberavon at the general election  a year later  and in Gower at the National Assembly election in 2011. Before standing  as Tory candidate in the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner

And Chris Smart who had his political ambition thwarted by his own Party because they perceived him as an embarrassment.

If this news tells us anything its the quality of the candidates of both the Tories and Ukip.

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