There is a huge Caveat in Plaid's latest by-election win.

For Plaid Cymru their unexpected victory in the Ely ward of Cardiff council . may be a boost to the party but it also comes with a problem.

Because as the Wasting Mule points out

"While Andrea Gibson is the new Plaid Cymru councillor, she would not have won without the help of her de facto campaign manager Neil McEvoy.
For Labour and, to a large extent, Plaid, Mr McEvoy is unwanted.
He often provokes jeers of disdain from his opponents in the Senedd and the council chamber when he makes an angry intervention.
But for many on his home patch, he takes their concerns seriously in a way they believe other politicians do not.
In March last year, Mr McEvoy was expelled from Plaid for 18 months for breaching a series of party rules. The judgement referred to his behaviour at the party's spring conference in 2017, soon after a panel found him guilty of making a bullyiing remark to a council official involved in evicting a female council tenant from her home".

Of  course  it could be that Mr McEvoy social media exposure over emphasised his role but the Mule's Martin Simpson has a point.

"What happened in Ely on Thursday is much more than an unexpected by-election result that will follow the usual pattern of being a nine-day wonder.
Plaid’s victory occurred in the Cardiff West seat held by First Minister Mark Drakeford, who was run close by Mr McEvoy at the last Assembly election in 2016.
With Mr McEvoy as Plaid’s candidate in 2021, the party would have a real chance of ousting the leader of Welsh Labour and getting into a position where its leader Adam Price could be elected First Minister – an outcome that would revolutionise Welsh politics.
While Ms Gibson undoubtedly worked hard for her victory, it was Mr McEvoy’s strategy that propelled her into the council chamber.
He is a highly astute user of social media, and during the campaign made countless videos showing empty council homes in Ely with gardens full of rubbish.
It’s easy to parody his style, which invariably sees him beckoning the viewer to follow him into a waste-strewn area and watch as the camera pans while Mr McEvoy rants about the shocking indifference of Cardiff’s Labour-controlled council.
Yet his invective is effective. It tells residents of a neglected neighbourhood that in him they have a champion. On Thursday enough of them were sufficiently enthused by his message to vote for Ms Gibson, his protégé2"

Of course Ms  Gibson could (and I suspect she will) prove to be her own woman.
Certainly she has made her mark

Ely - results

Election Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Andrea Emily Gibson	Cardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd	831	43%	Elected
Irene May Humphreys	Welsh Labour / Llafur Cymru	779	40%	Not elected
Gavin Brookman	Welsh Conservative Party Candidate / Ymgeisydd Plaid Geidwadol Cymru	271	14%	Not elected
Richard Jerrett	Welsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	46	2%	Not elected

This is quite a change from the 2017 election

Ely - results

Election Candidate	Party	Votes	%
Irene Susan Goddard	Welsh Labour / Llafur Cymru	1472	19%	Elected
James William Murphy	Welsh Labour / Llafur Cymru	1380	18%	Elected
Russell Vivian Goodway	Welsh Labour / Llafur Cymru	1269	16%	Elected
Lowri Brown	Cardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd	786	10%	Not elected
Christopher Neil Newth	Cardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd	745	10%	Not elected
Andrea Emily Gibson	Cardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd	622	8%	Not elected
Owen Rhys Robbins	Welsh Conservative Party Candidate / Ymgeisydd Plaid Geidwadol Cymru	509	7%	Not elected
Leighton McEwan	Welsh Conservative Party Candidate / Ymgeisydd Plaid Geidwadol Cymru	507	6%	Not elected
Linda Margaret Amoss	Welsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	267	3%	Not elected
Michael Rees	Welsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	97	1%	Not elected
Matthew Hemsley	Welsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru	84	1%	Not elected
Richard Michael Edwards	Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	64	1%	Not elected

I have often been a critic of Neil McEvoy Populist  style of politic , but there is doubt that it is effective..

It is also true that highlighting the problems of wards like Ely and as Martin Simpson points out

" Mr McEvoy rants about the shocking indifference of Cardiff’s Labour-controlled council.
Yet his invective is effective. It tells residents of a neglected neighbourhood that in him they have a champion".

Yet his invective is effective. It tells residents of a neglected neighbourhood that in him they have a champion".

The problem with Neil McEvoy is that  he  often uses a bazooka  on a target and 

a does not seem to worry whose in the way.

But the main problem with Plaid in such politics  can be that whilst the people of  Ely  voted "Cardiff" Plaid , unless this also results in belief in Independence in such then such tactics could be only temporary as there is no real change in their environment.

In Glasgow the SNP  have seen that mixing campaigning on local issues has seen support for Independence grow.

The question we need to ask is whether the likes of Neil McEvoy  is the right person to carry of both in our capitol.

He seams to alienate as many people he wins over and this could prove disastrous  in the long term for Plaid.