Saturday 23 February 2019

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 CandidatePartyVotes%
 Andrea Emily GibsonCardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd83143%Elected
 Irene May HumphreysWelsh Labour / Llafur Cymru77940%Not elected
 Gavin BrookmanWelsh Conservative Party Candidate / Ymgeisydd Plaid Geidwadol Cymru27114%Not elected
 Richard JerrettWelsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru462%Not elected
This is quite a change from the 2017 election
Ely - results
Election CandidatePartyVotes%
 Irene Susan GoddardWelsh Labour / Llafur Cymru147219%Elected
 James William MurphyWelsh Labour / Llafur Cymru138018%Elected
 Russell Vivian GoodwayWelsh Labour / Llafur Cymru126916%Elected
 Lowri BrownCardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd78610%Not elected
 Christopher Neil NewthCardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd74510%Not elected
 Andrea Emily GibsonCardiff Plaid - Plaid Cymru Caerdydd6228%Not elected
 Owen Rhys RobbinsWelsh Conservative Party Candidate / Ymgeisydd Plaid Geidwadol Cymru5097%Not elected
 Leighton McEwanWelsh Conservative Party Candidate / Ymgeisydd Plaid Geidwadol Cymru5076%Not elected
 Linda Margaret AmossWelsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru2673%Not elected
 Michael ReesWelsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru971%Not elected
 Matthew HemsleyWelsh Liberal Democrats / Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru841%Not elected
 Richard Michael EdwardsTrade Unionist and Socialist Coalition641%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.

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