Unfortunately as this Blog proves the rule the announcement that Neil Hamilton will contest the Newport West By-election will provide that party with much publicity .
Wales Online reports that
The article on WOL is not by the Wasting Mule's Martin Shipton who tweeted.
Nevertheless WOL continues ..
The voters of Carmarthen East and Dinefwr also decisively rejected him
Wales Online reports that
Ukip Wales leader Neil Hamilton will contest the seat previously held by Paul Flynn following the death of the veteran Labour MP.There could be some confusion here Mr Hamilton was ousted as Ukip Assembly leader and eventually replaced by possibly the even more loathsome Gareth Bennett and Mr Bennettr may not be the "Welsh" Leader of the 900 or so Ukip membership.
The article on WOL is not by the Wasting Mule's Martin Shipton who tweeted.
- Last Thursday @NeilUKIP flatly denied that he would be standing in the Newport West by-election when I asked him face to face. Today he has announced his candidacy. Four days is a long time in politics. Or is there a simpler explanation ?
Nevertheless WOL continues ..
...The Newport West by-election will be held on April 4 and will be the first electoral test following the UK’s exit from the EU on March 29.
Ukip announced Mr Hamilton’s candidacy on Monday – nearly 22 years after he was defeated at the 1997 general election.
Mr Hamilton, who was the Conservative MP for Tatton between 1983 and 1997, said his election would send a “lightning bolt to Westminster” and accused the Tories and Labour of “betraying” Brexit, which Newport voted for by 56% to 44%.He said: “My parents were married in Rogerstone. My mother’s family lived in Castleton 200 years ago and moved to Risca when the coal industry developed. I was born in the old county of Monmouthshire and lived in Blackwood as a boy.
“The Conservatives and Labour are jointly betraying Brexit. May and Corbyn are determined to stop us leaving the EU on March 29. Labour now wants a second referendum, to try and reverse the last People’s Vote.
“The Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru are total Eurofanatics. They think they know best. This by-election is a chance to poke them all in the eye.
“Newport voted ‘Leave’ by a large majority but the political establishment refuses to listen. Ukip is the only party committed to an immediate, clean Brexit.
“On April 4 Newport West can deliver a lightning bolt to Westminster and Cardiff Bay and make the political elite listen to the people. Newport can make Brexit happen.”
Mr Hamilton chances of being re-elected to the Assembly seems to be remote at the moment and he is probably praying that the UK does not leave the EU on March 29, because if it does his candidacy , could be seen as pointless.
Of course the real reason he is standing is probably out of pure vanity and and the hope of a income.
Whether the voters consider Mr Hamilton is as suitable person to represent them is open to question?
Certainly his former constituency of Tatton did nor think so
Prior to the 1997 General Election, Hamilton determined to try to retain his parliamentary seat. His majority at the 1992 General Election had been almost 16,000 votes. In 1997, Tatton was the fourth safest Conservative seat in Britain. Hamilton was under investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner (See The cash for questions enquiry, below) and some party members thought he should stand down after the collapse of his case against The Guardian.[24] Disquiet in the local association became public, but the majority gave him the benefit of the doubt. Hamilton resisted the pressure from senior Conservatives and Conservative Central Office to stand down. Jeremy Paxman states that Conservative Central Office "begged him not to stand, but in a gesture of overweening arrogance, he refused to go quietly."[26] On 8 April 1997, Hamilton was chosen as the Conservative candidate for Tatton (182 for, 35 against, 100 abstained). The Observer commissioned ICM polls in the constituencies of the three Conservative candidates tainted by scandal and seeking re-election: Hamilton, Allan Stewart and Piers Merchant. Both Stewart and Merchant were found to have support consistent with their party's standing, but in Tatton "there was massive hostility to Hamilton".
When Martin Bell, the BBC war correspondent, announced he would stand as an independent candidate in Tatton, the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates for the area stood down in order to give Bell a clear run against Hamilton. Bell defeated Hamilton, winning by a majority of over 11,000 votes with a swing of 48%. Although Hamilton vowed to return to parliament, this defeat marked the end of his political career in the Conservative Party.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plaid Cymru | Adam Price | 14,427 | 48.5 | +3.6 | |
| Labour | Steve Jeacock | 5,727 | 19.2 | −10.8 | |
| Conservative | Matthew Paul[2] | 4,489 | 15.1 | −5.2 | |
| UKIP | Neil Hamilton[3] | 3,474 | 11.7 | +11.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | William Powell | 837 | 2.8 | −2 | |
| Green | Freya Amsbury | 797 | 2.7 | +2.7 | |
| Majority | 8,700 | 29.3 | |||
| Turnout | 53.7 | +2.4 | |||
| Plaid Cymru hold | |||||
Though he snuck in taken a seat largely because most of the other parties had reached their quota in the constituency seats.
As I said Hamilton's candidature will receive much publicity and certainly he will at the start of the contest be the most recognised candidate, hopefully voters will recognise him for what he is.
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