RIP Robyn Léwis who could have changed Welsh political history.

The death of dormer  The former Archdruid Robyn Léwis at  89  leads me to  think how welsh political history may have changed .

A writer, barrister and local politician, he won the prestigious prose medal at the National Eisteddfod in Gowerton in 1980.

I remember when working at HMCE  HQ in london finding they had a copy of his "Welsh Legal Terms" in their library.

He went on to became the first prose winner to be elected as archdruid by the Gorsedd of Bards in 2002.

The Gorsedd said he would be remembered for his "outstanding contribution to the world of literature here in Wales".

In 1970   he contested  Caernarfon for Plaid Cymru  eating away at a large Labour majority

General election 1966: Caernarvon^[16][17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Goronwy Roberts	17,650	56.11	1.73
	Conservative	Roger Prys	6,972	22.16	2.05
	Plaid Cymru	Humphrey Roberts	6,834	21.73	0.32
Majority			10,678	33.95	3.78
Turnout			31,456	78.40	1.92
Registered electors			40,121
	Labour hold		Swing	1.89

General election 1970: Caernarvon^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Goronwy Roberts	13,627	40.1
	Plaid Cymru	Robyn Léwis	11,331	33.4
	Conservative	Kathleen J Smith	6,812	20.1
	Liberal	John A Williams	2,195	6.5
Majority			2,296	6.76
Turnout				81.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Dafydd Wigley of course won the subsequent , election and over the years built up a substantial  personal majority.

What if Robyn Lewis had won or stod again  ?  Would he have built up the same powerbase Dafydd Wigley had?

Would Dafydd  had stood in  again in Meirionnydd, leaving D.E.T to never becoming a MP?

General election 1970^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Edwards	8,861	39.76
	Plaid Cymru	Dafydd Wigley	5,425	24.34
	Liberal	Emlyn Thomas	5,034	22.59
	Conservative	D Elgan H Edwards	2,965	13.30
Majority			3,436	15.42
Turnout			22,285	84.24
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Plaid Cymru	Dafydd Elis-Thomas	7,823	34.61
	Labour	William Edwards	7,235	32.01
	Liberal	IAE Jones	4,153	18.37
	Conservative	RR Owen	3,392	15.01
Majority			588	2.60
Turnout			22,603	85.26
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Welsh political history may well have proved very different.

One thing is clear from reading the turn outs . In Arfon  (which has replaced Caernarfon)  in the last election the turn out was  68.2% and in  Dwyfor Meirionnydd  it  was just 68%.

It is a story throughout  the UK  and it reflects that  (throughout the UK) there are a large number of people  not even counting those who do not  even register, who do not vote.

It is something that should be addressed .