Wednesday 6 November 2019

Vale Tory voters should not vote for Alun Cairns.

There is a option if Alun Cairns does not  resign after  BBC Wales obtained a leaked email which suggests he was told about Ross England's involvement in the collapse of a rape trial.and that on December 12th the voters of the Vale of Glamorgan should sack him.

I have covered this here  and here
The email, dated August 2, 2018, was from his special adviser Geraint Evans and was copied to Richard Minshull - the director of the Welsh Conservatives - and another member of staff.

Labour and Plaid have called for Mr Cairns - who had previously denied knowing the details of Mr England's involvement - to resign but Tory party chairman James Cleverly has said he has "complete confidence" in him and a No.10 spokesman said the Prime Minister also does.
When asked by BBC Wales if Mr Cairns should resign, the victim, who worked for the Conservative Party, said: "Absolutely. If he'd come out and condemned Ross [England] in the first instance, he wouldn't be in this position.
"I would like an apology from the party and Alun Cairns for selecting him in the first place. I can't believe that not one senior Welsh Conservative has said that what he did was wrong."
Christina Rees MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Wales said“There are no two ways about this - Alun Cairns has been caught brazenly lying about how much he knew of Ross England’s appalling behaviour at a rape trial.
“We have previously been asked to believe that Alun Cairns - who describes Mr England as a “friend and colleague” - had no knowledge of the behaviour that led to the collapse of a rape trial - and unimaginable trauma for the victim.
“We now know this was a fiction.
“The Secretary of State, Special Advisers, and senior Welsh Tory officials knew what had happened. They chose to select Ross England anyway - and to mislead and obfuscate when found out.
“The decision is an error of judgement - the cover up is unforgivable. Alun Cairns should go; as Secretary of State and as a candidate.”
Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts said Mr Cairn's actions show that he is unfit to hold public office.
She said: “Not only did Mr Cairns know about Mr England’s role in the case, but he also blatantly told an untruth when he claimed last week he only knew of it once the story had broken last week.
“At worst, Mr Cairns is complicit in the attempted cover up of his former staff member’s actions which collapsed a rape trial. At best, he has displayed gross incompetence in judgement, dishonesty and a lack of leadership.
“In either case, he should immediately resign as Secretary of State for Wales, and should withdraw as a general election candidate.”
 Mr Cairns has a slim Majority in what should be a Labour Target seat

General election 2017: Vale of Glamorgan[6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
ConservativeAlun Cairns25,50147.5+1.5
LabourCamilla Beaven23,31143.4+10.8
Plaid CymruIan Johnson2,2954.3−1.3
Liberal DemocratJennifer Geroni1,0201.9−0.7
UKIPMelanie Hunter-Clarke8681.8-8.1
GreenStephen Davis-Barker4190.8−1.3
Women’s EqualitySharon Lovell1770.3N/A
PirateDavid Elston1270.2N/A
Majority2,1904.1-9.3
Turnout53,71872.6+1.5
Registered electors73,959
Conservative holdSwing-4.6

As it is already a Two Horse Race  i doubt that tactical voting from Plaid or the Liberal Democrats  would topple Mr Cairns.

However it is Mr Cairns own voters who should respond by voting for another Party , they have a responsibility to remove him .

By his backing of Ross England in full knowledge of his sabotage of a rape case , Mr Cairns does not deserve the support of decent Tory voters and , they should transfer their vote or if they can't abstain.



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