Well, well. What a tremendous victory for Labour in Caerphilly.
Friday morning was certainly a ‘very good morning in Caerphilly and in all Wales’. Jeff Cuthbert didn’t just beat Ron Davies; he thrashed him and over doubled Labour’s majority.
And in Wales as a whole, Labour emerged as the night’s victor. Although one short of an absolute majority, Labour has clearly won the election and has a strong mandate to form the next Government of Wales.
Unfortunately, the latter part of Ron’s campaign in Caerphilly did the Nationalists no credit. Having lost the political argument, Ron resorted to making spurious accusations to the Police. But my congratulations to Plaid’s Lindsay Whittle, who was elected to the Assembly on the South-East Wales Regional List.
Lindsay, it has to be said, is a long-standing Plaid member who does his best for the area and although I disagree profoundly with his politics, I do respect him.
The big question now however is who will lead the Plaid Cymru controlled Caerphilly County Borough Council? It has been strongly rumoured that a deal was struck between Lindsay and Ron. The suggestion is that Ron didn’t really expect to be elected to Cardiff Bay but as he thought that Lindsay would get elected on the List, the deal was that Ron would take over the reins of the council.
But, some have questioned this. The counter view is that Ron genuinely expected to win Caerphilly and when both he and Lindsay were in the Assembly, one of the long serving Plaid Councillors would take over on the council.
Whatever happens during the next few weeks, what is certain is that next year’s local elections will be fascinating. Having got the taste of ‘blood’, you can be sure that Labour will be going all out to defeat Plaid Cymru Councillors. The number one target will be Councillor Ron Davies, whether he stands as a Nationalist or as a so-called Independent.
Finally, my warmest congratulations to Jeff Cuthbert AM. Jeff rose above the personal abuse which his main opponent directed at him and I hope that everyone in the Caerphilly Constituency – including those who did not support him – will wish him well.
Wayne David
Labour MP for Caerphilly
I agree, but it maybe that this comment may be subject to editorial censorship.
Well done Jeff Cuthbert and his election team.
Can I add my thanks to those numerous Party members and supporters that helped with our campaign. Seeing 15 or so activists out working on most afternoons and evenings was a tremendous moral booster. Our policy of meeting as many local people as possible on a face to face basis to hear their concerns and views proved to be the right one.
It was indeed very satisfying to see that Jeff Cuthbert was re-elected. The massive increase in his majority was well deserved. Clearly, the people of Caerphilly, other than the most dedicated Plaid supporters, were thoroughly unimpressed by Ron Davies and his self serving campaign.
What is that famous phrase about statistics?
Yes Jeff did win the election; to state that he doubled the majority oversimplifies the stats. It just isn’t valid to compare the results in 2011 to those in 2007.
Whilst we were soundly beaten, Plaid in Caerphilly did increase our percentage of votes by nearly 4%, at a time when unfortunately our support was not holding up across South Wales. In 2011 more people in Caerphilly were prepared to vote Plaid in an Assembly election than since 1999.
It is with this in mind and our record in Caerphilly Council that we confidently move forward to the Local elections next year.
As one of the Plaid’s workers in the election campaign I would like to thank the hard work, dedication and commitment of party members and supporters across the constituency. Your hard work has been amply rewarded by ensuring that Lindsay is now an Assembly Member.
Wayne, you are absolutely right, Lindsay Whittle has indeed served Plaid Cymru and Caerphilly well for a long time and I look forward to seeing him continue this excellent record in the Assembly. My warmest congratulations to you Lindsay!
I also wish Jeff well for his next term in Government, I for one, shall be watching his performance closely to scrutinise whether he will do as promised and stand up for the people of Caerphilly and protect us from the ConDem cuts.
What a pity Lynne HUughes will not coment under her true Identity which id Mrs Ron Davies. we in Welsh Labour will fight the next Council election on the Nationalists record. but I dont think that the Nationalists will like that! any more than they liked being reminded about calling Ron Davies "unfit to hold office" in the past.
Gareth Williams
Thanks Gareth but I am writing under my own name. Yes I have been married to Ron for 10 years, but I didn't choose to change my name, as I also did in my first marriage.