Runners and Riders in local council elections May 4 in Wales

Runners and Riders in local council elections May 4. It's going g to be an interesting election on Thursday . I am hearing fascinating things from my little birds. Neath East is proving to be a very close run thing. I think that Plaids Paul Sambrook is in with an excellent chance and I am still predicting significant Plaid gains throughout NPT. In Swansea it's quite clear that there's going to be very close results in Uplands and Sketty and in Penyrheol I am looking for a good result for Plaids Patrick Powell and in Gorseinon a victory for Darren Thomas.  massive development in the area is having a significant impact. In Uplands the Green parties Gareth Tucker and in West Cross the Gteen's Chris Evans and stands an excellent chance. I maintain without relish and a great deal of loathing that the strident and loathsome Clifford Jones will run Labour close in St Thomas yuk The general election may effect local council election results....but I think this may be over exaggerated.

In Becon and Radnor it looks like the Green Party will break through. Pippa Pemberton in Northern Powys is the main Green to watch but there are several seats where the Greens have straight fights with Tories or independents.

In NPT there are distinguishing marks that shows that most independents are pseudo Kippers who are effectively rightwing or belong to the "independents' around the fragrant Steven Karl Hunt party.. In Tonna the independent still has on his timelines the most unpleasant racist and xenophobic images. In Resolven the 'independent" is a full time official of Caroline Jones UKIP AM for South Wales West working from an office in Neath. I am expecting the Liberals to recapture Coedfranc West and to take Coedfranc South. Labour may well lose up to 15 seats in NPT and are in danger in around the same number of seats in Swansea. I

In Porthcawl you can look forward to a good result for The Greens Alex Harris standing for the Green Party in Reservation Alex is a Porthcawl Town Councillor. I have written extensively on the blog concerning the elections in NPT and in Swansea. I am not expecting a massive turnout but I think there are going to be many recounts and close results. I feel that the Tories are slippings nationally and that the Corbynistas and Momentum are having an effect through Social Media . There are clear parallels with the Scottish referendum of 2014 and I also sense that the Liberal Democrats are not doing as well as they hoped. I am sure to hear more stories over the next 36 hours and will share them with you.

It's 37 days till June 8 and I am hearing some quite unusual information from around the country. I hear that Nigel Farage has lost his contact within the Trump Whitehouse and that the Trump administration is seeking a trade deal with the EU far more enthusiastically than with the blessed Theresa .The danger is that nationalism is a harsh mistress and as UKIP fades and shrivels the general elections becomes more unpredictable it knows seems that polls reveal that the majority of people want us to stay in the single market and Georgie Osbourne is laying into Theresa May's a election campaign.....Rule nothing out....time for home now the X50 moves through Morriston . Watch this space for more news.....