My mind turns to putting together an article on the Swansea Council elections on May 4th. I look around the nominations list and see many of the names standing again that i know from the politics of the last 35 years. I reflect that if I am just one year from 60 then just how old are many of the names on the ballot .
This really is a gerontocratic council . I see youthful candidates for theGreens and for a few other honourable exceptions . However i see the effects of egos and self pride everywhere. I look forward to writing a lengthy piece over the next few days. I see in two cases the emergence of family members standing together in several wards. Be they Tregoning or May they all seem to have a blandness that makes me sleepy. i see numerous examples of paper candidates from the Conservative throughout the area. I can tell you that vast numbers of area will have low turnouts and no campaigning. I mourn the death of Lily Jane Summers who would have given the Uplands campaign some vigour and style. This will be a campaign organised by old men , it's outlook will have a touch of the Victor Meldrew metaphor and an odour of decay.its sad but reveals so much
There are more Greens than Kippers standing and the Liberal Democrats are in several cases not standing in wards they held until May 2012. Across Swansea we will see a low turnout with a rich speculations about results in Sketty, Cockett and Uplands. We will see Labour losses across the council area but Labour will retain control. There is no real challenge to Labour in seats like St Thomas, Landore and Mynyddbach all former independent seats and in Bonymaen the excellent Paul Lloyd will be guaranteed victory. In Cockett Plaid may take a couple of seats. A few individual UKIP candidates will make little or no impact. The personal fiefdom of Wendy Fitzgerald will maintain her domineering role and continue her Thatcherite blandness. in Gower Richard Lewis may lose his seat to the Conservatives. In Mawr the departure of the bullying Ioan Richard gives Plaid a strong possibility of a gain.
In Newton the sitting Conservative Councillor is standing as an independent. Look to good Green votes in Uplands where there is a real possibility of gaining a seat and in West Cross with a first class campaigning candidate . I look forward to watching the results coming in that night.
And i look back to my experiences over the last five years and reflect on the years to come. It's going to be an interesting time .There is an old Chinese curse that says may you live in interesting times. The candidates are largely bland and aged yet it is a time of transformation in the political leitmotives we see before us. Let us embrace the future.....
Absolute rubbish, Labour or the Red Tories as they are known will be wiped out, particularly in Landore and St thomas were UKIP has excellent ex labour party but honest candidates. As to the greens well they have no policy at all. Clearly the blog writer is thick as UKIP are nothing to do with right wing or conservative policies Read our election manifesto of 2015, UKIP ARE A CENTRIST PARTY OF THE PEOPLE AND THE ONLY ALTERNATIVE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT PARTIES.
ReplyDeletewe may not have many candidates but they are a blend of young and mature, But more will come forward in the future, the revolution against the establishment is only just starting We as a fully policied party for uk politics are only 3 years old, Previously we were only for out of the EU, BUT ALL THAT CHANGED 3 years ago now we are the third force in politics and will grow into the leading party in british politics in time.
UKIP have to ship someone in from Ammanford to stand in St Thomas and can only manage 5 candidates in the whole of Swansea. They are a spent force and stating in capitals they they are centrist, does change the fact that they are a far-right Tory Trojan Horse party.
ReplyDeleteJOHNSON Cliff 121 Llandeilo Road, Ammanford,
ReplyDeleteSA18 3JP UKIP Wales - The UKIP candidate in St Thomas has the same name as the pro-UKIP commentator. Coincidence? If UKIP is so strong in St Thomas, why are they bringing in a candidate from Ammanford?
The shambolic Labour regime will stagger on. There needs to be a stong Plaid Cymru Party in Swansea again. An SNP style party could wipe out Labour and offer hope of building a new city and nation.
ReplyDelete