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Plaid Cymru are telling you that they are the challengers in the Neath seat.
The facts are these: at the last General Election the result was:
Peter Hain, Labour: 18,835 52.6%
Geraint Owen, Plaid Cymru: 6,125 17.1%
Sheila Waye, Liberal Democrat: 5,112 14.3%
Harri Lloyd Davies, Conservative: 4,136 11.6%
Susan Jay, Green Party: 658 1.8%
Gerry Brienza, Independent: 360 1.0%
Pat Tabram, LCA: 334 0.9%
Heather Falconer, Respect: 257 0.7%
Peter Black AM comments: "As you can see there is a 12,000 vote gap between Plaid and Labour with the Lib Dems in a close third place. Given that we stand at 21% in the last Welsh poll and Plaid at 11.8% it seems that in the current circumstances it is the Liberal Democrats who have the best chance of challenging Labour in Neath. A vote for the Liberal Democrats will get you Liberal Democrat policies. A vote for Plaid is wasted in a UK election."
Frank Little, candidate for Neath, adds: "Plaid's platform at this election is based on hoping to use the balance of power which would be granted to its handful of MPs. Since 2005, we have seen how Plaid uses the balance of power - in Cardiff. It has underwritten virtually all Labour's policies, including forcing the sale of council houses. It has extracted one concession from Labour: a £1.2m annual subsidy for a North-South air link.
"Plaid used to believe in fair local taxation. Since getting into bed with Labour, it has abandoned this policy, leaving the Liberal Democrats as the only party aiming to scrap the council tax.
"People quite rightly want to see real devolution for Wales, not the expensive, time-consuming and, in practice, obstructive Legislative Competence Order system devised by Mr Hain. This is more likely to be achieved by a hundred or more (on current opinion poll projections) Liberal Democrats, rather than two or three Plaid Cymru MPs."
3 comments:
Frank Little, candidate for Neath, adds: "People have also told me that canvassers for other parties assert that Liberal Democrats would scrap the Winter Fuel Allowance. Not true. What would actually happen is that we would defer payment to age 65, at the same time extending it to severely disabled persons who the government has neglected up until now. Those in receipt of Pension Credits would continue to qualify for Winter Fuel Allowance under the Liberal Democrats.
"One local scandal that we need to address concerns the related subject of Cold Weather Payments. People in receipt of a number of different benefits qualify automatically for Cold Weather Payment whenever the temperature falls below a set level for 7 consecutive days. Unfortunately, the temperature reading which the powers-that-be take for a large swathe of South Wales, including Neath, is at St Athan. The winter temperature at this location at near sea level is typically several degrees higher than, say, Croeserw. I would call for more, and more realistic, sample points, if elected."
Something People (the electorate) have got to understand is it's only the Lib Dems that will be in any position to form a coallition.
Even if (big if) Plaid double their seats, they will just have six seats in the House of Commons (nil in the house of Lords) this will be of no interest to the Tories or Labour, it will never be that close!
There need not be a coalition, of course.
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