If you were to hold a hustings meeting to find out who the majority of Plaid Cymru members want to represent them as the party's lead candidate in the European Parliament elections, where would you hold it?
A) In Blackwood, Monmouthshire
B) In Blaenau Ffestiniog, Merionethshire
I am grateful to Ordovicius for explaining why the right answer:
A Blackwood
has nothing to do with trying to ensure that incumbent MEP, Jill Evans, secures the party's first place nomination spot, now that the party has given up on its women first policy.
The sad thing is that most Plaid members feel that Jill has been a good MEP, she could win the nomination on pure merit in Meirionnydd and elsewhere.
This sort of gerrymandering will discredit her as a candidate and add to Llais Gwynedd's claim that Plaid takes their heartlands for granted, whilst doing nothing to show that women in the party can win on merit, rather than through machinations.
how is holding the meeting in Blackwood gerrymandering?
ReplyDeleteAre people in that area not entitled to plaid votes?
Do you really need to ask?
ReplyDeleteTo give you a clue. Plaid has 20 times as many members in Gwynedd as it has in Gwent.
I thought that Jill EVans had won the last nom,ination outright, regardless of the women on top rule?
ReplyDeleteAs John Dixon explained on his blog the decision was taken after input from representatives from that area. So i dont really see where your "outrage" comes from.
ReplyDeleteYou need to get your facts right before posting! There's going to be several hustings around Wales, and if I'm not mistaken, two of those will be in the north, as opposed to only one in the other areas of Wales.
ReplyDeleteI'd say the gerrymandering is coming from another direction.
P.S. I'm a Plaid member and it would crazy to de-select an effective, efficient, sitting MEP. It would open the party up to all sorts of attacks from our political opponents. North v south, left v right, all the usual bullsh*t!
The venues do seem strange to me too, why not do four SE SW NE NW
ReplyDeleteand make arrangements for people to have access if the cannot travel via video links, etc. I know lots of local Venues that have that facility.
Use the technology Or why not just have a postal vote, most people in Plaid know who's who any way.
Sad to upset so many members in Dwyfor Meirion.
Guto, I suspect that you are right - it was a long time a go so I don't remember the precise details. Jill has proved to be an effective and popular MEP, so I have little doubt that she would top the poll this time, however the nomination process was organised.
ReplyDeleteannon 12:07 - I appreciate John's explanation and the logic behind the reasoning. I just don't see that it is going to wash with Plaid voters in Dwyfor-Meiron as a good enough reason for ignoring them.
annon 14:10 - I have got my facts right, There is to be no hustings in the Dwyfor Meirion constituency, the constituency which gave Plaid the biggest majority in Wales during the Assembly elections.
If you take the Dyfi bridge as the traditional border between north and south Wales, then you are wrong - there are 2 hustings in the north and five in the south. Even if you say that Aberystwyth is in the north then the north still loses 3-4!
But the point of my post (and Dyfrig's post which inspired it) has got nothing to do with north south divisions it's about one of the strongest of Plaid's strongholds feeling that it his being taken for granted, again, within days of giving Plaid a bloody nose on May 1st for that very reason.
As usual VM you are right. There are so many other less controversial ways of dealing with the vote, that it is sad, and unnecessary to upset supporters of the party in one of the areas that has shown it much loyalty for the past 35 years.