Friday, February 24, 2012
Anybody except Elin
Like a prophet in exile, the former MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, let it be known this morning how his many followers should vote in the Plaid Cymru leadership election.
In what must be one of the more pompous utterings by a Welsh politician (and there is a lot of competition), Mr. Price informed the Western Mail that: “I have this morning posted my ballot paper for the leadership election on Beacon Hill in Boston, not far from the site of the home of John Hancock, first signer of the American Declaration of Independence. I have done so in the hope that whoever is successful will light their own beacon so that our country shall also, at long last, be free."
Mr. Price went on to argue: “This election will probably be decided by second preference votes. For those of you who are supporting Dafydd with your first vote, I would urge you to consider supporting Leanne with your second. I would ask Leanne’s supporters to consider lending their second vote to Dafydd. To every member, whoever they support, I would urge you not to let your second vote go to waste. It is of paramount importance that every member is involved in every part of this process."
As the paper points out this effectively amounts to a call to Plaid Cymru members to vote for anybody except former Agriculture Minister, Elin Jones. They say that the former MP takes the view that the party needs a fresh start, and opposes Elin Jones because he sees her as a “continuity” candidate who would adopt the same “safety first” approach as Ieuan Wyn Jones.
Whether supporters of Leanne Wood will back a pro nuclear monarchist like Dafydd Elis Thomas has yet to be seen, but if Elin Jones does win as she is expected to do, this very public condemnation of her approach will be a difficult first hurdle to overcome.
She may have the support of a majority of AMs and MPs, but she will find herself likely to have failed to win the votes of more than half of party members and without the backing of a very significant faction in the party, led by the man who most members think should be leader in her place. That cannot be how she imagined it would all turn out when she put her name forward.
In what must be one of the more pompous utterings by a Welsh politician (and there is a lot of competition), Mr. Price informed the Western Mail that: “I have this morning posted my ballot paper for the leadership election on Beacon Hill in Boston, not far from the site of the home of John Hancock, first signer of the American Declaration of Independence. I have done so in the hope that whoever is successful will light their own beacon so that our country shall also, at long last, be free."
Mr. Price went on to argue: “This election will probably be decided by second preference votes. For those of you who are supporting Dafydd with your first vote, I would urge you to consider supporting Leanne with your second. I would ask Leanne’s supporters to consider lending their second vote to Dafydd. To every member, whoever they support, I would urge you not to let your second vote go to waste. It is of paramount importance that every member is involved in every part of this process."
As the paper points out this effectively amounts to a call to Plaid Cymru members to vote for anybody except former Agriculture Minister, Elin Jones. They say that the former MP takes the view that the party needs a fresh start, and opposes Elin Jones because he sees her as a “continuity” candidate who would adopt the same “safety first” approach as Ieuan Wyn Jones.
Whether supporters of Leanne Wood will back a pro nuclear monarchist like Dafydd Elis Thomas has yet to be seen, but if Elin Jones does win as she is expected to do, this very public condemnation of her approach will be a difficult first hurdle to overcome.
She may have the support of a majority of AMs and MPs, but she will find herself likely to have failed to win the votes of more than half of party members and without the backing of a very significant faction in the party, led by the man who most members think should be leader in her place. That cannot be how she imagined it would all turn out when she put her name forward.
Comments:
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AV may be convenient, but it muddies the waters.
I wouldn't want to be leader if I'd come a poor second on first preference votes, but won it narrowly on second preference, especially bearing in mind that some people might have voted tactically.
With just three candidates, a second ballot might be the best solution after the third is eliminated.
I know who I will be voting for, and who I will definitely not be voting for.
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I wouldn't want to be leader if I'd come a poor second on first preference votes, but won it narrowly on second preference, especially bearing in mind that some people might have voted tactically.
With just three candidates, a second ballot might be the best solution after the third is eliminated.
I know who I will be voting for, and who I will definitely not be voting for.
# posted by 
: 4:12 PM
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