Update 11th May;
General Election candidates declared, in alphabetical order;
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr;
David Darkin @TurkRocker - Labour
Jonathan Edwards @JonathanPlaid - Plaid Cymru
Neil Hamilton @NeilUKIP - UKIP
Harvard Hughes - Conservative
Lesley Prosser - Libdems
Llanelli
Mari Arthur @MariArthur - Plaid Cymru
Rory Daniels - Libdems
Stephen Davies - Conservative
Nia Griffith @NiaGriffithMP - Labour
Ken Rees - UKIP
Update 18th April; With a general election announced for the 8th June, so far Nia Griffith MP (Lab) Llanelli and Jonathan Edwards MP (Plaid) Carmarthen East and Dinefwr have confirmed they will stand for re-election. I will add to the list of candidates as and when they declare.
Turning out to be a bumper year for the Returning Officer...
For your information, the list of local election candidates for the 74 seats on Carmarthenshire County Council, to be held on the 4th May, can be found here, and the candidates for the Town and Community Councils here.
Caebrwyn is not standing for County this time, being a little preoccupied with other matters but have put my name forward for the Llanwrda Community Council of which I have been a member for seven years.
After seven candidates stood for the Cilycwm by-election last September the numbers are down to three, Labour and two independents. It appears that Plaid were unable to persuade farmer Dafydd Tomos, who won in September, to extend his brief foray into the world of politics, or anyone else to stand.
There's a sprinkling of Kippers across the board who will hopefully get nowhere; voters of Carmarthenshire be warned as you will recall that somehow we ended up with Neil Hamilton as a regional AM. There's also a smattering of Conservatives who never do very well in Carmarthenshire though it has been long suspected that some members of the Independent Group are actually closet Tories, and veer towards the far right.
Essentially the election will be a three way contest between Plaid, Labour and independents.
Four of the seats are uncontested; three Plaid and one Independent. Plaid have taken the Llanddarog seat by default from the retiring Independent, Wyn Evans as no one else stood, not even Labour.
We'll have to wait and see how many Town and Community Councils are uncontested, Llanwrda will be one of them.
The Libdems are still trying for a seat though hopefully they will not revert to the tactics used in the September by-election. A campaign manager called at Caebrwyn's home to threaten a dirty tricks campaign if I didn't withdraw my nomination. I hope that little gesture bites them on the backside.
There is no Meryl or Pam this time, so we should be thankful for small mercies, but a few other members of the Independent group, who have held the sway of power in County Hall for years, are having another go, including Jim Jones, Mair Stephens, Jane Tremlett. It is difficult to determine on the candidate lists which independents might be likely to join the Independent group, which could still be going strong - this is something voters should be asking, ie, are you a true independent? And candidates should also be on their guard, Pam and Mair turned up at the Cilycwm by-election and made a bee-line for the unsuspecting independent farmer candidate to woo him into their clutches.
Another Independent group stalwart, Phillip Hughes is up against former AM Plaid's Rhodri Glyn Thomas down in the depths of St Clears. If Thomas wins, rumour has it that he will be aiming to knock Emlyn Dole, of recent Private Eye fame, off the leadership perch. Emlyn Dole is in the running in Llannon a two seat ward currently shared with Labour.
Another two seat ward is Hengoed currently represented by Sian Caiach and Labour's Penny Edwards. I hope, of course, that Sian Caiach is re-elected having been one of the only councillors to have consistently attempted to hold this basket-case authority to account with determination and persistence.
Talking of baskets-case councils, let's hope that the long standing rumours that chief executive will be departing after he's collected his Returning Officer fees turn out to be true. Incidentally he took £20,000 in 2012, in advance of the election and before the number of contested seats were known.
If not, then it makes little difference who wins next month, he'll still be running the council.
Anyway, I'm sure there will be plenty of analysis, bickering and social media gaffes to amuse us in the run up to May 4th so I will leave it there for now.
Let's see what happens on May 5th.
General Election candidates declared, in alphabetical order;
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr;
David Darkin @TurkRocker - Labour
Jonathan Edwards @JonathanPlaid - Plaid Cymru
Neil Hamilton @NeilUKIP - UKIP
Harvard Hughes - Conservative
Lesley Prosser - Libdems
Llanelli
Mari Arthur @MariArthur - Plaid Cymru
Rory Daniels - Libdems
Stephen Davies - Conservative
Nia Griffith @NiaGriffithMP - Labour
Ken Rees - UKIP
Update 18th April; With a general election announced for the 8th June, so far Nia Griffith MP (Lab) Llanelli and Jonathan Edwards MP (Plaid) Carmarthen East and Dinefwr have confirmed they will stand for re-election. I will add to the list of candidates as and when they declare.
Turning out to be a bumper year for the Returning Officer...
------------------------------------------
For your information, the list of local election candidates for the 74 seats on Carmarthenshire County Council, to be held on the 4th May, can be found here, and the candidates for the Town and Community Councils here.
Caebrwyn is not standing for County this time, being a little preoccupied with other matters but have put my name forward for the Llanwrda Community Council of which I have been a member for seven years.
After seven candidates stood for the Cilycwm by-election last September the numbers are down to three, Labour and two independents. It appears that Plaid were unable to persuade farmer Dafydd Tomos, who won in September, to extend his brief foray into the world of politics, or anyone else to stand.
There's a sprinkling of Kippers across the board who will hopefully get nowhere; voters of Carmarthenshire be warned as you will recall that somehow we ended up with Neil Hamilton as a regional AM. There's also a smattering of Conservatives who never do very well in Carmarthenshire though it has been long suspected that some members of the Independent Group are actually closet Tories, and veer towards the far right.
Essentially the election will be a three way contest between Plaid, Labour and independents.
Four of the seats are uncontested; three Plaid and one Independent. Plaid have taken the Llanddarog seat by default from the retiring Independent, Wyn Evans as no one else stood, not even Labour.
We'll have to wait and see how many Town and Community Councils are uncontested, Llanwrda will be one of them.
The Libdems are still trying for a seat though hopefully they will not revert to the tactics used in the September by-election. A campaign manager called at Caebrwyn's home to threaten a dirty tricks campaign if I didn't withdraw my nomination. I hope that little gesture bites them on the backside.
There is no Meryl or Pam this time, so we should be thankful for small mercies, but a few other members of the Independent group, who have held the sway of power in County Hall for years, are having another go, including Jim Jones, Mair Stephens, Jane Tremlett. It is difficult to determine on the candidate lists which independents might be likely to join the Independent group, which could still be going strong - this is something voters should be asking, ie, are you a true independent? And candidates should also be on their guard, Pam and Mair turned up at the Cilycwm by-election and made a bee-line for the unsuspecting independent farmer candidate to woo him into their clutches.
Another Independent group stalwart, Phillip Hughes is up against former AM Plaid's Rhodri Glyn Thomas down in the depths of St Clears. If Thomas wins, rumour has it that he will be aiming to knock Emlyn Dole, of recent Private Eye fame, off the leadership perch. Emlyn Dole is in the running in Llannon a two seat ward currently shared with Labour.
Another two seat ward is Hengoed currently represented by Sian Caiach and Labour's Penny Edwards. I hope, of course, that Sian Caiach is re-elected having been one of the only councillors to have consistently attempted to hold this basket-case authority to account with determination and persistence.
Talking of baskets-case councils, let's hope that the long standing rumours that chief executive will be departing after he's collected his Returning Officer fees turn out to be true. Incidentally he took £20,000 in 2012, in advance of the election and before the number of contested seats were known.
If not, then it makes little difference who wins next month, he'll still be running the council.
Anyway, I'm sure there will be plenty of analysis, bickering and social media gaffes to amuse us in the run up to May 4th so I will leave it there for now.
Let's see what happens on May 5th.
10 comments:
Only Plai & Labour in my area.
Neither worth a vote in Carms.
I'm having a day off this year.
Apologies to 'Verity' who left a comment yesterday, I accidentally deleted it whilst trying to publish the comment on my phone. Sorry! Please re-send if you wish.
whats your arguement with UKIP Wales We want a full investigation into mark James, DON'T TELL ME YOU DON'T LIKE NEIL HAMILTON THIS IS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM OR TRAITOR MARK RECKLESS .ukip wales is a peoples party and only has centre ground people and then with common sense. We have our own Nigel Humphreys in Llandybie,a top man and mark james worst nightmare. If you can find a reason not to vote UKIP tell me so i can reply.
At least Neil Hamilton got off his £40 per day food allowance backside and did something when Adam Price fobbed off and did nothing when some assistance was needed when being threatened by the Council.
Look at all the people standing for councillor - many insiders, hangers on and deadbeats - and what difference has Plaid made in replacing Labour as the governing party in CBC. No change. And People First failed to register as a group/party, encouraging the fog through which a voter will have to delve. You won't drain the swamp by encouraging the sheople to vote for the "same again - but this time its different brigade".
I hope you publish this?
To @cliffjohnson and @anon 11.08
If your politics is of the extreme right then I have no doubt that UKIP is the party for you.
It's not for me, so may I suggest, politely, that you take your little campaign elsewhere.
Anon at 11.08 Yes, we did fail to register as a party due to our treasurer becoming seriously ill and requiring extensive medical treatment, unfortunately missing sending in the £25 annual registration fee.
We are putting out leaflets for all our candidates. We have always been independents and take the name "People First" to distinguish us from the other types of independent who may not follow Bell Principles, specifically the "Affiliated Independents" who have always been in the ruling coalition in the Carms County Council since its inception.
I know people don't always read the leaflets but its the best we can do and it is perfectly legal to explain what People First independents stand for in a leaflet even though we are just described as"independent" on the ballot paper. Our application to re-register is underway and we will be able to form a Group on the County if more than one of us is elected. We don't do coalitions, taking every decision on its merits as individual independents should.
Sorry about the confusion but it definitely won't happen again.
Sian Caiach
Leaving the elections briefly - Jacqui, have you heard anything yet from the police as to whether or not they are going to bring any action against you following Mark James's allegations of umm harassment? It's been a long while now especially given that you were told it would only take a couple of weeks. With such flimsy evidence only relating to your blog it beggars belief they are taking so long and keeping you in a permanent state of such unnecessary anxiety.
Anon 16:59
I've not heard anything yet
If you contend that UKIP is an "extreme right Party" which actually it is not Caebrwyn, then what is Plaid Cymru, the party which yearns for Wales to be an extreme left wing socialist republic? When Fascism arrives in the UK, it will come in the guise of ANTIFascism.
Are you completely off your rocker blogger, UKIP IS A CENTRIST COMMON SENSE PARTY. the bnp and britain first are the right wing extremists, we have candidates of all ethnicities in our lists and most of us are ex labour we see ukip as the replacement of the original labour party. Our policies include to keep the NHS public and increase salaries for the trainee nurses and doctors.
stop all EU AUSTERITY PAYMENTS £400 MILLION A WEEK SUPPORTED BY plaid labour cons and dim libs.put more money into local infrastructure. Restore benefits.
increase money for pensioners and disabled. All in our election leaflet.
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