Opinion: A humble appeal to all Lib Dem leadership candidates
Written by Harry Hayfield on 18th October 2007 – 2:39 pmI live in the constituency of Ceredigion located on the western coast of Wales, and in 2005 we were one of the 16 Liberal Democrat gains that helped propel the Liberal Democrats to the best ever performance by the party in over 80 years. And yet the reason it was a gain was that in 1992 the newly founded Liberal Democrats lost the seat to Plaid Cymru.
During the next few months, we will be told by all the candidates standing how they will appeal to Conservative voters, how they will appeal to Labour voters, and how they will appeal to the 39% of people who didn’t vote at the last election.
Which means that for the 12,911 voters who voted for Plaid Cymru in Ceredigion in 2005 - as well as the voters who decided to elect SNP MSPs in Scotland in deference to the existing Liberal Democrat MSPs - will justifibly feel left out and pay no attention to what’s going on.
Mark Williams (the Lib Dem MP for Ceredigion) may only have a majority of 218 under the new boundaries, but is the latest in a long line of Liberal / Liberal Democrat MPs for the constituency.
Prior to him, from February 1974 to 1992 was the late (and sadly missed) Lord Geraint of Pontweryd (known to his constituents as Geraint); before him Roderic Bowen (MP from 1945-66); before him Owen Evans (1932-45). He was also preceded by Rhys Hopkin Morris (1923-32), Ernest Evans (1921-23), Matthew Vaughan Davies (1895-1921), William Bowen Rowlands (1886-95), and the first ever Liberal MP for the single county seat of Ceredigion, David Davies in 1885.
In other words, this seat has elected a Liberal or Liberal Democrat MP for the past 101 of the last 122 years, and could therefore be classed as a bastion of Liberalism.
* Harry Hayfield has been a Liberal Demcrat member since 1992.
Posted in Leadership Election, Op-eds
18th October 2007 at 3:18 pm
What’s this got to do with the leadership election? Is Harry suggesting Mark Williams or something?
18th October 2007 at 3:25 pm
It really quite straightforward - a plea to the candidates not to forget that the political system in Scotland & wales is much different to England and that there is a constituency of voters to be addressed who are nationalist minded.
18th October 2007 at 3:46 pm
Isn’t the point that liberalism appeals to ALL voters, because it treats them as individuals and not as functions of a community (e.g. Welsh; Christian; poor)
18th October 2007 at 3:55 pm
Do you beat Montgomery though?
18th October 2007 at 5:32 pm
I think it’s a quite clear suggestion that the party must address diversity - and that includes strange people like me who, despite having lived in the UK all our lives, were brought up in a different culture from the metrocentric perspective.
For example, English was my second language.
18th October 2007 at 7:17 pm
Three different interpretations of the meaning suggest it’s not as clear as you’re all claiming.
18th October 2007 at 7:20 pm
Cymru Rydd - Cymru Ryddfrydol!!
Dymuniadau Gorau i’r DemRhydd yng Ngheredigion!
18th October 2007 at 7:44 pm
Thanks for this, Harry. I never knew that Ceredigion had such a rich liberal/Liberal history.
20th October 2007 at 11:07 pm
“It really quite straightforward - a plea to the candidates not to forget that the political system in Scotland & wales is much different to England and that there is a constituency of voters to be addressed who are nationalist minded.”
A notion the parties themselves in Scotland and Wales are responsible for engendering by turning their back on the party’s history when taking account of how they appeal to such voters.
http://tartanhero.blogspot.com/2007/05/no-not-post-about-scottish-cup-final.html
http://tartanhero.blogspot.com/2007/05/has-lib-dem-leadership-taken-its.html
And I’m one of them. Someone who’s family were steeped in the old Scottish Liberal party. But after they went into coalition with Labour for 8 years and now support them in opposition they’ve lost any sympathy I previously had for considering a vote for them.