What is it about politicians and hi-vis jackets? They always come out during an election. Building is, I guess, a sign of economic health and everyone wants to be involved. Tim Farron and Kirsty Williams visited a building company in Wales yesterday:
.@timfarron @Kirsty_Williams and her @WelshLibDems team have the ideas to unleash Wales’ business potential! SHARE→ pic.twitter.com/ZdQd7Madlr
— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) April 19, 2016
Tim then went on to Ceredigion where he campaigned with the amazing Liz Evans:
Great to have @timfarron with us in #aberystwyth tonight #ceredigion #liz4ceredigion pic.twitter.com/T1nPJeBd0w
— Elizabeth Evans (@liz4ceredigion) 19 April 2016
Afterwards a whole big group of Lib Dems went with Tim for a curry.
Jon Aylwin, Welsh campaigns officer, keeps posting pictures of Aberystwyth beach on his Facebook profile. The weather looks great there at the moment. A bit of me wants to bundle the dog in the car and head down there to help Liz. After meeting her at Welsh Conference, I can see what a force for good she would be in the National Assembly. However, I would be in real trouble if I left Scotland, so if anyone wants to spend a couple of days in Aberystwyth or Brecon to help Kirsty on my behalf, please do. If you are nearer Scotland than Wales, please come here to help Katy Gordon, Alex Cole-Hamilton or Christine Jardine. And, of course, if you find yourself in London, do knock a few doors or deliver some leaflets for the amazing Caroline.
Let’s get back to Tim in Wales. He spoke to Wales Online about the need for the Assembly to have a strong liberal voice and took on UKIP:
“To have a strong Liberal voice in that National Assembly is massively important, against separatist voices of different kinds – people who wrap themselves in flags of different kinds – and indeed against those who either failed Wales through [their] complacency, the Labour party, or failed Wales because they just don’t get Wales, like the Tory party.”
Arguing that leaving the UK would “absolutely cripple livestock and dairy farming”, he turned his guns on Ukip and urged people to vote for Lib Dems on the regional list.
He said: “[People] who want to prevent Ukip getting involved in Welsh politics and dragging it off to an extreme have a very strong tactical reason to vote for the Liberal Democrats on the lists because that’s the way to prevent Ukip getting a foothold.”
Mr Farron added: “It would be a really weird thing if the outcome of the May 5 elections was that in the nation of Wales a whole bunch of English nationalists got elected. That would be a terrible shame.”
* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings