Direct Appeals and Giving up

Daran Hill writes a fair minded piece about how he sees the state of affairs regarding the Welsh General Election. As with all pieces of this nature, we cannot prove either way of what we believe will happen.

I do take slight issue with the closed shop theme running through. A few seats, constituency and regional, are close and live wire. Added to this the "We might as well get it over with and go to the polls tomorrow for all this campaign is changing." comment I sense is from someone talking from Cardiff Bay rather than in many of the streets the campaign is being fought. Every single party will be campaigning today in seats they know are real contests and believe and can change the course of those seats.

But to be fair to Daran, I assume he means the national picture, so I will stop picking bones out of that comment. What I do take issue with, particularly from someone who fronted the Yes for Wales Campaign, is the near acceptance that it's perfectly fine to campaign on another government in another place. Anyone involved in Yes for Wales, myself included spent weeks reminding voters of what this vote IS NOT about. It seems a bit churlish to 6 weeks later say that Labour's tactic of making this a mid-term for Westminster is all gravy.

Saying that is where the 'voters are at' is double standards in this regard. Many voters were wholly wanting the referendum to be about everything other than the issue at hand.

Not that I don't think there is a method in Labour's strategy. However you would hope opinion formers (which Daran is of the highest order in Wales) would be willing to forward the arguments about having the debate on the issues that are involved, not sending a message to another Government. Labour are indulging in the True Wales tactics we all so loathed.

Parties of course will do what they feel with give them the best shot. So Daran is right in identifying that Labour's message is on the voters minds. I actually do believe that Plaid potentially might have at times sounded too similar to Labour on the issue of cuts, but again that convicts myself like any other of my Plaid colleagues.

But the overriding message I have is that for us Plaid campaigners is that every single vote is needed and we cannot accept our lot until the polls close.