Peter Black, Liberal Democrat spokesman on Education in the Welsh Assembly, shows alacrity on his web site in recording municipal election results in the Principality. He writes, under the title 'Tories wiped out in Powys':
A Council by-election yesterday saw the Conservatives lose their last seat on Powys County Council. In a three-cornered contest in the Dolforwyn ward in Montgomeryshire, they came third with 39 votes. The by-election was won by an Independent with 480 and 81.6% of those votes cast. There was a 45% turnout.
He mentions that there were three candidates, yet perplexingly refers to only two. His omission spurred me to seek the identity of the party that had won the residue of the vote (a princely 69 votes, with a share of 11.7% - below what used to be the level for retaining one's deposit in a parliamentary election - as it turns out). I found it here. Unfortunately I have taken a self-denying ordinance in mentioning the subject for a while, so I shall be as reticent as Mr Black.
Yes, it was the Welsh Liberal Democrats who came second with a paltry 69 votes. But then again it was not our seat, we have no history of holding it and we still have Welsh Liberal Democrat Councillors on Powys County Council in double figures. Oh, and I added a hotlink in the entry to the result elsewhere on my site. Thanks for pointing this out.
Posted by: Peter Black | January 16, 2004 at 09:37 PM
You're welcome. Always happy to help.
Posted by: Oliver Kamm | January 17, 2004 at 12:09 AM
Of course Mr Black would support PR, not just because he is a Liberal but taking a glance at the Assembly election results you can see that he was not 'first past the post' in his constituency but a top up member! (i.e. elected by a form of PR).
Posted by: R Thomas | January 22, 2004 at 10:32 AM