I'm the Hen Ferchetan. This is my take on the world through the eyes of Wales. While mostly about Welsh politics (that most famous of dour topics!) I try to scatter some humour around, but I doubt anyone but me will find it funny! Have a read, and if it bores you then feel free to never come back!

Tuesday 20 May 2008

Over the Border

Brown/Cameron's big day is close (delete as appropriate). On thursday the people of Crewe and Nantwich go to the polls in a "safe" Labour seat. The daughter of their late MP is standing for Labour, a woman known to us in Wales as the ex-AM for Preseli.

The by-election will have a big impact on national politics, either as the re-birth or the death knell of Gordon. Labour's 7,000 majority is in big trouble, polls have put the Tories ahead and in a winning position.

As you'd expect with such big stakes things have gotten nasty. Labour have classed the Tory candidate as a toff snob who knows nothing about how Crewe and Nantwich people feel. Their reasoning is that the Tory candidate Edward Timpson is rich, a barrister and lives just outside the constituency. Timpson is the son of the owner of the Timpson cobblers and keysmiths. A huge company worth millions and millions. Labour have sent men in top hat and tails to follow Edward Timpson around, and campaigners make numerous references ti his Bentley and mansion. Labour leaflets include a mock up Tory Candidate application form asking "Do you live in a mansion?" and "Do you think regeneration is adding another wing to your mansion?". The Labour candidate told BBC

I don’t have a £53m pound fortune supporting me. I don’t have a £1.5m mansion. I am just a single, unemployed mother of five fighting hard for a job


The problem for Labour is that their candidate is Moyra Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey, granddaughter of Baroness Phillips and owner of a £850k house set in 1.5 acres of land (twice the size of the Tory's). And while her tagline is "tamsin Dunwoody, one of us" this house she owns and lives in is in South West Wales, a full 175 miles from Crewe. Hardly a "woman of the people" fighting against the big toff is she!

Finally of course, i have to snigger at her description of herself as an "unemployed mother of five fighting hard for a job". All that is true, but she failed to point out that the reason she is unemployed is that Preseli Pembrokshire voters dumped her in May 2007 after one term!

1 comment:

Oscar said...

Nice post!
I like it!