The Conservatives have returned the most votes in Wales in the European elections for the first time in modern political history.
They are now sending one MEP to Strasbourg, and so are Labour and Plaid Cymru.
For the first time the UK Independence Party has also returned an MEP in Wales.
Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan called it "an historic result".
She said: "It proves only the Conservative Party can beat Labour in Wales. Gordon Brown has gone down in history as the first Labour prime minister to have 'lost' Wales.
"Conservatives have made gains at every national election in Wales since 1999. We said we'd overtake Labour at this election, and we've done so for the first time ever. This result gives us every cause for optimism of further success in Wales at the next general election."
That makes very good news for any Unionist reading!
(Almost!) offsets this:
The SNP has won the largest share of the European election vote in Scotland for the first time.
The Nationalists took 29% of the vote - a 10% increase - ahead of Labour's 20.8%. The Tories were third on 16.9% and the Lib Dems came fourth, on 11.5%.
The result means the SNP and Labour are set to return two MEPs each, with one each for the Tories and Lib Dems, with the Western Isles yet to declare.
Labour's relief at the SNP not passing the (apparently) psychologically important 30% is cold comfort I suspect to the majority of their activists in Scotland. This result is conclusive proof that whilst the Conservatives are clearly Labour's main rivals for the mainstream vote in England and Wales, it is the SNP which is now without doubt performing that role in Scotland. As with the BNP winning two seats, simply to write-off that fact as merely the consequences of a "protest vote" is a very dangerous complacency.
On a more optimistic vote, there is a also very good chance that a Conservative and Unionist (Jim Nicholson) will be returned for Northern Ireland today. If it does happen, there will be for the very first time in Europe Conservatives and Unionists representing all four parts of the United Kingdom as a single grouping in Brussels- that's a fact which will surely gladden every true Unionist heart.
So here's hoping...fingers crossed!
4 comments:
I wouldn't read too much into the Tory success in Wales.
This amounted to about 145000 votes in a nation of what, 3-4 million people. How directly this translates to a general election is a moot point. The Thatcher legacy is still very very poisonous in most parts of Wales.
Also, looking at where in Wales the tories did well is telling. It is mainly in areas in which, frankly, large numbers of English people live, with the exception of some of the anglicised environs of Cardiff and Newport.
"It is mainly in areas in which, frankly, large numbers of English people live, with the exception of some of the anglicised environs of Cardiff and Newport."
BC
Unless you're intending to move those folk out, they'll also be voting ina general election surely!
I, along with many other reasonable people would like to move them out - they are mostly retired people or the unemployed who place a strain on the Welsh social and health services. But that is an argument for another time. The Isle of Man, Channel Islands and the overseas possessions all limit migration of their fellow 'British' citizens, I would like to do the same. This is not just a Welsh problem, many parts of rural England suffer the same thing.
I suppose, the point I am trying to get across, is that the Tories may well pick up votes in these English-ified areas, I fail to see some of their Euro election performance translate to many seats in the Valleys, or the Welsh speaking areas.
"I, along with many other reasonable people would like to move them out - they are mostly retired people or the unemployed who place a strain on the Welsh social and health services."
BC
You're moving onto very dodgy ground there indeed. I would have thought the more "civic" nationalist solution would be to convinve those people over to your way of thinking rather than look for a BNP-style repatriation of "undesireables".
Re the Tory Vote, we'll see. Everyone was entitled to vote im the Euro election, for some reason the Conservatives managed to tkae advantage of labour's weakness better than PC. Theoretically there's no reason why thta aslo wouldn't be the case in a Westminster election.
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