By-elections on a Tuesday are uncommon, but not unheard of. The by-election for the Ciliau Aeron ward, Ceredigion is only the second election since the General Election to take place on a Tuesday; the first being the deferred election for a Camden ward in May.
This vacancy in Central Wales is an interesting one. On paper this is an easy Plaid Cymru hold but the reason for the by-election leaves the possibility of an upset. I has been called following the disqualification of Cllr. Moelfryn Maskell for misconduct. Maskell has been barred from standing in Local Government elections for 18 months after he was found guilty of misusing his position. He had failed to declare his interest in planning discussions relating to road improvements in an area where he owned land. Furthermore, another Plaid Councillor is awaiting tribunal, so it will be hard for the party to dismiss Maskell's behaviour as a one off. However, in 2008 Plaid won the seat with a 67% of the vote, which should be enough of a cushion to prevent the Liberal Democrats from gaining the seat. The Council is currently controlled by an anti-Plaid Cymru coalition and they could do with an extra seat. Plaid are the largest party on the Council with 20 of the 42 seats, but the other 22 Councillors (12 Independents, 9 Lib Dems and 1 Labour) enjoy a tiny majority at the moment.
Ciliau Aeron (Ceredigion) | |
Candidate | 2008 |
John Lumley (PC) | 67% |
Sonia Williams (LD) | 18.6% |
N/C (IND) | 14.4% |
Luke Evetts (CON) | 0.0% |
Plaid held the seat, despite a 15.2% swing to the Lib Dems; blog post tomorrow.
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