Greasy Poll, The - Diary of a Controversial Election

Mike Parker was selected as the Plaid Cymru candidate for the 2015 general election in the party's top target seat of Ceredigion. This book is his diary of the campaign, from the many moments of great hope to the controversies that saw him vilified in sensationalist newspaper headlines, and his ultimate defeat by the incumbent Liberal Democrat MP. ~Publisher: Y Lolfa

The politics of Ceredigion has always fascinated observers, but perhaps historians have never really understood its complexities. It embraces the turbulent days of the mid-nineteenth century, which witnessed a Tory landlord locking out the radical Unitarian chapel-goers of Llwynrhydowen in 1868, and the bitter Liberal Party splits of the twentieth century along Asquithian and Lloyd George lines.



The latter half of the twentieth century resulted in even more turbulence as the Labour Party gained the seat for the first time in 1966, only to lose it again to the Liberals in 1974. In 1992 the seat was won by Plaid Cymru, coming from fourth place, with Green Party support, to record an unexpected and historic victory. The seat was subsequently regained by the Liberal Democrats in 2005, and has been retained by them in two subsequent elections in 2010 and 2015. During the past 50 years, three sitting MPs have lost their seat as the Cardis cunningly switched their allegiances.



The Greasy Poll: Diary of a Controversial Election by Mike Parker is an account by the Plaid Cymru candidate of his personal reflections on the equally controversial campaign of 2015, and before I comment further, I should declare a few points of interest, which may have influenced my comments on the book. Firstly, I am a bit of a political anorak and enjoy political biographies, and will also stay up late to watch any obscure by-elections, even in the safest of seats – I am addicted to the psephological analysis, whoever is competing. So this is the sort of book I would especially enjoy and look forward to reading. Secondly, I am also a paid-up member of Plaid Cymru, and I took a small part in campaigning for Parker.



I was unable to attend the launch of the book, but bought it a few days later. I started to read it the following morning, and was so absorbed in its content that I could not put it down until I had finished it in mid-afternoon. I did not feel the need to read it a second time for the purposes of this review, as it had left such a lasting impression on me.



Plaid Cymru, in its choice of parliamentary candidate, had certainly been bold. It was an attempt to reach out to new supporters, not perhaps traditionally associated with supporting the Party of Wales. Parker, an accomplished author, was an incomer from the West Midlands, gay, and a break in the mould from those who had carried the Plaid flag in previous contests. His strong attack on the motives of some fellow Englishmen who had settled in mid-Wales to escape the multi-cultural cities of the Midlands, published in 2001 in Planet magazine and resurrected by the media, largely dominated the campaign, received much publicity in the local press, and was cleverly exploited by his main political opponents. But at the end of the day, and rather ironically, it was perhaps his rejection by many traditional Welsh-speaking electors that may have cost him his victory.



Parker is brutally honest in this diary, and at times it can make for some uncomfortable reading for members of the Plaid establishment. There are certainly some major disagreements on tactics which the party might need to address, and much food for thought on the way forward if Plaid is to regain the seat, which it has held at Assembly level since 1999. But Ceredigion is a constituency which does not follow predictable trends, as is evident from the strong Remain vote at the recent European referendum. Plaid has also found it difficult to break the unofficial but strong anti-Plaid alliance that seems evident among the voters of other parties. Parker's selection as candidate was partly an attempt to address this difficulty.



Although his campaign to wrest the seat from the Liberal Democrats may have ended in failure in 2015, his contribution in reaching out to expand the party's traditional base will surely have made the party more electable by an electorate whose demographic is rapidly changing. Even his greatest critics would probably agree that he would have made an excellent and eloquent MP, and hopefully his contribution to the Welsh political scene will find a suitable niche in future.



It will be interesting to see how Plaid responds when selecting its next parliamentary candidate, and who will put their names forward for consideration. Whoever it may be, Mike Parker's diary will be essential reading for any prospective MP. ~Richard E. Huws @ www.gwales.com