Pivotal or pointless?

Reported sightings of Betsan Powys in Turk-town were confirmed yesterday and it seems her half-term mission was to ask those voters who could elude the embraces of an effusive Helen Mary Jones if they thought it was worth voting Plaid at the general election.

The outcome was as variable as you would expect from such an entirely unscientific exercise and did little to evaluate Plaid's chances - if that was supposed to be the purpose. There are few political commentators who haven’t already dismissed the Party of Wales platform promises as ‘optimistic. But for many in Carmarthen East, for example, they are no more naff that the sudden outbreak of cross-party interest in social care provision (for England) or the range of un-costed pledges alleged to be contained in the 'mainstream' manifestos.

What needs to be acknowledged is Plaid’s past expertise of exploiting the protest vote rather than the tactical one. In places like Ceredigion, their electoral machine also has an added extra ingredient missing in 2005 - money.

Yet a big factor may be to what extent the parliamentary group has succeeded in distancing themselves from the murky Westminster expenses scandal as effectively as Adam Price has managed. If they haven’t then claims by IWJ that a hung parliament would be good for his party Wales could resemble Price in being just a little academic.