Pulling apart to get closer

There has been a muted reaction to calls by a “prominent” Welsh Conservative for his party to break away from their London-based counterparts. There are a couple of reasons for this relative silence which have been proposed to us by informed sources: the first is that Harri Lloyd Davies, chairman of Swansea West Conservatives, is apparently as prominent as grass on a snooker table and the second is that the contortions required to achieve such a split, according to his colleagues, would produce the equivalent of a constitutional hernia

Outspoken, and possibly soon to be replaced, Mr Lloyd Davies added fuel to his self-immolation by criticising the appointment of Cheryl Gillan, who represents the Buckinghamshire seat of Chesham & Amersham, as Welsh secretary. He claimed it could give the party's opponents "an awful lot of ammunition" although the widely held perception among other parties is that the constituency chairman was already doing a reasonably good and unassisted job of shooting himself and his party in the foot.

We have yet to hear if there is a prospect of the Braveheart tendency breaking out elsewhere among tory ranks in Swansea West or if their Assembly candidate – whoever that may be – echoes the views of Mr Lloyd Davies that the party “does not look Welsh enough”.

Achieving a distinctive identity among electors would normally be quite a challenge for Conservatives in Wales but, luckily for them, there is a political brand that can be readily adopted. It is closely associated with defined tory values and possesses a remarkable willingness to defend them. They’re called the “Welsh Liberal Democrats”.

Update: Perhaps this Independent article gives a better idea how things might shape up in future.

Further update: Big upset over the Swansea West Assembly nomination. More to come.