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Ceredigion among ‘Tory heartlands’ and is a ‘marginal seat’ reports Telegraph

31 Jul 2022 2 minute read
A row of election signs in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion

Ceredigion is among the “Tory heartlands” and faces a “three-way battle” at the next election, according to a Telegraph article that gauges the mood of Conservative members across the UK.

Despite Plaid Cymru incumbent Ben Lake having increased his majority to 6,329 at the last election, the newspaper said that Conservative members there were hopeful of capturing the “marginal seat”.

The Conservatives last won Ceredigion in 1874 but lost it at the subsequent 1880 election.

The article ‘Inside the Tory heartlands that could crown the next prime minister’ looks at Ceredigion, Chichester, Bromsgrove, Totnes and Bishop Auckland.

It reports on concern in Ceredigion that choosing multi-millionaire Rishi Sunak could hurt the party’s chances in what is a “poor seat”.

Chairman of Ceredigion Conservatives Patrick Loxdale, whose branch has some 110 members, said he feared what impact the election of a new Prime Minister would have on the party’s hopes there.

“All in all, our membership is a very mixed bag, but this is generally a poor area and my personal view would be that choosing a leader [in Sunak] who is a multimillionaire during a cost-of-living crisis is going to give our opponents a big stick to beat us with,” he said.

He also told the Telegraph that he was unhappy with how the leadership election had been conducted so far.

“They ripped into each other instead of a mature, sensible, good-natured discussion,” he said. “What they needed was the men in suits to have taken them to one side beforehand and remind them of Ronald Reagan’s remark in 1979: ‘Never speak ill of any fellow Republican’.

“But we are short of men in suits at the moment.”

He added that a minority of members in Ceredigion still belonged to the “Boris Johnson fan club” but that many had been put off by the Owen Paterson affair and Partygate.

Conservative membership had grown since Boris Johnson promised to resign, he said, but he wasn’t sure if they realised that only those who had been members for at least three months before the leadership race began could vote.

“However unsatisfactory the system is, it is the only one we have got – but of course, I am asking myself, as a believer in democracy, ‘How democratic is this?’” he said.


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Fi yn unig
Fi yn unig
1 year ago

The Tories could lose a football match 6-1 and say they won 0-1 by simply denying that they let 6 goals in. That seems to be the basis for claiming they could win in Ceredigion.

Kerry Davies
Kerry Davies
1 year ago

Ceredigion Conservatives choose leader with no brain and the personality of Stinking Bishop.
What a surprise.

Dai Rob
Dai Rob
1 year ago

Heartland……..”The Conservatives last won Ceredigion in 1874…..” LOLOL

I Humphrys
I Humphrys
1 year ago

Do they mean the old colonel at dunroamin’ bungalow?

AntonJacques
AntonJacques
1 year ago

I hope beyond hope that Ceredigion never voted Tory. Growing up there I was a massive fan of Mark Williams, a LibDem, but Ben Lake is a true voice of Ceredigion now.

Quornby
Quornby
1 year ago

Just one more reason amongst many not to read the foreign press.

Peter Cuthbert
Peter Cuthbert
1 year ago

Ceredigion is not a Tory marginal. The only thing that is marginal is the Telegraph’s understanding of what happenes outside the M25. I’m not a Plaid person but will be support Ben Lake as he is a first class MP. He supports most of the things that I support which is good enough for me. I really don’t need ‘my’ party to stand an opposing Westminster candidate. They would be better to concentrate on the Senedd elections.

Gareth
Gareth
1 year ago

This paper is not known as the “Torygraph” in England for nothing, fact and accuracy are second to what the readership want to hear, gutterpress at its finest, a glimpse of right wing England for the world to explore.

Richard
Richard
1 year ago

I was very impressed with the Cardiganshire Cons long record in this heartland. Their huge number of councillors, welch assembly members and track record of success at each election 🗳 means this seat is in the bag next time around. I for one ☝️ am so confident that I will be canvassing for them in another close marginal at Bootle on Merseyside….and then on to Glasgow Govern 🚑

Rhosddu
Rhosddu
1 year ago
Reply to  Richard

Yes, you can hardly move for all the union jacks flying over every house in every street in Aberystwyth…

Richard
Richard
1 year ago
Reply to  Rhosddu

My thought exactly – im
contacting our Merionethshire chairMAN Col Hufton Bloften in Dolgelley to see if we can get Margaret Thatchers birthday celebrated🇬🇧 there as she stayed there twice on the way to see a Slate Pit being closed in 1977

Last edited 1 year ago by Richard
Y Cymro
Y Cymro
1 year ago

This sums up the ignorant Telegraph. Ceredigion a Tory heartland is like me saying Liz Truss is monogamous.

Stephen Owen
Stephen Owen
1 year ago

I doubt if anyone at the Telegraph have even heard of Ceredigion or if they have would know where it is, maybe they are confusing it with somewhere else

ChronosCymru
ChronosCymru
1 year ago

I see we’re still in the thrall of the Westminster parties, well and truly. Sigh…

Lionel Bray
Lionel Bray
1 year ago

The Daily Telegraph is turning into a second-rate version of Viz.

Crwtyddol
Crwtyddol
1 year ago

Ben Lake’s majority is 10% of thr TOTAL POPULATION of the county, not even the voting population. Hardly a marginal seat!

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