Strange Happenings?

On May 1st, much to everbody's amazement including my own, I became the former County Councillor for Llandrindod South. Defeated by a virtually unknown Conservative apparently on issues only partly connected to the ward. 8 votes the majority for my opponent and dirty tricks from one of her supporters who had originally been nominated but who eventually chickened-out of standing as an Independent.

Early analysis seems to indicate that my personal vote held up well, it was the Lib Dem vote that became distinctly shaky in the face of a concerted assault on the issue of a proposal to bring in a Designated Public Places Order to deal with a significant problem of anti-social behaviour in the neighbouring ward.

Yes, the very public drinking in the centre of town is a problem, but I have always maintained that creating a DPPO to deal with it there will simply move the problem elsewhwere. Resources need to be devoted to tackling the underlying issues. These include the fact that the drinkers clearly suffer from severe alcoholism, some are homeless, some are mentally ill and all are vulnerable. By all means introduce a DPPO if, at the same time, the authority is prepared to deal with the other problems. But to introduce the DPPO without addressing the underlying issues is simply going to hide, rather than solve the problem.

Never mind, all the good work that I have done over the last three and a half years was c;early forgotten or never understood, and I was pilloried for being a volunteer for a charity that seeks to the reduce the risk of offending by young people, as well as appearing soft and sensible rather than punitive with regard to the fraught issue of the DPPO.

My loss, and that of our Group Leader, James Gibson-Watt, must be seen as a wake up call for Liberal Democrats in Powys, the Conservatives under Cameron and with no clear policies but some fetching slogans are clearly influencing the tabloid readers (and here I include Daily Mail and Daily Express readers as well as readers of the red-tops). If we Lib Dems are to make gains in the next General Election, then our message needs to be simple, relevant and convincing, and our policies need a broader appeal.