Conspiracy, gerrymandering, and democracy

Tweet The editor of Barn seems to be rather exercised about the locations selected for Plaid's hustings to select our European candidates, although Ordovicius takes a rather more relaxed view. Some have even suggested that this is some form of gerrymandering by the south to ensure that a particular candidate is selected.

I suppose that it’s always good to be talked about, but in this case, those raising the issue seem not to understand the background. The party’s NEC, which I chair for my sins, has actually discussed this matter twice, and the final decision was taken unanimously by the committee. That committee includes representatives from all parts of Wales - including the areas where one or two individuals seem to be unhappy – and the decision was taken after everyone had time and opportunity to input their views.

Our selection process is probably the most open and democratic of any of the parties, but there is always a balance between the costs and organisation involved in holding large numbers of meetings and the need to invvolve as many members as possible. And I won't argue that we always get it right.

But, the decision that we took was simply that we should hold the hustings based on the Assembly Electoral Regions – one meeting each in the three smaller regions, and two meetings each in the two larger regions. Of course, any decision is always open to criticism, and members will have their own opinions as to whether it’s the right decision or not, or even the right basis for taking the decision. But conspiracy and gerrymandering? Absolutely not.