As expected, our Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition result in Swansea West followed a national pattern of being squeezed by the main parties.
Labour hung onto the seat with a tiny majority of just 504 votes over the Lib Dems. The Green and a centre left ‘independent’ candidate also picked up a few hundred votes each. The BNP, using its national media profile, secured 910 votes and more disturbingly, retained their deposit in neighbouring Swansea East, highlighting the vital need for a new mass workers’ party to act as an alternative to their racist and divisive agenda.
Rob Williams’ 179 votes obviously didn’t reflect the excellent election campaign over the past month which has boosted the profile of TUSC and the Socialist Party. With thousands of leaflets hand-delivered by our large and enthusiastic campaign team we now have several potential new members. Our objective was to put a marker down for the future, highlight our socialist alternative and expose the similarities of the main parties, all of which were achieved.