I was delighted to be part of the Lib Dem team working on the Brecon and Radnorshire by election, which saw Jane Dodds elected as our new MP for the region. Jane overturned an 8,000 vote Conservative majority to win by nearly 1,500 votes.

The result was great for us, showing that the so called “Boris Bounce” where a new PM is meant to attract lots of new support didn’t work nearly well enough, but it is also significant for other reasons.

First the decision of the Green Party and Welsh Nationalists not to contest the seat was very welcome, and provides hope that a Remain Alliance may develop for the next general election. I heard the Conservatives calling this a dirty deal. Given that this is coming from the party who bribed the DUP with £1 billion of public money to buy their support I thought that was a bit rich. It wasn’t a dirty deal but shows the limitations of the first past the post electoral system. It is high time that we had a fair vote system for electing our representatives. The Tories have spent years protecting FPTP as it often works in their interests, so I’m not impressed by their crocodile tears now.

Second the result was a disaster for the Brexit Party, who saw their support from from 30% in May to just 10% on polling day. Although they claimed to be happy with third place their activists were telling people that they were going to win. They didn’t and they didn’t even come close. It is high time that the media started denying Nigel Farage and his grubby crew the massive free publicity that they have given them so far. His politics are those of the fascists. His views have no place in a decent democracy.

Third it was an awful result for Labour. They only just held their deposit. In no small measure this was due to their constant fence sitting on Brexit. Putting it bluntly, their policy of trying to face both ways at once just leaves them with two faces.

Finally UKIP is now dead. To finish behind the Monster Raving Looney Party shows that they are completely washed up and no longer of any relevance in the UK. Good riddance.

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