The Results Are In

Do I get my life back now?

I would have posted something earlier, except I feel rotten with a cold and hardly slept as my bones were aching. It sucks to be ill! And it doesn’t happen to me often, so it probably makes me even grumpier.

1,448 people voted for me in the end. I am incredibly grateful for your faith. Considering this was a Plaid Cymru stronghold with an experienced incumbent and I was running my campaign from a distance, I am very pleased with getting 3.6% of the votes.

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Congratulations

I sent an email to the winning candidate, Liz Saville Roberts, earlier:

Subject: Llongyfarchiadau!

Sut mae Liz,

Congratulations on your win! I’ll be honest with you, you were the only candidate I was fine about losing to, as you and I were the only ones to say anything about the genocide in Palestine as I mentioned here.

Although we may disagree on other issues such as badger culls and nuclear power, I am pleased that we both stand up for injustice and also believe in an independent Wales (and for me, also Scotland and a united Ireland). In many ways I am annoyed at how Labour have such a majority they will steamroll all sorts of awful things for the next four years, so I don’t envy you the challenges! But pob lwc. You have the experience to do well.

Cofion cynnes,

Karl

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Results Analysis And Proportional Representation

The UK now has four Green MPs. FOUR! If we had proportional representation it would have been more. I mean, look at these figures! (There are three constituencies still to declare, but I doubt this will change much):

• Labour got 9,674,562 votes across the UK. That gave them 412 MPs.

• Greens got 1,938,260 votes across the UK. That gave them 4 MPs.

So Labour didn’t even get five times more votes than us, yet that figure translated as a hundred times more MPs. For every 23,481 votes, Labour got an MP. For Greens we only got one MP for every 484,565 votes. With proportional representation, at the ratio Labour benefited from, we’d have had 82 Green MPs.

That’s why Labour and Conservatives would never change the first past the post system, as it is so heavily in their favour. This is one of the many ways that the UK is not a democracy.

Another illustration from the BBC:

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Nice People

Along the way I had many lovely messages from supporters. I included some in this post, but here are new ones:

I've read some of your material on substack and am joining The Green Party. I’ve voted Green several times before when I lived in Yorkshire but voted Plaid this time round on the basis of their policy of an independent Cymru. There is much about the party I do not align with and I think they’ve got into aright mess with their misogynistic culture, but that policy is close to my heart. Reading your views about independent Celtic nations, animal protections (farmed, factory farmed, cats, dogs and all mammals), and the Green focus on climate protections, I am persuaded. I felt relief to read your views on the current lousy political climate, the frightening shift to the right and the self-serving nature of most politicians. I will renounce my membership of Plaid today and join The Green Party. There are lots of us out there who are fed up with the status quo so keep telling your story. More power to you.

Thank you Karl for your feedback and the link you sent to us, which we will look at further. We appreciate your consideration in this matter. You are the only candidate that has replied to our email so far,so thank you once again for getting in touch. God bless.

I can't tell you how heartening it is to get a personal response, delivered with passion and conviction, which is balanced and fair, and says what needs to be said. I'm horrified at Biden's support for genocide in Gaza, at his and the UK government's passivity while the Taliban institutes gender apartheid, at everything Trump says, and Sunak pandering to the right, at his abhorrent Rwanda policy, at badger culling, the escalation of factory farming, the heartlessness of so much government rhetoric. I'm not impressed with Starmer and can only hope he isn't as bad as this soon-to-be ex government. Both Sunak and Starmer share a common characteristic in my view: good at working within established guidelines and protocols as chancellor and DPP, but unable to lead with either courage or ethics without lines already drawn for them.

Yes! Yes! Yes! There isn't a bullet point in your article that I can't get behind. Goodness! I can't remember the last time that happened - that someone articulated such clear sighted and practical ideas/solutions along a range of important topics all of which I can endorse. The fact that you are running for Parliament makes it even more heartening, thank you for sharing.

Thank you! You have had my vote today. Good luck!

This is all a new adventure for me. What has surprised me when I have been dropping leaflets for Plaid (this time on my wife’s behalf who remains faithful to them), when I tell Plaid supporters on the doorstep where I now stand (not pro-Green nor pro Plaid but pro-Planet!) and expecting a cold response, they say almost without exception, either that they agree or that they do the same thing in the double vote of Cardiff elections. I’m sure there is fruitful soil here for a slightly separate Plaid Werdd Cymru.

Helo Karl. You will be pleased to know that after much heart searching, I voted for you in this election. After 40 years as a member of Plaid Cymru the alternatives were all held in the balance and found wanting. Your 'environment first' policies made my choice inevitable since they equate ultimately to a 'Planet/Wales first'. As a Climate Voter I of course remain vigilant! Just wanted to tell you this with a somewhat heavy heart but also with some relief. Thank you for giving me the choice

All the lovely people and their support helped me get over the many challenges I faced!

How you can help.

Promoted by Harriet King on behalf of the Green Party both at The Gate, Keppoch Street, Cardiff CF24 3JW.