And so the battle ends
SECONDS ago the ballot boxes closed in the election to elect the next leader of Welsh Labour and, de facto, the next First Minister of Wales. It’s not been the shortest contest in the world, but it has been an interesting one and a battle far less bloody and personal than many were anticipating.
At the outset of this campaign WalesHome.org gave an undertaking to all three campaign teams that we would report all their press releases and put up all their videos. Nowhere else has done that consistently for the last two months. We’ve tried to be fair and positive, letting the candidates themselves set the agenda and not producing knocking copy. There are plenty of other places on the internet you can get that.
If that’s made us seem slavish to Labour, so be it. But we thought it was important to let the candidates lead this debate, not us. We hope we’ve done that and you may not agree with everything we’ve done (and we editors don’t always agree with each other either), but we hope we’ve added value and demystified a contest which has always been about more than the Labour Party.
If there was another leadership election in another party, we’d do the same too. But Ieuan, Nick and Kirsty need not worry – we’re not angling to topple any of them and start another contest. Well, not until next year anyway.
We are hugely grateful to all three press and communication teams for sharing so much with us. It’s been a fun ride, even if I wasn’t always the most receptive to receiving all those videos. You have been a real credit to your candidates and you will have your reward one day…
The election result will be announced at around 5.30pm on Tuesday December 1. And will WalesHome.org be covering it? I think you know the answer to that already.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Flickr
It’s been an experiment, and in my view it’s worked. I can say that with more distance than might be supposed because Daran has done the lion’s share of posts since the start. So if there’s credit, it must overwhelmingly go to him.
In the last couple of weeks we’ve faced (largely constructive) criticism for recycling press releases. Daran has explained our approach above, but it’s worth noting what else we have added. In particular, the policy analysis pieces stand out as a serious addition to the way this campaign has been covered. Certainly, no-one in the blogosphere tried anything like it. Huge praise is also due in my view for the three pieces analysing the three campaigns.
We’ve certainly learned a lot about what and where we can add value when it comes to a big story like this. And we’ll be applying some of those lessons in the new year. Stand by.
And can we PLEASE talk about something other than Labour…?
Certainly we can, Duncan.
Which week is our X-factor themed week?
I know – how about a themed week on what the X-Factor means to the new Welsh Labour leader? I suggest In-depth profiles on Edwina Hart and Danyl, Huw Lewis and Stacey and Carwyn and Joe.
Daran, can I again say what an excellent service you’ve provided over the last few weeks.
For those who are interested, as the politics odds compiler at Ladbrokes, I can give a brief run-down of the betting activity on this contest.
When we started, the odds looked like this;
Jones Evs
Lewis 3/1
Hart 5/1
Today, it’s changed a fair bit;
Jones 1/6
Hart 5/1
Lewis 8/1
Over 90% of all the money taken has been for Jones.