A lot has happened since I last wrote. Firstly, the local elections which produced fascinating results both locally and nationally, including London. It seems quite extraordinary to me that after having grown up and started work in a council that weighed rather than counted the Labour vote, the landscape has changed enormously and now there seem to be very few Labour controlled councils left. Both Plaid and the LDs seem to have made inroads into what was previously Labour territory and in some areas there has been a surprising resurgence of Tory fortunes. I really do get a sense of a long term sea-change in the political feel of Wales. Even ten years ago, certain political positions were taken for granted - now it seems that is no longer the case. I also wonder about the knock on impact on trade unions as traditionally they have been the L Party paymasters and acccordingly wielded their power. Neither Lib Dems nor Plaid have any historical or financial (as far as I know) tie, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out. Locally our ward is a microcosm of the changes, moving from being one of the safest Labour seats with 3 local Cllrs to reduced majorities for two of them and a new Lib Dem member. It will be fascinating to see the new authority in action.