2nd July 2007
Nice Try - but no cigar
It might not be quite up there with the Zinoviev letter but “Hayzell David”’s bogus e-mail to the Western Mail’s Martin Shipton was a political hoax timed with perfection to cause maximum damage. Hat tip to Ceredig for yet again proving the power of the blogosphere to trounce traditional media. Sent at four o’clock on a Friday afternoon, giving the Mail’s Chief Reporter the least amount of time to check the story out, it was probably designed to rattle nerves at Plaid’s national executive meeting the next morning. One of the reasons it didn’t work was nobody had ever heard of said Ms David - activists in the Women’s Section are hardly that numerous that you wouldn’t have ever heard of them somewhere along the lines. The name itself, and some of the political language (’united socialist front’etc.) sounded distinctly suspect.
And, no, there is no Hayzell David on Plaid Cymru’s membership database or any other database for that matter because the whole thing was made up. What is even more curious was the BBC running the story on Good Morning Wales, again without checking the provenance of the story and even suggesting that the fictitious Ms David was part of the circle of Helen Mary Jones. Why, we ask ourselves, because she’s a woman? I think we can expect some pretty hefty apologies in the next couple of days from Wales’ premier news organisations. An apology from Ordovicius, who used the opportunity, to lay bare the ‘hidden agenda’ of the national left in Plaid might be nice, as well, but I won’t hold my breath.
As to the author of this politically-minded prank then one can only speculate. Just as no party has a monopoly on the truth, no party is entirely devoid of the alienated or the plain infantile. It is as likely to have emerged from the hard right of the nationalist movement as from a renegade Labour-Unionist.
Speaking about apologies, the other story that Martin ran was from a couple of papers from the Welsh Labour Grassroots Network that I’m glad to see endorsed the One Wales programme at the weekend. A response to the main paper by Nick Davies and Darren Williams apparently written by a constituency chair from North Wales who wasn’t named in the article said “I am not exaggerating when I say our MP, one of the best we have, says PC in North Wales operates in very much the same was (sic) as the Nazis in Germany during the 1930s. ” While the odd reference to Saunders Lewis’ Francoist leanings is still de rigeur among some Labour MPs, being called a Nazi is pretty rare these days. That most Labour activists were themselves appalled by this old-style vicious sectarianism was thankfully reflected in the vote.
2 Responses to “Nice Try - but no cigar”
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alanindyfed says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 2:59 pm
I too have come upon these obscure references to Nazism and Fascism in the blog comments, as well as branding some Plaid as the lunatic left, and it seems to me that the ‘opposition’ from wherever it comes is scraping the barrel for ammunition to throw at Plaid. These ludicrous attempts to undermine the party or to cause disaffection and mayhem will find no credence in the minds of intelligent and politically-savvy individuals. In short - they will not succeed.
Patriotic Left says:
July 2nd, 2007 at 9:23 pm
Adam,
The support at Welsh Labour Grassroots was overwhelming. We look forward to working with the left of Plaid to deliver the radical agenda set out in the ‘One Wales’ agreement. Many thanks for your role in making this exciting opportunity possible.