Many decisions were too close to call

FOOTBALLERS entering the knock-out phase of a competition practice penalties in case of a draw after extra time, but it would be unusual for politicians to work on coin-tossing in the event of a tie in an election. It’s always going to be a 50-50 call.

But the dreaded heads or tails call occurred in Carmarthenshire last Friday when council election candidates David Darkin and Philip Warlow couldn’t be separated after the count.

Both Labour candidates were vying for the third seat in Llanelli’s Bigwyn ward. Some consolation then, that Labour took the seat?

“It’s fantastic,” said gracious loser Mr Darkin. “We won two out of three seats, and I know Philip will do a fantastic job for the ward.”

Architect Mr Darkin, 39, said he and his Labour colleague had been watching the count.

“The voting patterns were bonkers,” he said. “We were struggling to make heads or tails of it.”

Some time later he and Mr Warlow were informed, after recounts, that they polled the same number of votes. A coin toss it was.

“It’s the only fair way to decide it,” said Mr Darkin. “Whoever is listed first on the ballot paper calls it – I chose heads and it was tails.”

Plaid Cymru is still the largest party in the county, with 38 out of 75 seats. Labour has 23 and Independents 14.

The results were similar to the 2017 election, but a tremor was felt in the ward of Llannon when council leader Emlyn Dole was unseated.

Among the particular tight contests were the new Carmathen Town and North and South ward, where the top six candidates polled between 1,188 and 971 votes.

The three councillor seats were bagged by Plaid Cymru, leaving Labour with nothing to show for their efforts. Only six votes separated incumbent councillor Alun Lenny and Labour’s Nia Maynard.

Cllr Lenny said he wasn’t surprised it was so close.

“I was a member of the old Carmarthen Town South, which was a small ward,” he said. “The North ward was a real Labour heartland in days gone by.”

He said Nia Maynard and her candidate father Mike Maynard being well-known in the area, combined with Welsh Labour leader Mark Drakeford having attended school in Carmarthen, “put wind in their sails, but not quite enough”.

Cllr Lenny added: “There were 4,000 doors to knock on and we