Voters split as Vale gears up for general election
IT’S safe to say there’s a mix of feelings about Alun Cairns on the streets of his Vale of Glamorgan constituency.
He’s been the Conservative MP since 2010 and, until November 6, was also Secretary of State for Wales, until he very publicly quit his cabinet job on the day the Prime Minister launched his election campaign
He resigned as Secretary of State for Wales after it emerged his former staff member Ross England had, in the words of a crown court judge, sabotaged a rape trial.
Mr Cairns has denied he knew what had been said about Mr England by the judge, but is now subject to a Cabinet Office investigation.
The Cabinet Office will not confirm when that will be concluded, or if it will be finished before the election on December 12.
Even before these damaging headlines, the Vale of Glamorgan has been a must-watch seat on election night, flipping between Labour and the Conservatives since it was created in 1983.
In 2017, Mr Cairns’ majority was just 2,190 and in the same year, the Labour vote share jumped by 10.8%.
This time, the remain alliance is in place and Plaid Cymru and the Lib Dems have stepped aside to give the Green Party a free run.
Mr Cairns is a Leave candidate; his rivals are two Remainers – Labour’s Belinda LoveluckEdwards and the Green Party’s Anthony Slaughter.
The fourth candidate on the ballot paper is Laurence Williams, who represents the Gwlad Gwlad party, who says the referendum result cannot be ignored.
So, we went to Cowbridge and Barry Island to see how voters there think Mr Cairns will fare on December 12.
Across the two towns, there was a split in opinion, but overall in this small sample, the consensus was that while voters don’t think Mr Cairns should be standing, he is the Conservative candidate and people will vote for him because they believe he will deliver Brexit.
Sarah, 63, and Dill, 76, are both Conservative supporters. They praised Mr Cairns’ involvement in local causes, but have followed the recent events and know the ins and outs, though he will still get their vote.
Dill said he will vote Conservative, but Alun Cairns “just happens to be the candidate”. “The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about,” he says.
Sarah said: “We’re natural Tory voters so we would always go for them. I think that’s the only way we’re going to get anything done in this country.”
But the couple said they had seen less of the candidate than in previous campaigns.
“I haven’t seen hardly anything of him. It’s almost as if he’s keeping a low profile”.
Mr Cairns was a Remain campaigner who has since backed Leave, but his original votes haven’t been forgotten by some.
Mike Bailey, 71, wants to leave and that’s the reason he says Alun Cairns will get his vote, despite him not being a “real Leaver”.
Another 71-year-old called Phil will also vote Tory, despite saying he doesn’t normally vote because “my vote doesn’t normally matter a lot, but I am voting Tory”. He knew about Mr Cairns standing down as Secretary of State, but said as the constituency’s only Leave candidate, he will get his backing. “It hasn’t changed my mind.
“How does it affect me if one of his supporters has done something wrong?”
Almost as quickly as he’s said that, he follows up with: “We have got to get out.”
For Mr Bailey, it’s not straightforward.
“At the end of the day, I don’t think most of the politicians at Westminster have any clear convictions about what is right or wrong.
“I’ll hold my nose and vote for him. I’m not his biggest fan, but I am quite pragmatic.”
As we stand on the high street, there isn’t a single poster on show for any party. This is a town geared up for Christmas, not an election.
A lady who gives her name simply as Ann is a Conservative voter, and she’ll vote for them again on December 12.
She too knows all about the allegations Mr Cairns has faced, but that isn’t factoring into her decision at the ballot box.
“He’s fallen on his sword and that’s it, as far as I’m concerned”.
Matt Roberts, 22, from Ystradowen, admits knowing the big names in politics, but when I say Alun Cairns’ name, it isn’t one that rings a bell.
He has heard about Ross England and the questions of Mr Cairns’ involvement but based on national policies he will