I was brought up Labour Party and proud to be so, Aneurin Bevan on the Left against Hugh Gaitskill on the right, what you ask, right wingers in our socialist party? Get real. The enemy was and still is the Conservative Party, when Bevan said that they were lower than vermin we all agreed, then when he said that there were no Welsh problems only problems, I had to think, then when Harold Wilson, another man whom I admired took the Aberfan Fund to clear the tips that was the end. When Emrys Roberts came to Merthyr to stand for Plaid Cymru there was no way back, he was a socialist who stood for Cymru/Wales and minorities worldwide. I got to know him and his wife Margaret, went to their house, wonderful people. He nearly got elected to Merthyr as M.P. but narrowly lost. I became a member of the Merthyr executive and as such went to the counts as a scrutineer, often I caught the employees of Merthyr council cheating, putting one Labour Party vote over many opposition votes, giving the impression of a Labour majority, they also fiddled with the ballot boxes, so it is possible that Emrys in reality won the election. Now that the Labour Party has a socialist leader the right wing forces will do anything within their ability to deny him power, ironically in the same way that the corrupt Labour rule in Merthyr denied the socialist Emrys Roberts.

P.S. Merthyr in the 20s and 30s was ruled by predominantly the founders of the movement, but with few exceptions such as Tal Loyd and Albert John, Trades Union activists, in the sixties Merthyr council was controlled by the Irish catholic community. As with the Communists infiltrating the Labour Party, the catholics in Merthyr infiltrated the Town Hall. I stood agains Terry Mahoney who became the first Chairman of Mid-Glamorgan, but he wasn't Labour, he was a Liberal who married into the McNamaras, then Plaid Cymru took over with Emrys Roberts as its leader, so there had to be a rethink. Plaid didn't last long for whatever reason, then Bill Morgan the newly elected leader was a Church in Wales vicar. Then I left Merthyr to come to Brittany. I've learned since that the Labour Party has lost its majority on the council. Although I've moved away, I'm keeping an eye on things. As with Joseph Parry, bachgen bach o Ferthyr erioed erioed.

P.P.S. When canvassing up the mush, predominantly Irish community, I used to get the doors slammed in my face, then one day I was up the road in Sunnybank an old lady came to the door and told me she was Irish, so as I turned away she said 'we Irish & Welsh have to stick together.' Took me aback, but very welcome.