Labour's voice
Blaenau Gwent Labour have chosen their man to fight the next Assembly election - and its Alun Davies.
He will be relieved. Having nailed his colours quite so spectacularly to the mast, he had to win it. After all as one Labour source put it - bluntly I warn you - "he put his arse on the line and would have looked foolish if he hadn't won it".
It was, apparently, a close run thing between the current AM for Mid and West Wales and Welsh Labour's former head of policy, Dave Hagendyk. The counting got to fifth preferences tonight before one man pulled ahead of the other by the margin needed to win.
So in Nick Smith Labour have a parliamentary candidate who is softly spoken, an advocate of working quietly on the ground to win back support and trust for the party. He keeps his powder pretty dry. And one assembly candidate who'll go out all guns blazing and fight for it.
What was Alun Davies' pledge? I'll remind you of what he had to say about the current, independent AM, Trish Law:
"In the face of the current recession Blaenau Gwent needs an AM who will argue and fight for continued support and resources.
The current incumbent does little or nothing to fight for Blaenau Gwent. Her contributions to the Assembly are woeful. She has let down the people of Blaenau Gwent and broken the promises she made.
Enough is enough.
It's time for a change. It's time that Blaenau Gwent had an AM committed to fighting for the people in our communities and speaking up for them.
Blaenau Gwent needs a strong, articulate and powerful voice. I believe that I can be that voice".
Or put it another way: People's Voice watch out. Trish Law counts her support on the ground and simply says, bring it on.
He's got the Labour candidacy now. That's half the battle won. Did I say half? In Blaenau Gwent, that's surely being generous.
UPDATE: It sounds as though my source in Ebbw Vale last night was slightly too keen to over-dramatise. I gather it was done and dusted by the third round of voting. Plenty of drama to come though I suspect.
I'm Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor. I'll be blogging the inside track on 
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Comments
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Alun has to prove to his current party that he can be trusted, as many will never truly trust him as a formal Plaid member. By winning back one of their foundation seats, he will gain much of that trust. That is why he has little choise but to take a risk if he wants to reach his political ambitions.
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I'm a tredegar girl born and bred, there in no way i am voting for this man. Despite sticking with Labour through thick and thin i am now going to support Mrs Law.
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May I suggest that Tredgirl could hold the key to who will be returned.
There's an old saying,... 'it's all over bar the shouting',... which is then, and only then, that anyone can lay claim to the seat.
Or maybe, we should refer to ' don't count your chickens....' as a forewarning of what can happen to 'foregone conclusions'.
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Care to elaborate MissTredgirl?
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It puts the constituency on the map again, which is no bad thing.
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Blaenau Gwent certainly needs all the help it can get, decades of Labour local councils haven't delivered much, the new non Labour council seems to be making as good a go of it as it can, given the lack of resources and powers local councils have. Again decades of UK government mismanagement have done little for it. At least one major investment has happened via the Welsh Government, namely the reopened rail line.
Trish is a hard working AM, like most AMs her work is mainly not in the chamber but acting as a local ombudsman, dealing with a huge caseload of complaints and problems. This is the bulk of most AMs work.
Alun Davies is taking a huge risk, Labour is discredited and Trish seems to stand for type of politics that most people instinctively want. It could end his political ambitions if he fails to take the seat in two years time.
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certainally will Dewi:
1) He is an ex-nationalist, who stood here in 1992 against Labour, called them gangsters... i don't like turn coats of any colour can't be trusted
2) He has a seat in Mid and West Wales which he wants to abandon for us... thats nice for his current constituents
3) Labour Party in Blaenau Gwent rejected not 1 but 2 local women in favour of him absolute discrace.
I've voted Labour for ever even through the bi elections, the 2005 General so its Mrs Law for me now, shes local and she understands our area
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message 7...
The silence is suddenly deafening missTrgirl don't you think?
That message 7 is what I can a 'door slammer par excellence'.
Well answered.
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