Natural yogurt.

The face of Plaid Cymru.

What would you expect the face of Plaid Cymru to be? What would you think his name may be? Plaid Cymru - the Party of Wales, let me think, short - plump - middle aged - white - man, with a name like Dai Evans, Dai Jones or Dai Thomas. Oh, what is that I see walking down the Grand Avenue here in Ely, Cardiff. It is a Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Dart service bus, operated by the original cowboy of Abercynon, Clayton Jones - trading as St. David's Travel, as he cherry-picks the passengers off the 18 bus route into Cardiff City Centre. On the back of his rough bus is a poster for Plaid Cymru.

In the coming general election here in Cardiff West, we have a choice of candidates. As regular readers to this blog will be aware, my wife Gail and I shall be voting for the offical Labour candidate Kevin Brennan . Voters throughout South Wales have the choice of many candidates on their ballot papers. An old workmate of mine is tempted to switch his vote from super-posh David Cameron's Tory Blood Sport Party to Plaid Cymru. But although he may like to dip his willy into darker flesh, would he really like to vote for the Cardiff West Plaid Cymru candidate? Mohammed Sarul Islam was born in Moulvibazar , Bangladesh , in 1971.



Of course, if my old workmate had a vote in Cardiff West rather than the Vale of Glamorgan, then maybe he would be sorely tempted to vote for Mohammed, because Bangladeshi's drive on the left! As we all know, any thinking person should both drive on the left and vote on the left! So then Tory boy, who would you rather vote for? Some blood sport loving, super-rich, public school boy, Conservative candidate, a brown skinned immigrant or a local man who shares your working class roots?

Okay, enough teasing of an old workmate, I was however genuinely surprised at the Plaid Cymru poster of Mohammed. I will not vote Plaid Cymru because I do not believe that they offer the best representation of the working man within our country as a whole. I think that the best vote for all working men in Britain is with the Labour Party. I do not think that regional parties like Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party offer a way forward in the government of our country. I think their vision is narrow and they have no pull in England. We should all pull together in our national problems rather than fight regional battles. I have lived in Cardiff since 1991 but I do not think of myself as Welsh. Look at my passport and I do not think of myself as English either. Look at my driving licence and I do not think of myself as a "monkey-hanger" either! I do not buy this identity thing - I will not wear the badge of a Northern Englishman. I am just another voter, nothing more and nothing less. What I do like about Plaid Cymru is that they as a party have actively encouraged diversity within our country and although their banner is - the Party of Wales - have put forward a candidate in Cardiff West who simply shows what a lovely diverse and multi-cultural city I am very proud to be a part of.

I would like to thank Mohammed Sarul Islam for standing as a candidate in the Cardiff West national elections, he does not get my vote but I am genuinely pleased that he has given the voters within Cardiff West a greater choice of candidate. Peace be with you.