MARK YOUNG, INDEPENDENT, VALE OF CLWYD

Mark Young is the Independent candidate for the Vale of Clwyd. Born in 1967 and originally from the Wirral peninsula he grew up as a child spending most of his family holidays and spare time in North Wales. He lives near the village of Llandyrnog in Denbighshire.
Full biography

Thursday, May 5

Election Day, most of which was spent visiting the various polling stations around the constituency to gain an idea of how good the turnout was. All candidates and agents have the right to enter the polling stations and check everything is OK. In many stations it was quite quiet but in others very busy. I later found out that this is because each station is not proportional to the number of electors, so some may have a few hundred eligible voters, and some thousands.

What did surprise me was the lack of adequate voter verification. I actually stood by in one polling station while a woman wondered in without her voting card, and without even giving her name supplied an address that the person checking the register then matched and said “Mrs X…?” – “Yes” she replied and was then allowed to vote. I could have walked the streets and found several empty houses myself and done the same thing. Dereliction has never offered such an opportunity.

In the evening we had a supporter’s dinner in the Brookhouse Mill, a local retreat that does great food. It was a symbolic occasion as this was where we held our original launch day celebrations.

At 10:30pm it was off to the count. Having never been to a count before I can only say how impressed I was with the speed and organisation. It was over within 2 hours and I felt odd when the result was announced because it marked the end of a miraculous nine week journey and was full of emotion. I came 5th out of 7 candidates.

It was only afterwards that I realized two things: Being an Independent is especially tough because most voters vote by tradition and that saddened me somewhat because it means that voting for a person or personality is secondary to logo or colour.

The second observation was that out of the twelve Independent candidates in Wales, I came joint 4th in terms of share of the vote along with Jimmy James in Clwyd West – so something to be proud of there at least.

One day I am sure I will write a book about my journey into politics, but the time for doing so will come later. There are plenty more exciting chapters I still have to write and there is an interesting crossroads ahead…. More about that next time.

Monday, May 2

I spent pretty much all of the Bank Holiday in Rhyl campaigning on the streets with some supporters. We started out near the Railway station knocking on doors and then went to a local supermarket car park just before lunch. I couldn’t resist a little campaigning outside in the car park, and the team must have made an impact because someone from the Labour party phoned the store and complained! We did see Welsh Assembly Member Ann Jones in the store - so I will leave it to your judgment if that was a coincidence or not!

In the afternoon we headed into the main part of Rhyl. For those of you who have never been, I can only describe the centre as a façade of shops, full of tourists. As soon as you start to waver a hundred yards or so from the main drag you start to see boarded up shops and decline. This is the real Rhyl. Don’t get me wrong, I am not talking the place down and I can tell you that I loved the place as a child and still have fond feelings for it. It doesn’t detract from the truth that the place really needs investment - I think people from all parties know this. The local shop owners were telling me that its a systemic issue that goes right down to how parking has been controlled, how planning has focused on large business at the expense of not small, and how the town is promoted and perceived by the world. It’s clear that it needs sorting not just by fixing a single issue, but by a comprehensive strategy. Money needs to be found to seed a cycle of investment, tourism, reinvestment and growth and for that to happen its my view that we have to start with a change of MP.

Saturday, April 30

I have learned that Saturdays are usually busy and with five days to go this one has proven to be no exception. The morning was spent at a machinery auction at a local farmers market and then our plan was to head on to Rhyl and Prestatyn for more street campaigning. We got there in the end but we had a little diversion first. My press officer phoned me to say the Conservatives had just descended on our village and were putting up poster in the same field as one of ours!

I scooted straight over with a journalist friend in tow and discovered to my delight that was only half the story. Something has clearly driven them to take such a measure as this because it was being erected by the Conservative candidates’ husband and the husband of the chair of the local Conservatives. A celebrity erection indeed! It was a photo opportunity we just couldn’t miss.

I think there is a serious point to this; if politics were a business it would be unlikely that and one competitor would deliberately decide to put their advert next to another because you would run the risk of association. So thank you very much Conservative party. A true faux pas methinks.

Breaking news as I sit in front of my computer writing this is that the bookmakers Jack Brown in Swansea are now showing me in 3rd place at 33/1. The Plaid Cymru candidate and the Lib Dems are both at 50/1 and local Legalise Cannabis candidate is at 100/1. Its all coming together and with 5 days to go I am ready to give my all. In the words of Jed Bartlet from the TV series The West Wing “Bring it on.”

Colin Elphick and Tom Smith, both prominent Conservatives putting their sign right next to a Mark Young poster.

Friday April 29

If performed properly, standing for election should be a bit like running a business. You need a product (the candidate), a mission statement (policies), good advertising (posters and leaflets) and effective marketing (press office). Oh - and an MD (the campaign manager). The problem with some campaigns is that in the end they become badly run businesses and collapse. You can see why, because it takes an awful lot of energy to get a campaign up and running and even more to keep it there and maintain consistency. However, we seem to be on top at this stage and with a week to go I think we are in good shape for the bug push that will now follow.

Having posters out and about in gardens reinforces the message that other people believe in you and so that has been the focus today. Of course, I have the most attractive posters (well, that’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it!) so competitors beware!

Tonight, it’s off with the nice shoes and suit, and out with the hammer and nails. If you hear a tap tap tapping in your area, its probably me!

Thursday April 28

The fuel protest issue appears to have quieted down for the moment. There is not much in the newspapers today about it. When you see the figures about how much out of a litre of petrol or diesel is actually taxed you can certainly understand the feelings of those who depend on our roads for their livelihood. I don’t think the best way to go about it though is by blockade though. Greater public awareness of the levels of stealth taxation would be my preferred route to tackling this issue.

Today I spent time door knocking in Bodelwyddan and Melliden. Bodelwyddan is next to Glan Clwyd hospital, where earlier on in the campaign I spent more than 5 hours in casualty getting a scratched eye seen to. It shocked me at the time how under pressure the front line staff were, and I made a commitment back then to try and help fix this if I get in. Anyway, what I am pleased to report is that in the 8 weeks I have been campaigning I have got through two pairs of shoes and lost a stone. Campaigning is good for your health it seems….

Tuesday, April 26

Independents around North Wales woke up to find a very good article on page 2 of the ‘Daily Post’ this morning about this election having record levels of Independent candidates. The article also discussed some of the key issues being highlighted by several candidates, including yours truly. A great start to the day.

Feeling boosted from the newspaper success it was off to the hairdressers in Ruthin for a pre-appearance haircut, ready for a hustings this evening. You have to look good for these things you know!

At 10:30am we sent out a press release on my updated manifesto. It’s not changed much from the original version, apart from the fact that some of the solutions are a lot more mature and solid than when the original was first formulated. The good thing about being Independent is that you really can be totally non-partisan in your approach. If something needs fixing, you can focus directly on fixing it and that’s the main drift of my approach to our local issues.

Most of the afternoon was spent doing research for tonight’s hustings held at Oriel House in St Asaph. It was always going to be a tough one, because the audience was a much focused and very specific group of people – the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

In the end I think I did rather well. Having been to the fuel protest meeting last week, it stood me in good stead for some of the questions - proving that if you do your homework it pays off. In politics there are no half measures, you either get involved with issues that matter or you don’t get elected.

Monday, April 25

The Vale of Clwyd can be a muddy place at times. Tonight was no exception.

Picture me if you will, having been out canvassing all afternoon then out again in the evening putting up posters. Being so focused and with the dusk settling in, tools in hand I failed to notice the light rain falling all around me. So when I clambered back into my van ready to move on to the next location it was a bit of a shock to discover the van had sunk into the mud!

Very embarrassing, especially when the rest of the campaign team had sought refuge from the stream of mud coming up from my wheels behind a hedge and were giggling away! In the end it took a local farmer with a Landrover to pull me out. My list of “pints owed” is slowly growing.

Sunday, April 24

It's at the weekend that most of the press stories for the week and the plan of action for the campaign are formulated. So today, I had to trudge up Moel Famau (our local mountain) for a photo shoot.

If you get the angle right, on a clear day you have a fantastic view of the entire constituency with the valley sweeping beneath you and flowing up to where the land eventually meets the sea at Rhyl. It is however not a good idea to trudge up a 1800ft mountain in a suit - even if you start from the car park half way up!


The view from Moel Famau, 1800ft up with suit to boot.

The evening was cooler, and more pleasantly spent erecting signs. It was particularly pleasant because we had been invited to put up some signs on land that only last week had signs from one of the other parties! As the last 10 days or so of the election march on, to be starting to pull in visible support from people who had already apparently made their mind up is really uplifting. Keep it coming Vale of Clwyd, because I am in this to win, not just to get my deposit back.

If I were to analyze the distribution of signs in the constituency I would say that you see lots of Conservative in the country, and Labour in the towns, especially in Rhyl - but you don’t see it the other way round.

What is happening though is that the people who tend to want to have our Mark Young signs live in the border between town and country. I think that is especially relevant because it’s a very bad thing to have an MP that appeals to and represents only one type of person, and that’s the danger if people plumb for a vote from one of the two major parties in this election.

Without true diversity, there will always be friction and intolerance between town and country. I am determined that we are not seen as more one than the other.

Saturday April 23

If you live in the Vale of Clwyd constituency and you have not heard of me before, the chances are you have now. Why? Well because today was the day we took to the roads armed with what must have been the loudest public address system I have ever known. My apologies to the people of Rhyl, St Asaph & Denbigh if we overdid it, but I think the message "Vote Mark Young for Local Issues, Local People and Local Action" spoken by my press officer over the mike was certainly clear, and due to the amount of waves and smiles we had as we went by, I think the experience was generally good fun and well received. It is fair to say that one or two flocks of sheep out in the countryside were not so impressed as we went past!

In the early evening my campaign manager and I took to Ruthin, which is just outside of the constituency but heavily populated at the weekend by young people from the Vale of Clwyd. Campaigning aside, one of the other things we want to do is to get more young people to vote and to feel part of the political process.

To address this we have commissioned some special silicon wristbands embossed with "Dare to be Dyffrynt". Dyffrynt is our own merging of the Welsh word 'dyffryn' which means vale, and the English 'different'. The slogan is supposed to dare youngsters into caring more about matters specific to the vale, and thus vote.


"Dare to be Dyffrynt" wristbands

We dropped off a few wristbands along the way, and took in some of the great atmosphere you get in Ruthin at the weekend over a beer or two. From the look of some of the younger people, I predict a few sore heads in the morning.

Thursday April 21

The morning was taken up with post, emails, and phone calls. At lunchtime, I briefly attended a frugal lunch at Llandyrnog Cocoa Rooms, followed by a trip to St Asaph Livestock Market in the company of our local butcher.

Clwyd, or ‘Butch’ as he is known, is one of the few butchers remaining who also breeds many of the animals he sells in his shop and takes a keen interest in farming.

A busy afternoon all in all, but a useful one as well as I had the chance to meet some more local farmers and livestock traders. I then moved on to a round of campaigning in Rhyl, which turned into an enjoyable couple of hours punctuated by the odd cup of tea. Most people I spoke to today have said they will support me and vote Independent. Happy days!

Every now and then, a wannabe politician needs to hit the road with their campaign team and put up posters, so tonight we visited a number of addresses in the constituency where people had kindly agreed to have a poster on their property.

We erected over a dozen this evening, as well as arranged a postal vote for a supporter who will be on holiday on Election Day. All this was going great until the battery in our van went flat, and we were rescued by someone who doesn’t vote, but does carry jump leads – and yes, he took a poster anyway, so thank you Blue Van Man!

When we go out and about as a team, it usually ends with a late night snack, and so true to tradition we wound up our evening with a kebab, chilli sauce and salad. I wonder if Tony Blair ever had evenings like this?

Wednesday April 20

I woke up this morning to see that one of the weekly Rhyl papers was running a feature on all the candidates in the constituency, including myself. I seem to be getting good representation from most publications now, which is more than I can say for the BBC who won’t cover you unless you are a party and have at least seven candidates in Wales.

I feel it is a poor state of affairs for a public service broadcaster and their rules show their lack of appreciation that in this election in particular more candidates than ever are standing as serious Independents in Wales.

So far I have counted 12 in all: Peter Rogers, Peter Law, Nigel Williams, Jimmie James, Richard Turner-Thomas, Saeid Arjomand, Gerry Brienza, Nick Turner, Andrew Taylor, Anne Savoury, Judith Kilshaw and myself – but of course we don’t count do we, BBC.

In the evening I attended a rally at Ruthin Livestock Market, held because of the recent increases in diesel prices and their affects on haulage, taxis, local businesses and farmers. Several hundred people turned up as well as some TV and Radio folks.

As one of the few politicians there I was asked to say a few words, and so I took to the podium and gave a short but succinct speech. I got a few cheers and applause. It’s long been my view that too high taxation, be it directly or by stealth might well have the opposite effect of bolstering our collective wealth, and instead plunge us into recession – and so I said as much. The rest of the rally went well, with some good speakers and real passion evident amongst the crowd.

I have learned today that I am the only Independent candidate standing in the constituency, the nominations having closed yesterday. That’s good, because it means I can focus on my belief that an Independent can actually achieve a whole lot more, specifically because they don’t toe a party line.

Tuesday, April 19

9am - Daily Post. Support is starting to flow in all sorts of unsolicited ways. My morning postbag contained a letter from some nurses who supported my stance on hospitals which appeared in a local newspaper last week. To be honest, I am now getting angry with the health issue. I keep getting contacted by people who work in the health service, and feel up against a wall. Whilst I am very happy for the contact and information (keep it coming!), I am getting maddened by the frustration I can see these people feel. I am starting to realise that our front line health services survive because of an awful lot of goodwill and commitment, and also that it is being tested to extremes. It’s going to be a major priority if I get in.

10am - Nomination Deadline. My campaign manager and I went to see the people who oversee the election process within Denbighshire Council. The purpose was to formally present my nomination papers and to have a brief chat about the whole process. The election officers are the silent workers behind the scenes with an enormous amount of things to coordinate from postal ballots, overseas voters, and of course the ballot box and count process itself. The Vale of Clwyd was very quick to return its results in 2001, declaring well before midnight so we wished them well in breaking all records again this time round.

11am Lixwm School Morning Assembly. This school is outside the constituency in Flintshire, and my reason for going was not to campaign, but to educate. I had been asked to give a talk to the school about the election process and why I am standing. It’s rewarding to see an interest at such an early age and I think the school will have some good fun if it goes on to do some mock elections in the future. It’s also nerve-wracking to stand up in front of so many children. I am sure as anyone who has done so will attest; children are a bit like journalists - they don’t let you off so easily if you slip up!

2pm Campaign Central. The 35,700 election communications we have had printed all needed bundling in 100s and labeling up for the Post Office. For those that don’t know, as a candidate you are entitled to send a communication to every address in the constituency via the Royal Mail. As with all these things there are rules about what is and what is not acceptable but we have muddled through with a fresh idea that I hope will attract more interest. We gave the go-ahead to a local printer about a week ago who has certainly come in for us on time.

5:30pm Local Business Forum at Howell’s School, Denbigh. I had been invited to give a talk to representatives of local businesses in the town of Denbigh. So, speech in hand I took to the podium. Top of their list of issues were more communication between the County Council and local business. They also liked my proposed idea of tiered tariffs on business rates for new businesses. The headmistress was kind enough to show me round the school afterwards, parts of which looked straight out of a Harry Potter film. Hogwarts would have blended in well in North Wales.

7:00pm Llandyrnog Community Council meeting. Amongst other things we appointed a new clerk - I hope he knows what he is taking on, because we can be an interesting bunch to organize. Car parking and traffic calming seemed to be the core issues of the evening. Its interesting how so often villages and towns develop without enough attention being paid to both - something the community council are determined to ensure doesn’t happen here.

10:00pm Gwelly (Gwelly is welsh for “bed” - often used as meaning “off to bed”) Two pints of beer and then off home to bed. As the saying goes, the thing about politics is you never know what is going to happen next….. Sleep well.

Sunday, April 17

A busy morning. My press officer Mary Tetley went to a live show with Huw Edwards, ‘The Peoples’ Voice, which was being filmed for this evening at 10.20pm, BBC Wales.

I had really hoped to have been able to attend in the audience and we had been battling all week with the producers for me to at least be able to sit in the audience.

However this was not to happen as the rules of the BBC did not allow an Independent to sit in the audience. The four main parties were there, our extra party is The Welsh Party.

Mary tells me that it was a very interesting show and that Huw Edwards is quite an expert and so nice and humorous and professional with it.

The programme covers apathy in voting, crime and taxes and is on this evening on BBC TV Wales. The audience certainly had some really good excellent comments and so the programme will be great, I am sure.

Better go, need to do some work now!

Saturday, April 16

The weather in Wales has not been kind to my canvassing team this weekend. We walked and talked through snow, hail and rain.

We started off in Rhyl where we met with many local people in the car park of the supermarket. I find this is an ideal place to speak with people as they go about their shopping.

After a couple of hours here, we went for a coffee and a quick warm up time.

Back in the Team car and off to Denbigh, my home town. Great fun was had here, chatting with the different shop owners and people in the streets .

Chad, my father-in-law’s guide dog, was a great attraction especially as he had his ‘Vote For Mark Young’ rosette on.

I was delighted with how positive everyone is about me standing as an Independent and the local support has been fantastic.