Plaid Cymru to take Battersea?

I missed Newsnight last night but I was intrigued to discover who topped the poll in the exercise I mentioned in an earlier post.

From ICWales:

Move over Meirionnydd – it’s next stop Battersea for Plaid Cymru.

An intriguing political experiment conducted by BBC’s Newsnight programme has concluded that Plaid Cymru could be the most popular party in at least one inner London district.

All the main British parties were invited to send Parliamentary candidates to a ‘speed dating’ pub in Battersea called the Hydro Bar. Usually, strangers are supposed to decide after a brief conversation whether they want to see more of each other.

It would be nice if there were an English counterpart to Plaid and the SNP. The English Democrats claim to be fulfilling this role, but the results of this programme would seem to confirm they are in UKIP/Veritas territory, as does their recruitment of Gary Bushell.

Personally, I would prefer to see an English alternative coming from the left of centre. That’s why I’m glad to Ken Livingstone backing London’s St George’s Day celebrations.

According to the CEP, Ken hasn’t always been sympathetic to the idea in the past, but he could be a powerful ally.

After all, the GLA must be the one of the most powerful specifically English civic institutions, and Ken has spoken out against the level of resources diverted from London to Scotland.

There also the fact that he hasn’t always had the most cordial relationship with Gordon Brown. Could Ken emerge as a spokesman for England in a Brown premiership?