Welsh Politics: Independents' day 威尔士政治：独立日

　　Why party man and women are losing out to free agents? 为什么党派人士会输给无党派人士？

　　A beaming Tanya Skinner still can't quite believe it. 面露喜色的Tanya Skinner还是无法相信现在所发生的一切。

　　In local elections on May 4th she scooped enough votes in her ward to topple the head of the Labour council in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales. 5月4日进行的大选中，她在其选区获得的选票，超过了南威尔士的梅瑟蒂德菲尔地区工党。

　　She has become an instant local celebrity. 一跃之间，她成为了地区名人。

　　The result was embarrassing for Labour. 这个结果让工党很是尴尬。

　　Merthyr is virtually synonymous with the party; Keir Hardie, Labour's founder, was the local MP. 因为梅瑟基本上就是工党的代名词：工党创始人凯尔哈迪就是当地议员。

　　Ms Skinner's victory contributed to Labour's losing control of the council. Skinner的胜利在一定程度上削弱了工党在议会中的权力。

　　Her result also showed that independent politics continues to flourish in Wales, in contrast to most of Britain, where parties dominate. 这个结果同时也表明不同于党派执政的大不列颠，威尔士独立政治势力正在抬头。

　　Ms Skinner and 15 other successful independent candidates will run Merthyr council, barring an upset in three more seats that are due to be contested in June. Skinner女士和另外15名成功的独立候选人将于Merthyr理事会参加竞选，除非六月份有三席以上提出质疑，这将会打乱原有安排。

　　Independents also gained control of the nearby council of Blaenau Gwent, another former Labour stronghold,  无党派们也控制了另一个邻近的工党要塞---布莱诺格温特，

　　once represented in Parliament by Aneurin Bevan, the architect of the National Health Service, and Michael Foot, a former Labour leader. 该区的议会代表曾经是英国国民健康服务体系的创造者Aneurin Bevan和前工党领导人Michael Foot。

　　In all, independents won 322 of the 1,159 seats that were contested in Wales, second only to Labour and well ahead of a resurgent Conservative Party, which won 184. 在总票数方面，无党派人士获得了威尔士1159个席位中的322个，仅次于工党，遥遥领先于获得184票的保守党。

　　In England, where 2370 seats were contested, independence won just 162. 而在英格兰，无党派人士仅仅获得了2370个中的162个。

　　Independents have historically done well at a local level in Wales, especially in rural and western areas such as Pembrokeshire,  威尔士的无党派一直以来都有好名声，尤其是在像朋布罗克郡这样的农村和西部地区，

　　where independents retained control of the council on May 4th. 无党派们在5月4日保留了对当地议会的控制权。

　　They campaign squarely on local issues, and although they rarely combine to form durable political blocs, they do vote as coalitions on some policies. 他们在竞选时直面当地社会问题，虽然他们并没有真正地形成长期的政治集团，但的确在一些政策方面保持统一意见。