Good news! We have news coming in hot like a cup of tea from the UK local council elections this week. And while some councils saw clear majorities, others were hair thin. Or should we say, coin thin?
That’s right, the Monmouthshire County Council in the south-east of Wales had a coin thin - registered trademark until I can register this cool new term of ‘coin thin’ - election, with the vote for the Llanfoist Fawr and Govilon communities decided by coin toss after both parties received a clean 50% split of exactly 679 votes each.
In an incredibly rare but allowed coin thin situation, Labour’s Bryony Nicholson and the Conservative’s Tomos Davies had to watch their fate be placed into the hands (or should we say thumb and back of hand) of the gods.
Footage captured by South Wales Argus reporter Dan Barnes shows the tense moment in the room.
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It’s a bit tricky to tell by the footage, but Ms. Nicholson guessed heads, but it was tails so Mr. Davies was elected.
It isn’t compulsory to vote in the UK, so speaking on the events post-toss, Ms. Nicholson told the South Wales Argus: "What can I say? People who told me, 'I can't make a difference' - if you had voted it wouldn't have gone to a coin toss. Just one person who couldn't be bothered." Sounds like she might be a little sore about the whole situation.
Who needs an election promises when your whole campaign can be “A vote for me, is a vote for tails.” Now that’s a coin thin situation.
