West Wales Chronicle Exclusive: Dragon Breathes Fire on Llanelli Multi Party Campaign Morning

Swiss Valley resident, Phil Cullen, 57, complained to a Police Officer and Llanelli Market Inspector about the Llanelli Conservatives town centre Easter dragon display. The large red dragon was erected by campaigners for Llanelli Conservatives and displayed in Stepney Street between 10am and 12pm on Easter Saturday. The Labour, Green and Socialist parties also had campaign stalls in the town centre.

Campaigners for Llanelli Conservatives were in the town centre with prospective MP, Selaine Saxby, to promote the party’s “one hour free town centre car parking” petition and provide local residents with an opportunity to ask questions.

Phil Cullen approached the Conservatives campaign stall to ask what permissions, if any, had been obtained for the erection of the dragon. Mr Cullen then raised his concerns over the erection of the dragon with both a Police Officer on patrol in the town centre and the Inspector of Llanelli market. Later, Mr Cullen asked to speak privately with Deputy Leader of Carmarthenshire County Council, Tegwen Devichand, who was helping to campaign for Labour.

Speaking to the West Wales Chronicle, former miner, Mr Cullen, alleged that the dragon was an “obstruction.” Asked if he was a member of a political party, Mr Cullen said: “No, but I am a socialist at heart.”

As she reached the end of a morning spent chatting to the public about the attention grabbing display and Conservative policies, the West Wales Chronicle spoke to Selaine Saxby about Mr Cullen’s complaint. Ms. Saxby said that the dragon display had brought “some Easter fun” to the town and “gone down really well with people.” Ms. Saxby described Mr Cullen’s reaction to the display as: “very surprising and disappointing as the dragon has been here before without complaint. The town centre benefits from different things going on. It attracts more people and they may stay in town a bit longer which benefits the retailers.”