Holy Ukip Batman! Candidate Highlights Politicisation of Public Bodies by Beaming Logo onto Castle Walls

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A Ukip candidate has projected a giant Ukip logo onto Caerphilly castle, one of Wales’s top tourist attractions, in a scene redolent of a Batman film. Sam Gould says he set up the sign as a protest against the politicisation of supposedly neutral public bodies after he was snubbed by Cadw, the Welsh government’s historic monuments organisation.

Mr Gould, the Ukip candidate for Caerphilly in the upcoming general election, claims he was snubbed repeatedly by Cadw after seeking to promote Caerphilly castle from the @UkipCaerphilly account, WalesOnline has reported.

According to Mr Gould, Cadw blocked @UkipCaerphilly from following their twitter account. Yet it was happy to allow Labour members of the Welsh Assembly such as Huw Lewis and Ken Skates to follow, following back and actively supported the pair.

So, after assent from his local Ukip branch, Mr Gould, an events organiser and businessman, arranged to have the Ukip logo broadcast onto the castle’s walls, in a display described by onlookers as being like “Disney World”.

“Caerphilly Castle is the most magnificent of our ancient monuments and an attraction I support wholeheartedly,” said Mr Gould.  “Cadw’s recent actions are immature and ill-conceived. All I was interested in doing was promoting the castle as a fabulous visitor attraction. I tweeted that it was open for visitors free of charge on St David’s Day, for example. It wasn’t a question of making a political statement or trying to get political advantage.

“After our most recent branch meeting in Caerphilly, we decided to project the Ukip image on to the castle. It was about 9pm in the evening and easily done. Doing this made a point and I don’t rule out doing it again.

“By blocking our account Cadw has highlighted a major issue in Wales, which is the blatant politicisation of our public bodies. If elected by the people of Wales, Ukip would look to pass legislation in the National Assembly which would ensure all senior appointments within the public sector were made on merit alone.”

A spokesman for Ken Skates said: “The walls and fortifications of Caerphilly Castle have seen some interesting action over the years. Most notably, in 1270, the early fortress was burned down by Llywelyn ap Gruffydd. Ukip’s stunt didn’t quite have the same impact and we won’t be losing any sleep over it.”

Ukip leader Nigel Farage took to twitter to comment “Well I suppose this is ONE way to get noticed!”

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