It appears that in the ward in which Robert James has been selected to stand in Lliedi, Llanelli, one of the existing councillors, Bill Thomas, was recently deselected by Labour. He had been representing the ward for 17 years and is Llanelli Town Mayor at present.

The reaction on the Llanelli Herald Facebook article about it was sympathetic to Bill Thomas, and on the Facebook pages one person has already asked how is it that an existing Neath councillor has been selected to stand there. I'm not sure that Rob James will have the easy election I first anticipated. Especially when his opposition candidates start querying his attendances as a councillor in Neath. However, he has allied himself to a popular resistance movement, to save the playing fields at Llanerch from development, so it's difficult to call.

I tell you what, though. If Rob James is successful, I reckon the knives will be out for him there and he'll have to watch his back. Because it looks like Bill Thomas is the Godfather in that part of the world. The Deputy Town Mayor is Bill's son, Cllr Clive Thomas, while the Deputy Mayoress is Cllr Clive Thomas’s wife, Mari. And Bill's consort is his own daughter.

http://www.llanelliherald.com/mayoralty-family-affair/

Jeez - I thought we had it bad with the Lockyers, Bebells, Millers and Harveys! The common factor, of course, is that they are all part of one big family in the end - that's Labour.