The State of Independents

Finally in the list of candidates for the Rhondda ward by election we have the ‘Independent’ candidate Bob Fox, a former Town and County Councillor in The Graig. Well, sort of independent, because this is where lines get a little burred.

Mr Fox is part of a local group known as RAG -  the Ratepayers Action Group.  Their Facebook group refers to ‘our candidate’ without naming him, yet there is little else relating to him or to the election.

As I have raved a little about on previous occasions, RCT RAG seem to be a little confused as to their purpose.

They don’t seem to have achieved a great deal at all, nor really become involved in anything locally.  Their Facebook site consists of posts from their Chairman on his own personal anti Tory crusade attacking the UK Government on anything and everything.  The Labour Council’s hike in Council Tax has gone unremarked, as has the Labour Police Commissioner’s 7% rise in the Police precept. 

The cutback in services in RCT has not brought forward a murmur of dissent from this group whose intention is allegedly to stick up for the Ratepayers of RCT. 

They have apparently not noticed the appalling statistics regarding the ambulance service in RCT, nor the unacceptable waiting lists for hospital treatment which are the responsibility of the Welsh Labour Government. Oh yes, they are Independent all right!!

I haven’t seen the latest election leaflet from their candidate but am told that in it he is jumping on the bandwagon of the paddling pool campaign, claiming to have been fighting to save it.  Well if that is the case he has been pretty quiet about it until now.

RAG appears to be a collection of misfits who are not at all sure about which direction they wish to proceed in.  Two of their members were elected to the County Council last year, in Tylorstown and Tonyrefail, but there seems to be little interaction between them and the group these days.  One of their Councillors sits in a group with Welsh Lib Dem Councillor Mike Powell and Tory Joel James. The other sits alone, not aligned to any group.

There really needs to be some clarification.  Is Mr Fox an Independent or is he standing on behalf of a group? And if that group is standing candidates at election then no matter how much they try to deny it then they are political. 

The Pluralist party – coming soon to an election near you – or not!

The ‘Pluralist Party’ appears on the ballot paper for the forthcoming Rhondda ward Town Council  by election.   Their website states:

 “We are different from other parties in that out members don’t support us – we support our members. Our members consist only of those who are elected or standing for election. This makes it easier to avoid conflicts of interest between the party members and the public.

“Each of our candidates stand on their own manifesto and then the party’s agenda for government comes out of win-win bargaining that takes the best bits from the manifestos of those who were elected – in other words it is the people who decide our policies through voting for the candidates we field. Unlike most other parties, we don’t mind supporting more candidates than there are positions as it should be for the people to have the final say who they vote for and not a political party.”

“Different” they say – oh yes they are definitely that. Officially registered with the Electoral Commission The ‘Party’ membership seems to consist of one person at present, as members ‘consist only of those who are elected or standing for election.’ 

They were registered in 2012 as a minority party with Jonathan Bishop as the Party Leader, Mark Beech as the Nominating Officer and no other officers at all. 

Mr Beech is a former candidate for the Raving Monster Loony Party (I kid thee not) who, according to the ‘Crocels News’ site (yet another one of Jon Bishop’s many guises)

 “ [Mark Beech] has put himself down on a ballot paper as ‘BEECH, MARK WILLIAM (commonly known as ‘The Good Knight, Sir Nos Da’)”

 Now I am all for democracy and getting as many people involved in the electoral system as possible, but really, does this further the democratic cause?   I can't see this one catching on.

Another day, another election...

Well campaigning in the Pontypridd Town Council by election is well under way.  The Rhondda ward vacancy came about following the death of the sitting Labour Town Councillor in January this year. In contrast to many town / community council seats last May this one is hotly contested with a grand total of 6 candidates.

Our candidate is Amanda Jones who joined the Party earlier this year having worked closely alongside Cllr Mike Powell and myself on the campaign to save Pontypridd paddling pool.  She took the decision to join because she said we were the only ones trying to do anything positive in the area.

The Labour party are of course contesting the seat, and both the local MP and AM have been out on the streets there, with photos appearing on twitter to prove it, and presumably remind people what Slick Antoniw in particular looks like.  The photos include the person who is presumably the candidate, and two members of staff which suggests maybe that their active membership base is a little low at present.  The last time Oily and Slick and their team took to the streets in such force was in Trallwn last May to try and unseat Mike Powell – it didn’t have the desired effect.

The Tories are standing a candidate in what is previously unknown territory for them, their current vote share coming more from the western end of the constituency.  We haven’t heard reports of their activity as yet.

The Plaid candidate stood for them in the Cilfynydd County Council election last May and the Rhondda ward at Town level.  Plaid have been wiped out at County Council level in the Pontypridd constituency, and almost lost their deposit in the 2010 general election, so will be keen to make any sort of gain.

Then we have the two ‘non mainsteam’ candidates to coin a phrase, which quite frankly make me wonder about the democratic process, but I think they are deserving of their very own entries, so more later!

Educational standards slipping in RCT

I don't mean in our schools, I mean within the Council  - yes the same Council that is responsible for delivering education and keeping up standards.

It may seem to some a little thing, but the humble apostrophe matters.  To coin a phrase it is the difference between knowing your s**t and knowing you're s**t.

Now we all make mistakes, the odd typo here and there, I am certainly not immune to that, and am quite certain someone will find one in this little rant.  But when the Council has a PR and strategy department that costs over a miilion pounds a year in staff alone, and an in house design and print service you would think that someone, somewhere would be responsible for proof reading.  Especially for posters and exhibition boards which are going to be distributed widely amongst schools.

I was dismayed this evening to see a poster on the wall at Council HQ advertising the re-uniform scheme.  Now the scheme itself is great - parents are encouraged to drop off old unwanted items of school uniform which are then washed, ironed, and de-bobbled before being offered for sale at a cut down price to other parents. It saves parents money and helps the environment by recycling.  Well done RCT Council.

It is a pity that such effort isn't put into checking what is put out in the public domain. 

Same old Labour, same old bull……

As if the people of North Wales haven’t had enough to put up with being snowed in the past few days they have also had to put up with an invasion of Labour Party members all keen to be seen and heard at their Llandudno Conference.

With practised lines about swingeing cuts and protecting the people of Wales they collectively delivered the biggest load of b******t to have hit the North Wales coast in some considerable time.  No need for us Southerners to feel too left out though, apparently the Westminster Shadow Cabinet are going to visit their colleagues down the Bay because, apparently, they think they have a lot to learn from them.

Quite what that is may be difficult for many of us to fathom.  We have a failing education system, a Health service that does not meet the need of the people, and higher unemployment than anywhere else in the UK.  So what do they hope to learn?

Apparently, according to Wales Online,

‘First Minister Carwyn Jones’ Labour government in Cardiff Bay has often won praise from Mr Miliband and party members across the UK for how it is protecting working families from swingeing cuts coming via Westminster’

So they would protect us from the raised tax threshold, the fuel duty freeze, the cut in duty on beer, etc.  They don’t want to see businesses benefiting from the employers allowance which will mean small businesses will not have to pay National Insurance Contributions (NICs) under £2,000.

Ed Milliband spoke of how Labour are doing a great job protecting families in Wales.  He spoke of what they are doing in relation to the Council Tax Benefit proposals – no mention of labour controlled Councils such as RCT putting up Council Tax for those hard working families by 3.95% and increasing charges for services by way over inflation, around 7 / 8%.

Some of the tweets from Welsh Labour, presumably unintentionally, showed how shallow the Labour ideas pool really is. 

‘Ed: What they did to Remploy was disgraceful. We're going to need some sort of system to help people into work.’

Some sort of system?  Any clues as to what?

‘Ed: we have to cap payday loans and work out a way to provide alternative lines of credit.’

Going to start on that any time soon are they?

Same old Labour, same old bull……

The vagaries of the RCT planning System

There were some very odd items on the RCT Development Control agenda this evening.  There was the case of the barking dogs for example.  A planning application had been submitted to retain a kennels in the Cynon Valley.  The opponents were the brothers and sisters of the applicant – all four of them.  They said it devalued the cottage alongside which had been left to them by their father.

One of the brothers offered to play a recording of the dogs barking “it only lasts a minute.”  The Chair declined. 

The application was approved, against officer’s recommendation, when the local Member spoke up in favour.  The applicant and objectors left, and decided to start a fight outside the Chamber.  All made for a lively meeting.

There were other applications equally interesting although for different reasons.  Like the application to build houses in Coedely – the ward of the Chair of Development Control committee Bob McDonald.

The Officer’s recommendation was to turn it down, for solid reasons as far as I could see.

 To quote the report:

“Set in this context it is important to consider that the application site lies entirely outside the settlement boundaries of Tonyrefail and Coedely where new residential development is strictly controlled unless adequately justified as an exception in an otherwise unsustainable location.

Under LDP Policy AW 3 the DAS refers to the proposed 7 dwellings for social rent and the proposed 25 dwellings for first-time buyers as bringing forward an affordable housing scheme. However, there is no evidence of the proposal being linked to a registered social landlord, such as a housing association, or a clear explanation as to the mechanism that will ensure the dwellings will be sold as affordable homes to first-time buyers and remain affordable in perpetuity.”

Yet the Chair asked that the application be deferred as he had no real objections to the plans but wanted more bungalows included.  These would be the bungalows that the developer claims would be linked to a social landlord but which the Planning Officer says there is no evidence of.

 Strange. Perhaps Cllr McDonald knows something the rest of us don’t?

 

 

More half-baked Plaid ideas – more women in politics, by decree.

The BBC reported this week on Plaid leader Leanne Wood’s latest idea – that legislation may be necessary to ensure more women are elected to the Assembly.

Of course she has no real idea of what form that legislation may take – in typical Plaid style it should just happen, the details can be left to someone else.

Her remarks follow on from a call from the Assembly’s Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler for more women to be elected after the percentage of female AMs fell to 44% after the last election, that s 26 out of 60.  (Quite why she has waited until now to point this out is anyone’s guess the election was after all in May 2011.)

Ms Wood said

"Within Plaid Cymru, we have a strong internal democracy which reflects how much we rely on the party membership as a grassroots body.

"The side effect of this is that measures to promote women are not always at their strongest, but must be balanced out with local party control.”

Rather a strange statement really considering that it was only this month after a special conference that Plaid changed their constitution to allow for a one member one vote system. 

Personally I think the whole idea is ridiculos.  Not the idea that there should be more women in the Assembly or at any other level of Government, nothing wrong with that.  But the idea that there needs to be any form of positive discrimination, let alone legislation, to achieve that.

The Assembly in 2006 had 31 women and 29 men, this followed a by election afer the death of Peter Law.  Prior to that it was perfectly gender balanced.  Two out of the four current Party leaders are women – who were elected by an open process on merit not because of any boost given them because they were women.  The Presiding Officer is a woman.  The Cabinet is not as balanced, but to be honest it is difficult to see who they could put in there. 

That was achieved without any engineering so why the panic?

Any form of discrimination is still discrimination.  As long as there is equality of opportunity then the best person for the job should always be the maxim. 

The AM for where was it again Slick?

Newport resident Mick Antoniw was elected in 2011 as Assembly Member for Pontypridd, the constituency he claimed to be living in at the time. 

Yet it is sometimes difficult to tell looking at his twitter feed and press releases which seem to be almost solely concerned with union issues and his asbestos Bill.  Even his website has little to say about his constituency.

Take a look at his news page. Asbestos Bill, Agricultural Wages Board, and article about a Statement of Opinion he tabled on the “injustices suffered by Welsh miners following events at Orgreave Coke Plant, South Yorkshire, during June 1984.”

There are a couple of pats on the back for RCT Council, and only one article which really addresses any of the major issues of concern on his patch – the appalling ambulance response times in RCT.  Bottom of the league yet again according to the latest stats.  They have been way off target for some time, but this is the first mention he has made of them, coincidentally immediately following a series of direct challenges I made via twitter to him about it.

Under the Pontypridd tab is a direct lift form Wikipedia which is solely about Pontypridd town, not the constituency.  His ‘campaigns’ show a similar disregard for the area – a report about Tonyrefail which is 18 months old and about which nothing seems to have been done since.

What about the disgraceful state of our town centres, what about a reduction in business rates for traders there, what about car parking charges, what about health waiting lists, what about the paddling pool, what about the disgraceful Estyn report RCT received last year? What about the proposed new town centre for Talbot Green? Does the Pontypridd AM have any comments or concerns about any of the things his constituents are talking about?  Or is he too busy pursuing his union interests?

Each week in the Assembly AMs get to put questions to Ministers.  Many use this opportunity to bring up subjects that are important in their constituency / region.  Today was their opportunity to question the Minister for Housing, Regeneration and Heritage.  So what would it be?  A question about empty homes which affects wards such as Treforest and The Graig in particular.  Or about  regeneration – how would the new town in Talbot Green, if it gets the go ahead affect existing town centres, should more be done to regenerate existing centres?  Heritage – maybe a question about the paddling pool?
 

Nope.  His question today

"What plans does the Minister have to recognise the 200^th anniversary of the birth of John Hughes next year?”

Who was John Hughes? 

“A nineteenth century industrialist who founded an ironworks and mining town in imperial Russia, named Hughesovka in his honour. Little is known about his early life, but John Hughes was born in Merthyr Tydfil where his father was an engineer at Cyfarthfa ironworks.”

Although reading on you can see where Slick’s interest may spark from

“It is thought Hughes also learnt his trade there before moving to Ebbw Vale and then the Uskside Foundry in Newport in the 1840s.

There he married Elizabeth Lewis, and had eight children, six boys and two girls, all born in Newport.”

I rest my case.

Public Park or Labour Fiefdom?

Earlier this week I was asked by a post grad journalist student if I would film an interview with her and a colleague about the paddling pool as part of a programme being put together on the subject.  The interview was not for broadcast, merely part of their training / assessment.  So I agreed to meet them at the Park this morning.

Just before I arrived I had a phone call saying they had been told they could not film an interview with me there.  They had apparently asked for permission to film yesterday (but my name was not mentioned then, not to hide anything simply because I presume it didn’t crop up.) They arrived today and were doing some general shots when they were approached by a worker who asked if they had permission.  They said yes but he checked with his manager who asked what they were filming. 

When they said they were meeting me to do an interview they were told they could film some general shots but not an interview with me. At this point several thoughts passed through my mind:

• Who the hell do these people think they are?  This is a public park, owned by the people.
• Glad to know they are so concerned about insignificant little me – must be making an impression.
• How stupid are these people, don’t they know that will be the next story – Council censorship.

I wonder what the reaction would have been if they had said they were interviewing Owen Smith or the anonymous man from Newport?

Labour hypocrites all coming out of the woodwork in RCT.

Well we heard today that WEFO have granted the £3million to RCT to “renovate” the Lido in Ynysangharad Park.  I use the word cautiously because I cannot see how the proposed new building bears any resemblance to the historic baths.

They have the planning permission, and now they have the funding so it is difficult to see any way of preventing this from going ahead and the paddling pool being taken away, despite what would appear to be the opinion of most residents.

The Labour hypocrites have been out in force today welcoming the news.

First we had the Council press release.

Deputy Leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf Council Cllr Paul Cannon said:

"We have listened carefully to the views of the community in developing these plans and our aim is to create an environment that attracts visitors, benefits business and where communities can prosper.”

Listened carefully to the views of the public? The 2077 who voted on 1^st November to keep the pool he means?  Or the 151 who voted against?  Has he read the letters page of the Ponty Observer lately?

 In the Council Chamber when the vote was reported back he said

“This was a cynical publicity stunt by the Lib Dems. Pontypridd Town Council have confirmed that the poll cost £11,000 which will be added to the precept next year. Perhaps the people of Pontypridd will thank them (the Lib Dems) for that.

“It is easy for others to try and make political capital but we have to take into account the wider regeneration issues. Amongst the 800 people we consulted the overall regeneration of Pontypridd was their over-riding concern.

“I move we note the result of the poll and take no further action.”

So much for listening to the people.

The local AM and MP congratulated the Council of course – the same Council that Owen Smith had said failed to consult properly on the issue.  Later on his Facebook page Mick Antoniw AM broke his silence on the issue and said

“this is great news for Pontypridd. there will be disappointment at the loss of the paddling pool which we all share, however , it was vital that this major project and investment in the future of Pontypridd was not threatened. the contstruction of an all year tion of an all year round adventure park will be a major long term asset to the park and will hopefully go some way to allay the sadness at the loss of the paddling pool. We must now look to the future and the ongoing and continued regeneration and development of Pontypridd. Still so much to do.round adventure park will be a major long term asset to the park and will hopefully go some way to allay the sadness at the loss of the paddling pool. We must now look to the future and the ongoing and continued regeneration and development of Pontypridd. Still so much to do.”

Really Slick, nice of you to pretend you give a damn.  What facilities do they have in Newport where you live?

One of the best examples though was Treforest Councillor Steve Powderhill who tweeted:

"WEFO funding secured now we'll see what Treforest want me to fight for ‘the dilapidated old pool or the new lido, play area and splashpool’”

Bit late for that.  He was one of those who voted in favour of granting planning permission to enable them to remove the paddling pool.  Didn’t he understand what he was voting for?  I mean I know they only took about eight minutes to make the decision but still.  Surely the Labour leader explained to his group that they were about to break the first of numerous manifesto promises?

When asked on the “you know your from Pontypridd when” Facebook page if it was correct that the lido would only open four months a year he replied

 “could well be but we haven't even had a chamber debate on what the final project will be so far it's only outline planning i'm looking forward to the debate so let's wait and see no point in guessing.”

Is he serious?  Even the limited information that was allowed to be made public about the fading application stated quite clearly that it would only be open around four months a year.

The decision to press forward with the scheme was taken by the Cabinet, there was no debate in Council, so what makes him think there will be for the next stage?

Maybe he should take a little more interest in what is going on.  He says he will “fight” for whatever the people of Treforest tell him to.  I take it he will be carrying out a survey very soon then, although it may be too late to fight for anything.  Still he could always sign our latestpetition!

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