Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Rodney Berman telling it like it is

Excellent speech by Rodney  Berman to the Welsh Liberal Democrat Conference at the weekend which highlights just what Welsh Lib Dems can  and do achieve in Local Government.
It also highlights some of the differences in approach between us and Labour. 
One section  I particularly liked was this:
When the Wales Audit Office said Labour-run Cardiff Council had paid out £2.5 million of allowances to Councillors unlawfully, our Labour leaders tried to challenge them in the high court causing a bill of £5 million to be rung up in legal fees trying to defend the indefensible.
But to be fair - there was one thing they were good at. In Russell Goodway, we did have the privilege of having the highest paid Council Leader in England & Wales!
I should point out that when he combined the roles of Leader of Cardiff Council and Lord Mayor, Russell Goodway only had two jobs paid for out of the public purse.
Labour's other Russell - Russell Roberts, the leader of RCT - and who is today the highest paid council leader in Wales - currently has no less than four jobs paid for out of the public purse.
As well as being leader of RCT Council, he's also chairman of the South Wales Police Authority, deputy leader of the Welsh Local Government Association and a non-executive director of Cwm Taf Health Board.
So when it comes to Labour, clearly nothing changes. It's not so much jobs for the boys as jobs for the boy.”

Says it all doesn’t it.

1 comment:

Frank Little said...

My thought when hearing this section of Rodney's speech was: have they found the Cardiff city charter which went walkabout under Goodway?