Community involvement & politics are not mutually exclusive

One of the main battles we who are involved in the often murky world of politics have is against voter apathy and distrust which has built up over the years.  It is easy to see why this has happened, but nonetheless the cries of ‘you’re all the same’ do get a little wearing.

It is especially difficult on a community level when it seems we can never win.  If we don’t get involved then we are not interested except at election time.  If we do then it must be because we are trying to make it political and get some electoral benefit for ourselves for it.

I have been involved in community groups well before any political involvement came about- it is why I was first asked to stand for Council. I have kept that going, during the five years I was a County Councillor and since. As Vice Chair of Governors at a Secondary School I never bring my politics into school – although unfortunately the same can’t be said of some others.  I Chair a Development Trust and Vice Chair of a football Trust locally.  Neither of these bring me any political benefit as they are located in the Rhondda and my political activities now centre around Pontypridd.  Yet I still give my time and energy to them because I believe they are worthwhile.

There are of course times when the political and the community interests come together.  A case in point is the fight to save Pontypridd paddling pool.  We (RCT Welsh Lib Dems) have been against this all along, and yes we have made a political point of that, because it is a political issue.  The decision on the renovation of the Lido and the removal of the pool is a Council one, a political one.

Councillor Mike Powell is the ONLY one who voted against the plans at Development Control Committee. He was the only Councillor who went along to the Cabinet meeting and questioned the Officers’ report and the recommendation to approve the project. He asked for the decision to be called in. If anyone out there thinks it is easy to be on your own amongst 75 Councillors in that Chamber then think again.

Yet there are people who still say that the politics should be kept out of the campaign.  Really?  Where then would the campaign be now.

We brought this to the attention of the public.  I have spent hours writing leaflets and press releases, we have given up our time to get those out and keep people informed.  We have reported back from Council meetings which the public would know nothing about. We have set up a Facebook group again to pass on information. Yes we have put our Party name on it, but why shouldn’t we?  It is what we are.  It would be far more suspicious if we didn’t.

We have now set up a community meeting to discuss areferendum, and again there are a few (very few) who condemn us for that.  Yet what have they done?  We are a campaigning unit, we know how to go about these things. So whilst the few who are against all things political sit and complain we have set up a time and date, issued the press release, produced the posters, and there are a couple of thousand leaflets publicising it ready to go out.

Hopefully the majority of people will see this for the community issue it is, regardless of who is taking the lead, and just be grateful somebody is. If they don’t then there is nothing else we can do, and there will be little point complaining once the paddling pool is gone.

Hypocritical Parasites??

My mate Michael, or Cllr Powell if you prefer, has got the local Labour party all hot under the collar again.  What has he done this time?  Well he expressed the opinion that they are all a bunch of “hypocritical parasites” -  I believe that was the term he used.  

Now I am amongst the first to tell him when I think he is in the wrong but in this instance it is hard to see how he could have been mistaken.  The evidence presented constantly on all fronts seems to suggest very strongly that he has indeed hit the nail right on the head.

The online Oxford dictionary defines a parasite as follows:

"an organism which lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense."  OR  " a person who habitually relies on or exploits others and gives nothing in return:"

In the interests of balance the Cambridge dictionary states:

" an animal or plant that lives on or in another animal or plant of a different type and feeds from it"  OR  "a person who is lazy and lives by other people working, giving them money, etc"

Make the comparisons yourself – this may help

Again I turn to the Oxford online for the definition of hypocritical

“behaving in a way that suggests one has higher standards or more noble beliefs than is the case”

and Cambridge:

"saying that you have particular moral beliefs but behaving in a way that shows these are not sincere."

You can see where I am going with this right?  It is a word which often crops up in relation to the Labour party  in RCT – such as here and here

And here is a perfect example of the hypocritical parasites that Russell exemplifies so well.  Two chauffeur driven cars out for hours on a Sunday to take the leader and his wife and the Mayor to a Community Council jolly.

But in terms of real hypocrisy three jobs Russell Roberts column in this week’s Ponty Observer is a prime contender for the title of hypocritical claptrap of the year.

He constantly changes his position in order to try and ensure no mud ever sticks to his neatly pressed suit.  Indeed next time Dr Who is filming in the area he could top up his meagre wages with a role as one of those shape shifters who appear as different things to different people.

He starts by hailing the great Edwina Hart along with Oily Smith and Slick Antoniw for bringing new jobs to Treforest (very welcome new jobs I must admit) but then goes on to blame the coalition Westminster Government for rising unemployment.

He lays the blame at our door for the ‘difficult decisions; he has had to take to protect jobs and front line services, but not so long ago he was trying to persuade workers that it wasn’t his Cabinet who cut the terms and conditions, but the Chief Exec as they had delegated the decision.

He blames the opposition for doing nothing but criticising and not coming up with any positive ides.  Yet every single motion that Mike and his group have brought to Council has been dismissed out of hand by Labour, not matter what it is.  They failed to vote in favour of a DPPO to ban alcohol consumption on the streets of Pontypridd when Mike suggested it, only to come back some time later announcing their decision to introduce a DPPO across RCT.

Disabled Parking bays were introduced some time after both Labour and Plaid voted against one of our motions to bring them in.

Three years ago the WLD group put forward a motion to bring empty homes back into use – yes you’ve guessed it, Labour voted against it and then later drought it back as their own idea. 

You get the general drift I'm sure.

Yep, I really do think that on this occasion Mike has got it spot on.

Do we need an artificial town centre?

I wrote some months back about a proposal to create a new town centre in Talbot Green.  Well it seems plans are progressing and developers Valad, formerly operating as Scarborough and prior to that Teesland, have now roped in one of their old partners - Sainsbury’s.

The Pontypridd Observer reports that

“The project will see a host of new shops brought to the area including a department store, around 40 shops for high street brands and the major Sainsbury’s supermarket.

A new Leekes store will also be built, replacing their existing building on Cowbridge Road and plans also include a leisure and entertainment quarter with a cinema complex, cafes, restaurants, bars and a hotel.

In addition to the huge new shopping and entertainment centres offices, apartments and townhouses will be built.”

This development is in addition to the already substantial retail centre that exists in Talbot Green.  As I asked previously, what effect will this have on our existing town centres?  The Labour lot in RCT keep bragging about the £10m investment being made in Pontypridd.  Rubbish.  That is nothing but a cosmetic exercise – tarting up a few buildings, shuffling a few businesses around.  Where is the new business coming to the town?  And why on earth will people shop there when they can shop in the ever growing number of out of town shopping areas where amongst other things they can park for free?

Mind you there is no guarantee this will ever come to pass.  Scarborough or whatever they are calling themselves this year don’t have a great record of delivery in RCT as Mike Powell points out in this letter to the press.

They do have a record of producing plans that are not popular with local residents.  The Angharad Walk plans for Pontypridd passed in 2003 were flawed in the eyes of many residents as they encroached upon part of Ynysangharad Park. The plans were opposed by Welsh Lib Dem Councillors (including myself) at the time.

They have planning permission to build at Mwyndy Cross - an application which was met with huge opposition and was turned down by RCT Council only to be granted by the Assembly on appeal. 

So it will be interesting to see how this progresses.  The company seems confident of gaining planning consent – and with good reason, it has been written into the Local development Plan.  Mind you that document also talks of preserving existing town centres!  Everything to everybody – that’s Labour in RCT for you.

Are Councillors worth the money?

There has been a great deal of outrage in some quarters recently over the continuing saga of Russell three jobs Roberts (or however many he has these days) and the substantial amount of money he takes from the public purse.  I won’t use the word ‘earns’ because in my view he certainly doesn’t do that.

As reported here he was paid more than £1,800 a week from the public purse in 2010-11.  Certainly not a new situation - old three jobs (or is it four) has been at it for some time.

Is this exorbitant?  Yes.  Should it be stopped?  Undoubtedly.  Is he worth that salary?  No way.

Yet there are some people who would go completely the other way and claim that Councillors should not be paid at all - they should do it out of the goodness of their hearts.  Strangely enough these people are usually those who never put their head above the parapet and actually get involved in any way.  They prefer to snipe from the sidelines and use the old adage that ‘they’re all the same.’

As has been clearly stated by the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales the role of a Councillor is regarded as a job.  In their initial report they stated that the role of a Councillor

“has inevitably become more complex over recent years as local government has moved from being primarily a service provider towards a model which more strongly emphasises its leverage, brokering and influencing role.”

In outlining this role they conclude that:

o    Councillors view their role in representing their community as one of the most important parts of their work and it is widely agreed that this role is time-consuming and demanding. Councillors can spend considerable time each week on ward work.

o    The role of community leader is also important both formally through councillors sitting on bodies such as local community groups and also by acting as a focus for community action.

o    Councillors have an important role as the link between the council and partner organisations. It is recognised that often a community issue cannot be dealt with in isolation and councillors (and indeed the council as an organisation) need to work in partnership with other public and voluntary sector bodies.

o    Councillors also make an important contribution as members of other bodies.

In relation to the question of payment they say that

“We feel strongly that the role of the councillor across Wales should be respected as a professional one.”

Their initial determination was that

“That the Basic Allowance be reset in line with the All Wales full-time male and female median salary which in 2008/2009 was £22,115 pa. In this alignment, remunerated public service set at the equivalent of three working days per week, results in an (indicative) Basic Allowance of £13,269 pa.”

In respect of Cabinet / Executive Members (including leaders Russell) then the clearly expressed intention was that they should be full time and that would be reflected in the level of payment.

Now I have absolutely no problem with the concept of Councillors getting paid a fair rate for the job, and I consider the basic rate to be fair.  I also have no real problem with the rates of Cabinet Member and Leader but they should in return be doing the job full time and not topping it up by sitting on other bodies which take them away from Council duties.  That is reflected in the submission made by RCT Welsh Liberal Democrat Councillors to the Panel’s various consultations.

Being a Councillor is not easy.  If done properly then it involves a considerable amount of work, and it is a thankless task – there is always someone waiting to have a dig.  Maybe if more of those who spend so much time criticising got off their backsides and did something useful then they would have more respect for those who currently do.

That Man Again

Labour's RCT Council leader Russell Roberts hit the headlines again this week over the amount of money he has been receiving from the public purse in recent years.   He is – rightly in my opinion – castigated over the three salaries he receives as Council leader, Chair of South Wales Police Authority, and member of Cwm Taf Health Board.

His salary as a councillor rose from £57,221 a year in 2009-10 to £58,962 in 2010-11, while the council was imposing cuts on some of its lowest-paid staff. Many Council workers in RCT authority have seen their terms and conditions cut by up to 40%

What I don’t understand is why this is suddenly headline news.  We have been banging on about this for ages.  In fact Martin Shipton, who is credited with this piece in the Rhondda Leader and Pontypridd Observer, wrote about it two years ago when we first brought it to his attention.

As reported on Freedom Central, it is ‘a longstanding campaign theme of Rhondda Cynon Taf Liberal Democrats’ to expose the hypocrisy of this man.   Interested parties may have read about it here, here, here.....

Poetic Justice for Council Leader?

As reported in the Western Mail today the Independent Remuneration Panel for Wales is consulting on the contents of a report which would result in the current maximum basic salary for Councillors being cut by 5% and senior salaries by 10%.

The panel previously set a maximum allowance, with councils free to set their own levels.  Many Councils set levels below the recommended maximum allowance.  RCT Council did not – resulting in Russell Roberts becoming the highest paid Councillor in Wales.

He will now face a pay cut of around £5000 a year. Many of the employees who have had their terms and conditions reviewed by this Labour led Council may feel this is poetic justice.

And there may be another blow for Russell who tops up his salary currently to the tune of some £20K+ is also the Chair of the South Wales Police Authority.  Now the Police Authority is, strangely, not mentioned in the report but the panel states


Whilst the Panel recognises that senior councillors bring a wealth of experience to the other bodies they serve on, we consider that councillors who serve their councils in full-time positions do not have sufficient time to undertake such additional duties with other bodies. We regard the remuneration they receive with National Park and Fire & Rescue Authorities as “double-payments” and have taken the view, which we expound in this Report, that such responsibilities should not be additionally remunerated.”“In previous reports we have identified those local authority councillor positions which we regard as full-time, specifically leaders and executive members, and have set their remuneration levels accordingly. In our recent consultations with National Park Authorities and Fire & Rescue Authorities we have found that some senior councillors also sit as members on these Authorities, with some also holding positions of responsibility, which until now have not been remunerated.

Now surely the Police Authority should come into the same bracket – in fact we will undoubtedly be making this point when we submit the RCT Welsh Lib Dem response to the consultation.

It is a point we have made time and time again.  The salary for the Council Leader is for a full time post.  If he is not doing that role full time then there should be some claw back.

It will be interesting to see the reaction of the Labour group when this is discussed at the next Council meeting.

What is there to hide?

As reported in the Western Mail Conservative AM William Graham has laid a Statement of Opinion calling for the Assembly to encourage local authorities in Wales

“to permit the recording and broadcasting of all council meetings that are designated open to the public wherever possible, and acknowledges the good practice already undertaken by many local authorities in Wales which have embraced social networking and internet broadcasting to increase transparency and communication with their constituents.”

This follows an incident at a Carmarthenshire Council meeting recently where a blogger was removed by the police when she tried to film proceedings.

As mentioned in an earlier post Rhondda Cynon Taff Council’s Labour administration,  voted in May to ban the taking of photos, blogging, tweeting, or anything else of that nature, by Councillors or anyone in the public gallery.

Compare this with Welsh Liberal Democrat led Cardiff Council who webcast all their Council meetings.  This is of course Welsh Lib Dem policy following a conference motion proposed by RCT Lib Dems.

No Labour AMs have signed up to Mr Graham’s SOP – what a surprise!  

Wanted - the next generation of Councillors

As the dust starts to settle on the Assembly elections – or at least stops swirling around in quite such an alarming manner – we turn our attention more fully to the Council elections less than a year away.

RCT Welsh Lib Dems have a well-established approval and selection procedure in place for candidates and that is well under way with a few new young faces showing an interest.

Nobody is going to pretend that it will be an easy ride.  The Assembly results were appalling across the country (although not as bad as over the border) and recovery will not be easy.  Yet the Council elections are a different kettle of fish.  We as a party have always excelled at local politics and I am sure our localised approach will stand us in good stead.

We just need to keep our heads and hold steady.  Keep the faith.

Making waves

One of the main things that attracted me to the Welsh Liberal Democrats was the open manner in which the party conducted itself.  It was a refreshing change, coming from Plaid, to be part of an organisation where members could freely say what they thought without fear of retribution.

We are an open book in most respects, which doesn’t always make life easy for us as the media like to make the most of any ‘differences’ and try their best to turn every one into a major split.

In the main, though, most of us at least try and keep our disagreements within the confines of the party whether that be at local or national level.  We have plenty of opportunity to express our views as members, and to influence policy both at Welsh party and Federal level. 

So it does annoy me when people seem to deliberately set out to make waves by launching in to inflammatory letters to the press such as the one which appeared in the Cynon Leader today form two former candidates for election in the Cynon Valley .  We are after all supposed to be a team surely? 

Neither of them have any connection with the Cynon Valley any more, they don’t live there.  One of them doesn’t even live in RCT.  Yet they have chosen to launch an open attack on Nick Clegg and on a number of policies which they say will be to the detriment of Cynon Valley residents.

They certainly do not reflect the views of the majority of RCT members who appreciate the tough position that our federal colleagues were put in and the difficult decisions that have had to be taken. Maybe it would be a good idea to come and discuss the issues with other members first and at least try and influence party opinion if they feel so strongly about things