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.

Standards Committee to judge on Cabinet Member

Take a look at this

It is the report going to RCT Standards Committee on Wednesday following an investigation by the Ombudsman into allegations against Labour Councillor and Cabinet Member for Education Eudine Hanagan.

The Ombudsman finds that there is sufficient evidence of breaches of the Code of Conduct to refer the matter to the committee.  They can impose a sanction of up to 6 months suspension.  Whether or not they will is another matter entirely.

The report makes interesting reading for several reasons. It exposes the attitude of Cllr Hanagan and, in my opinion, her extreme naivety if not ineptitude.

It also shows yet again the hypocritical nature of the Labour group.  Their submissions constantly refer to the happenings in the Chamber that night as being part of the cut and thrust of debate.

Yet these are the same bunch who has been responsible for a stream of complaints against Cllr Mike Powell and indeed some against Cllr Bell for far less than this.   Councillors who pretended to be so upset over Mike referring to them as ‘hypocritical parasites’ (cut to the quick they were, such a personal attack on such lovely people) appear to think that Cllr Hanagan rubbishing John Bell’s professional ability as a EBP mentor is nothing more than banter.

The attitude of Labour Councillors is appalling – and for once available in black and white for all to see.

Teresa Bates who states that “I tend to switch off when Cllr Bell speaks.”   Cllr Craig Middle says the reaction of others was “amusement and bewilderment.”   (to potentially libellous remarks?)

I particularly like the comments of Paul Cannon – who is a particularly obnoxious character with ambitions to become Police Commissioner.

"I remember that after the meeting in the foyer outside the Chamber, Cllr Hanagan was approached by Ms Karen Roberts, a former Councillor, and an active Liberal Democrat (the same political party as Cllr Bell) and threatened her with the words “we’ve got you now.”  This suggested the attack was premeditated."

Premeditated?  Hanagan launches an attack on John Bell about his work and we have planned it?  I’m good but not that good, especially when I was in the public gallery.  And come on people 'we've got you now' does that sound like me?  I seem to recall it was more of a friendly smile and a "you messed up a bit there didn't you?" - she wasn't impressed.   But then this is the woman who once launched an attack on me in the car park in front of an Echo journalist for nothing more than being with Mike Powell at the time.

Cllr Jackie Jenkins “I tend to switch my brain off.” Really?

Cllr Jayne Ward says she sits behind Cllr Hanagan and cannot hear what is said if she is not using the microphone, and is across the Chamber from Cllr Bell and did not hear what he said.  Handy for debates then?  She obviously plays a full and active part and understands every time just what she is voting for????

Cllr Mark Norris seems to have trouble with hearing what is happening – odd as I could hear perfectly and I was outside of the Chamber itself.   He apologises for the lateness of his response as the form got lost at home.  Maybe he needs a secretary to organise his correspondence.  Or a sense of priority.

Cllr Maureen Webber states that members did “as always when this sort of thing happens, jeered, booed, told Cllr Bell to shut up.”  Sums up the behaviour of the Labour group perfectly.

The report also highlights the undemocratic processes which operate in RCT.

“You will note that it is the practice ein this Council not to set out a detailed note of the input of elected embers but to record the decision taken.  I took no notes of the exchange between Members at the meeting and the Committee Clerk, as is usual practice, destroyed her notes after preparation of the minutes.”

This from the Monitoring Officer who is supposedly responsible for ensuring Members do not breach the Code of Conduct.   Absolutely disgraceful.

But then democracy is still a word that exists only in the dictionary a far as RCT Labour are concerned.

Compare this to Welsh Lib Dem led Cardiff council where meetings are actually web cast and so there can be no doubt as to what is said.

The (unofficial) RCT Council minutes 27th January 2012 - part 2

So having endured the sickening sights and sounds of the Labour sheep bleating in unison about how terrible we are I could hardly wait to see how they reacted to the long line of questions that had been submitted by the man they all love to hate - Mike Powell.

Now I am not going into details here as they have already been fairly well covered by Mike here and here and indeed here.  Not to mention a letter from Cllr John Bell here.

Even I was surprised by how blatant their contempt was – it is a shame that there are not more members of the public there to see their playground antics.  No wonder they are not prepared to follow the leave of Welsh Lib Dems in Cardiff and broadcast their Council meetings on the web.  Here in RCT they ban any form of photography or recording of meetings.  Open and transparent Labour.  Got to love ‘em.

The session really showed the Labour Cabinet up for the idiots they are.  They come with their officer prepared statements to answer the original question, but then flounder completely when asked a supplementary because they are incapable of individual thought.  What on earth do we pay these idiots for?

Time and again we heard the words “I’ll respond in writing.”   Paul Cannon’s answer when asked what he was going to do about the low take up of the Pontypridd Townscape Enhancement Programme was classic

“I propose to do nothing whatsoever.”

Sums it up nicely – and this man wants to be the Police Commissioner for South Wales.  Heaven help us.  It’s enough to make me want to campaign for Alan Michael.

The Mayor was nothing short of a disgrace as she hassled Mike, obviously as impatient as her colleagues at actually having to waste their time on answering questions on such non important issues as education and economic development.

The bunch of hypocritical parasites cackled on and heckled from the sidelines, never once brought back into line by the woman with the bling in the Chair.

At least one person answered a straight question with a straight answer.  Russell Roberts confirmed that he doesn’t agree with Ed Balls that public sector pay needs to be frozen. 

Quite what he meant by his follow up remark that “Councillor Powell you could be having difficult questions fired in your direction soon” is anyone’s guess.  But then it is not the first time he has made threats in the Chamber.  It’s the kind of nice guy he is

The debate on the Boundary Commission review tugged at the old heart strings.  Pauline Jarman even brought a photograph along of people from Plaid and Labour getting together before the formation of the unitary authority to save the Cynon Valley.

Russell is ‘appalled’ that the Cynon constituency will be ripped apart under the proposals and the “Cynon Valley will disappear from the map.”  Quite how that is going to be the case I don’t know.

A cross party group is apparently needed to discuss the issue.  Alas whilst Pauline and Russell gave rallying speeches on how politics had to be put aside for the greater good the camaraderie was somewhat ruined by the Deputy Council leader Anthony Christopher stated that ‘the two main parties’ should work together, as he didn’t suppose that anyone of the others would take part ‘given their attitude.’

Any wonder that attitude exists Tony?

Just after this point Mike, who had kept his temper through all the nonsense far better than I think I would have, decide enough was enough, and without any fuss or comment gathered his things and left the Chamber.

Cllr Andrew Morgan (Labour of course) asked that it be recorded in the minutes that he had left.  Now considering that at least four Labour people has left already without comment from anyone this may seem a little strange.  Mike's colleague John Bell pointed this pout, and was actually backed by Plaid's Pauline Jarman, but the Labour lot don't allow little things like consistency to get in their way.

They really are a bunch of ......................

Will someone get Leighton a calculator for Xmas please.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews has admitted to WalesOnline what we have known all along, that

“The Welsh Government’s radical tuition fee policy requires an element of guesswork and nobody really knows how much it will cost.”

Wow!  Really should have held the front page for that one. 

‘The Rhondda AM said calculations were “really difficult” to make and he is certain Welsh Labour’s tuition fee forecasts will be wrong.’

Perhaps it’s about time that the Labour party stopped using the back of a brown envelope and a well chewed pencil to make their budget calculations.  Because, Leighton, dealing with the budget for a whole country is ‘really difficult’  - you may have to take your shoes and socks off to aid your counting.

On a more serious note, this has always been the problem with the policy in Wales.  Despite what the press would like people to believe, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are still in favour of abolishing tuition fees, but it has to be a policy based on practicalities.  It needs to be properly costed and the funding stream identified.  How can you do that if you have no idea what the costs will be?

Last month Leighton claimed it would cost the Welsh Government £173m a year to subsidise Welsh students studying at UK Universities.  The affordability of the current policy is heavily reliant on English students coming to study in Wales and bringing in money.   In the interview the Minister is, as usual, dismissive of anything that doesn’t fit in with what he is determined to implement, such as data from UCAS which shows a sharp drop in the number of students from England applying to study here.

Apparently tomorrow WalesOnline will carry a further excerpt from the interview on the subject of school standards.  I can hardly contain my excitement.

A fine bit of Labour spin

Good news for schools in RCT with a potential £160m investment programme via the 21^st century Schools scheme.  Good news which RCT Council of course want to announce to the world.

It is an excellent example of how to put some good political spin on a tale – but then you would expect little else surely when the Head of Public Relations and Strategy is the son of the Cabinet member for Education.  After all if your own son can’t paint you in a good light then who can?  (Especially when he is being paid so handsomely to promote the Labour party the Council.

There is no mention of the delays to the scheme, or that it will not kick in just yet.  The programme, whilst well intentioned, was like many Labour Government schemes not fully financed.  They of course blamed the Westminster cuts - what else?

The amount of money available has been scaled back considerably, and the program will not now kick in until 2014 instead of 2012.

Conveniently this is overlooked by RCT’s excellent propaganda PR department.

Oddly enough they also overlooked the £3million pupil premium / pupil deprivation grant money.  Not a whisper of it on the website.  Maybe they weren’t able to work out a way of mentioning it without also giving the Welsh Liberal Democrats some credit for it, and that would really stick in the craw of the Labour Councillors.

Anyway, back to the good news – the £160m investment.  This is of course dependant on the Council putting together a sound business case for each proposal within the overall bundle. 

Now hopefully they will do just that, as there are some very good projects there which will provide enhanced facilities for a number of schools.  However the recently appointed Director has spent much of his time over the past two years putting together a crackpot plan to close all secondary schools and open three tertiary colleges which has met with the approval of nobody outside of the Labour Cabinet.  Maybe some of that time, energy and effort if put into other schemes would have been much more productive,

Well done team WLD

Today was one of those days when I .know exactly why I love my job.  The morning started with the news that we had done a deal on the budget and from there in it was non stop making sure we had all the bases covered, that everyone who needed to be in the loop was, and that figures were available for our activists.

Teamwork is always at its best during such times - and when we are good we are very, very good. 

Congratulations of course go to those who were involved in the heart of the negotiations which ended with us getting an excellent deal for schools throughout Wales as well as extra money for a range of other programmes to help employment and give the economy a much needed boost.  The BBC reported that, surprise, surprise, the Tories and Plaid weren't happy.

Touch of sour grapes maybe? 

Tango man is out to get us

Tango man Peter Hain flush from the success of holding on to his Shadow Wales post is urging his party members to set their sights on ridding Wales of those dreadful Liberal Democrat types at next May’s Council elections.

Apparently they are not so bothered about taking Conservative seats – we must really have upset them somewhere along the way, can’t imagine how, I mean we love the Labour party here in RCT.

The Western Mail reports

‘Hain said that for the first time Labour candidates at next May’s council elections would be asked to sign contracts giving undertakings about their future commitment to community engagement: “They will be set targets by local parties based on achieving good levels of doorstep contact with the public.

“It’s very important that we have excellent candidates who will make first class councillors able to gain respect in their communities.

“Many of our current councillors work very hard and are first class, but in the past we have had our fair share of councillors not delivering for local people – and they have lost.” ‘

Even more unfortunately for the residents of many Valleys communities they have their fair share of Councillors who are not delivering who keep on getting elected.

Nice to see the same old, same old from Labour though.  Forget about local politics and what the election is actually about, just have a go at those nasty liberals.

Raindrops keep falling

In September 2008 many areas of Pontypridd were subject to flooding after torrential rain struck.  Blocked drains were unable to cope with the volume of water and a substantial number of households were affected.  The Council were slow to deploy sandbags and in many cases were too late.

In June 2009 many areas of Pontypridd were subject to flooding after torrential rain struck.  Blocked drains were unable to cope with the volume of water and a substantial number of households were affected.  The Council were slow to deploy sandbags and in many cases were too late.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Councillors John Bell and Mike Powell were out and about pulling up manhole covers in their wards to try and alleviate some of the problems.  Photos of John more than knee deep on water appeared on the BBC website and elsewhere. 

The Council promised to do their best to alleviate the problems.

In September 2011 areas of Pontypridd were subject to flooding after torrential rain struck.

You beginning to see a pattern here?

Yet again our Councillors were out for hours last night helping residents to keep the flood water away from their properties.  They tried in vain to get hold of sand bags from the Cocunil depot but were told they had run out.

Now nobody can prevent the rain from falling, but there have been warnings all week about the bad weather to come.  RCT Council called off a fun day planned for the weekend because of the weather.  It was expected by everyone, but not anticipated enough by the environmental services department of RCT.

The same problems occurred in the same areas.  In one case the problems had been exacerbated because the Council – against the wishes of the residents in the area and the objections from John Bell as ward Councillor – sold of a piece of land on the side of a mountain.  Work carried out there has not only disturbed the natural flow of water but also contributed to blocking the drains.

Now if the rain hadn’t been predicted then maybe you could not blame the Council.  If the flooding had occurred in new places hitherto unaffected then perhaps you could not blame the Council.    But when it happens in the same place every time then surely the highways department could be expected to have the brains to prepare and deploy sandbags where needed and ensure drains are kept clear.

Maybe if they spent less money employing poets and artists to inscribe words of wisdom on paving stones then they could buy a few more sandbags.

Free town centre car parking - alas not in Ponty

Well done Wrexham Council on their free town centre car parking scheme .

As reported on the BBC

“The trial will offer free parking after midday at the People's Market and Crescent Road car parks.

It is hoped the decision will encourage shoppers and visitors to the town centre to help boost trade.”

Wrexham is of course run by a Welsh Liberal Democrat led coalition.  What a pity that our calls for free car parking in Pontypridd have fallen on deaf Labour ears in RCT Council and they are unable to see the potential benefits

If it's worth saying it's worth putting your name to

I have no problem with people disagreeing with my views and expressing an opinion which opposes mine or that of my local or national Party.  I accept the sniping form the side-lines as an everyday apart of political life.  I expect barracking form political opponents, and indeed as a Welsh Liberal Democrat even occasionally from fellow members as we are a party of diverse views.

One thing that really, really annoys me though is those people who do so anonymously.

I am a great believer in free speech and the right of everyone to have a view and express it.  But please have the decency to put your name to it.

One such letter appeared in this week’s Pontypridd Observer.  It was in response to a letter from a member of ours which appeared last week.  The respondent made a cursory mention of my colleague, only really to say he should be ashamed of admitting he is a Lib Dem.  The rest of the letter was a predictable rant about how we are supporting the Tories and everything is our fault.

It ended “name and address withheld.”

Why do the press print such letters?  I can see the point of withholding a name if there is a serious fear of recrimination over the contents.  But the publishing of such letters attacking other people when the author is too afraid to put his / her own name to it should not, in my view, be allowed.

Likewise the appearance of blog comments by anonymous contributors.  If you want to be taken seriously then you need to come clean.

Labour greed defended by Cabinet Member

Cabinet Member and Labour Whip Cllr Maureen Webber valiantly leapt to the defence of her leader on the letters page of the Ponty Observer this week following some well-deserved criticism of the exorbitant salary he takes from the public purse. (which I may have been partly responsible for!)

According to Cllr Webber, Russell Roberts is “uniquely placed to ensure that the needs and concerns of Rhondda Cynon Taf are voiced very clearly”

Well I should think he is. Not many people enjoy a salary of almost £58K from the public purse and are then able to top it up with £24K for Chairing the Police Authority and £13 from the Health Board. Certainly makes him unique in Wales.

Maureen accuses ‘Plaid and Lib Dem Councillors” of a “complete lack of understanding” about how Local Government works and how they are having to suffer because of Government cuts.  I cannot speak for Plaid Councillors but I am fairly confident that our Councillors have a very good understanding of how it works.  And whilst I am not a Councillor I certainly understand the system, and the way in which the Labour party desperately try and shift the blame for the way in which they constantly short change the public in RCT.

The Independent Remuneration Panel in their report which is out for consultation now state that the position of Leader of a Council should be a full time one and should not allow the time for any extra roles to be taken on.  The response which has been submitted from RCT Welsh Liberal Democrats fully supports this view.  I take it that the Labour Party will be against this aspect of the report as it would remove Russell from his ‘unique’ position.  Will they also oppose the 5% cut in Councillors’ salaries?

I suspect that they will, although it will be interesting to see what excuse they come up with – or rather what excuses they will have the Legal Officer present.

Labour Councillors in RCT are fond of quoting events in Cardiff or other Welsh Lib Dem led Councils when it suits them.  Funny then that they haven’t quoted the salary scales for Councillors in those places.  Salary scales that are below the maximum in each case.

Rodney Berman and Chris Holley lead Councils in the same salary bracket as RCT as determined by the Independent Remuneration Panel.  Neither of them have elected to take the level of salary Russell does.  Neither of them serves on let alone Chair the Police Authority, and do not serve on their local health boards.

Explain that one to the public at large Mo.

And you still want to close 6th forms?

As reported on the Rhondda Cynon Taff Council website;

“A-Level Results in Rhondda Cynon Taf have seen a major improvement with even more students completing courses and attaining higher grades

Overall, there was a substantial increase in the percentage of students in Rhondda Cynon Taf who gained A*-E grades, from 95.8% in 2010 to 96.8% this year.

Those attaining A*-C grades is 68.7% which also sees a substantial improvement of 1.6% on 2010.

While the attainment of the top grades of A*/A has fallen generally across Wales, the figure has increased to 17.3% in Rhondda Cynon Taf, compared to 16.7% in 2010.

Also in Rhondda Cynon Taf the entry rates of those sitting A-Level examinations has increased by 16.0% this year from 1,992 entries last year to 2,310 entries this year, the highest entry rate in recent times.”

This is an excellent achievement and congratulations are due to everyone involved.  As Vice Chair of Governors at Tonypandy Community College I know how much work goes into ensuring that students achieve the very best they can and I am very proud to be a part of it.

Yet if the Labour administration and their newly appointed Director of Education have their way then sixth forms will disappear from schools in RCT and be replaced by tertiary colleges.

RCT Welsh Liberal Democrats have been vociferously opposed to such plans from the start.  Last November it looked as if the scheme was dead in the water when (surprise, surprise) the Assembly said it would not give then the £86 million or so needed.  However, it has since been made clear by the Cabinet Member that this is still their preferred option.

It goes to show the total lack of awareness of Labour Councillors that they are not only so out of touch with what parents, staff, governors and parents want, but that they have such little regard for the educational needs of our young people.

Circle of Labour Life

As regular readers of my ramblings and rantings (if indeed there are any) know one of the things that really riles me is the Labour party’s tie in with the Unions. 

So I was not the least bit surprised to read in today’s Western Mail that

“The Government has given £2m of public money to Labour- donating trade unions since 2008, it was revealed in a written answer to the Tories from Finance Minister Jane Hutt.

They have come under two main initiatives, the Wales Development Fund for Unions, which is aimed at developing policy-making processes, and the Wales Union Learning Fund, which develops learning……..

In total, the Welsh Government has given £2.4m to 15 trade unions over the past three years, including £225,000 to the union Community, which earlier this year bolstered Labour’s Assembly election campaign by making donations to marginal constituencies.”

Now as I have said I am not against Unions – workers rights should be protected and they have a right to representation against their employers.  What does bother me is the blatant political involvement.

This has been particularly obvious in the case of current Pontypridd AM Mick Antoniw.

He was / is (?) a Director of Thompsons solicitors.  Their part in the miners’ compensation scandal was well documented prior to the Assembly election.  Although despite the evidence being very clear he did his best to deny any involvement.  He even went as far as to threaten to sue when I included the story in our leaflets – an empty threat, you cannot sue someone for stating what is true and what can be proven,

The facts were that Thompsons solicitors were reported in several notable legal publications as having been severely reprimanded for their handling of miners’ compensation claims by their regulatory body. Money was reportedly taken from the amount of compensation miners received to pay the Unions an ‘administration fee.’ Thompson’s solicitors donated money to the Labour Party, and directly or indirectly to Antoniw’s campaign

But there is more.  When Rhondda Cynon Taff started their Equal Pay negotiations they ran into a bit of trouble when some employees refused to take the settlement offered.   An email from the Chief Executive to  Welsh Liberal Democrat Cllr Mike Powell in July 2010 revealed that 

“The current position in respect of the settlement of Equal Pay claims is as follows:-

 3,859 claims have been settled, at a total cost of £13,104,216.

 222 claims remain outstanding.  These claims have been lodged at Employment Tribunal.”

Who was acting for the employees?  None other than Thompson’s solicitors. So the Labour run Council failed to settle claims for its workforce and employed a Labour leaning firm of solicitors to represent its own employees against the Council.  That firm then donated money to the Labour election campaign, benefitting Antoniw.

You couldn’t make it up

Donkey vote still there but fading

I am currently in the process of doing one of the most boring of  jobs - no, not the ironing, hoovering, or even washing dishes.  Collating the data from a knock and drop survey carried out recently.

Overall I have to say it is very encouraging from our point of view.  However, it never ceases to amaze me the number of donkey Labour voters who remain in South Wales.

How would you rate the state of the roads and pavements - terrible
Do you think the standard of education is high enough - no
Is the Council's 'Outlook' magazine a waste of money - yes
Are there enough facilities for young people - no
Do you know who your current Councillor is - no
Are they doing a good job - don't know
How did you vote last time - Labour
How will you vote next time - Labour

What is it with some people?  Just who do they think is responsible for the state of their highways and schools and the provision of youth facilities?  Blinkered just does not begin to describe it.

Still, as I said, overall the signs are encouraging with more people showing a willingness to actually think before they vote and they are voting Welsh Liberal Democrat.

Bring on the Council elections.

Abusing your position Russell?

Last week I wrote about the presentation on the future of policing in RCT.  Included in that presentation there was a list of Police stations which were graded green - definitely staying open;  red  - definitely closing and amber. The amber stations included Treforest, Rhydyfelin and Tonyrefail.  In these locations Superintendent O’Neill assured Members that they would be maintaining the Police presence but looking at alternative ways of providing the service.  Some of those stations may close, some may not.

Now this was just seven days ago, and the report was, everyone was assured, hot off the press. So it is reasonable to expect that discussions and decisions would take longer than a week to come to fruition.

It came as a surprise then when on Monday I had an email from Welsh Lib Dem Councillor Mike Powell (currently holidaying in France) asking if I had heard any more about Tonyrefail station being kept open.  A journalist had contacted him for comment on a press release issued by Russell Roberts stating that it was to stay open.

Russell is of course the leader of RCT Council and also Chair of the South Wales Police Authority.

The resulting article – brief though it is – appeared in the Pontypridd Observer today.

 “The pledge to protect patrols of police and PCSOs and to find a better police base in the community was given to RCT councilors in the village from Chief Superintendent Kevin O’Neil.  It came despite the force forecasting that there will be 625 fewer workers and 395 fewer police officers by 2015 to comply with Government cuts.

Mr O’Neil gave the undertaking to RCT council leader Russell Roberts – who also chairs the South Wales Police Authority – and ward councillors Eudine Hanagan and Bob McDonald after they swore to oppose any reduction.”

hhmmm…  You would think the Chair of the Police Authority may have some inside knowledge would you not?  But surely not that he would have any influence over such operational decisions in his own ward.

Yet the full press release sent out by the three Tonyrefail Labour Councillors seems to suggest he may have.

The press release, as published on a local forum, quotes Cllr Bob McDonald as saying

"Having Cllr Roberts as a member of the Police Authority has allowed us to have direct access into the decision making process and protect our local Police Station."

Interesting. 

It also states that

Tonyrefail Councillors have secured a categorical assurance from the Chief Superintendent of Police in Rhondda Cynon Taf that there will be no closure of Police Station or reductions in the level of Policing in Tonyrefail.
Eudine Hanagan, Cabinet Member for Education, piped up with

"Following our representations I am pleased that Tonyrefail has received assurances that our Police Station is not affected, despite the savage cuts being imposed on Wales by the CONDEM Government.”

Ah, Eudine, a joy as always.

Russell Roberts should maybe have shut up and – in the words of his recently reprimanded colleague the former Mayor – give his a**e a chance!

Instead he seemed determined to dig himself deeper.

"We requested the meeting with Chief Superintendent Kevin O'Neil to seek assurances that Tonyrefail Police Station was safe from the cuts South Wales Police are currently being forced to make.”

We are pleased to receive this categorical assurance as we appreciate the difficult position the Police find themselves in as a result of substantial cuts to their funding.”

So there we have it then, the ‘I’m all right Jack’ attitude typical of Labour politicians.  No wonder he wants to keep a finger in so many pies.

Of course, the press release is such a jumble it is difficult to pick out what is true and what is wishful thinking on the part of the three amigos.  Eluned Parrott AM has written to Superintendent O’Neill asking for clarification on the future of all RCT stations on the ‘amber’ list.  The response should be interesting.

Common sense prevails – with a nudge from Mike

Well what do you know, it seems a mistake has been made by RCT Council, their arm’s length consultancy company Capita Symonds,  and their ‘preferred contractors’ for just about everything Costain.

The multi million pound makeover of the centre of Pontypridd town run into a slight problem a few weeks ago when a 25mm kerb was installed along a section of Mill Street which quickly became a hazard with a number of falls being reported. 

Trallwn’s Welsh Liberal Democrat Councillor Mike Powell took up the case with Group Director George Jones who argued that disability groups had been consulted.  We did some checking of our own with representatives of Scope and the Guide Dogs association who came to the conclusion that these kerbs were benefiting nobody.

A press release was sent to the Pontypridd Observer and placed on our website on 17^th July.  When it failed to appear we sent it again the following week.

In this week’s issue there was a report on the matter - which somehow failed to incorporate any comment from Mike at all (strangely a lot of our press releases seem to be ignored).

Today there appeared a press release on RCT Council website saying that

“This is a case where all the principles of good project management and design were followed including effective stakeholder consultation, but unfortunately the intended outcome was not as expected. As it happens the design can be amended to remove the up-stand without too much disruption and we can learn from the experience in terms of the design for the remainder of the town centre.”

In other words, somebody messed up.  Still at least they are learning lessons!!!

Mike is awaiting a response from the Director as to who made the decisions, who exactly they consulted, and who is going to pick up the tab for the extra work.  He’s not holding his breath,

Small victories count too

A while ago I mentioned that there was a complaint being put before RCT Standards Committee after the then Mayor of RCT during a particularly boisterous evening in the Council Chamber told Welsh Liberal Democrat Councillor Mike Powell to "sit down and give your arse a chance."

Now I am sure Mike would agree that is not the first time people make have thought that!! but it is hardly appropriate for the so called first citizen of this County Borough to say such a thing whilst chairing a public meeting.

It is with no small sense of satisfaction then that this week's Council meeting has on the agenda the Standards Committee report which informs Members of the decision to reprimand Simon Lloyd for his behaviour.

A small victory to be sure,  but a satisfying one nonetheless given the sheer arrogance of the Labour party here.  Maybe they will start abiding by their own 'local protocol' now.

Will you take an intervention Mr Antoniw??

Mick Antoniw the AM for Pontypridd unsurprisingly voted against reinstating Welsh Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts on 6^th July.  All for the best of reasons no doubt, because, just like Brutus, he is an honourable man.

Antoniw’s contribution to the debate is a matter of public record – thought I would add a couple of intervention points of my own!

                                                   

Mick Antoniw: This debate is not about our personal feelings for an individual who stood for election but has been unable to take up a seat because of the National Assembly for Wales (Disqualification) Order 2010: it goes well beyond that.

Yes, isn’t it true that the member for Pontypridd is basing his response more on pure political spite

It is about an important point of constitutional law that has serious implications for this new Assembly and legislature. It is also about the credibility and integrity of this body and the Welsh Government.

Are you sure that you are in a position to take such moral high ground? After all you were the Director of a firm that conned miners out of thousands of pounds worth of compensation, and were fined for such by your regulatory body, and then tried desperately to deny it to your own party members than anything else?

The first undisputed fact is that, under section 18 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, he was disqualified from standing as an Assembly Member, which I understand is not disputed even by the person himself.

Unlike your transgression which you strongly disputed despite the clear evidence to the contrary. Is it not the case that you even had a colleague threaten me with legal action for reporting the truth?

What we decide may be subject to legal challenge by way of judicial review by an interested party.

Despite legal advice you have been given that says that overturning the disqualification is perfectly legal and proper?  

In considering this motion, I have put aside all interests other than what is the right decision and what is right to preserve the integrity and credibility of the Assembly.

I refer the not so honourable gentleman to my earlier comment re integrity.

I have reluctantly ( you are kidding me) come to the conclusion that we should not exercise our discretion in this case, and I will be voting against the motion. (what a surprise)

It is clear that an individual candidate is responsible for ensuring that he is entitled to stand. (quite right, a modicum of sense at last.)

He may (MAY) consult with a variety of bodies—his political party, his agent, bodies such as the Electoral Commission, and, if necessary, his solicitor; but it also recommends consulting the legislation, or, if necessary, taking independent legal advice.

Why would any reasonable minded person doubt the advice coming from the body set up to regulate elections and give advice? The Electoral Commission staff are paid to give advice – they failed to give accurate advice.  Did you consult a solicitor Mr Antoniw?

Turning to the exercise of our discretion, I am clear in my mind that it is a discretion that should be exercised rarely and with caution, and that there have to be substantial reasons. I do not believe that circumstances in this case would justify the exercise of this discretion.

So being given totally out of date and inaccurate information is not a good enough reason?

Apart from the reasons that I have already mentioned, if we exercised our discretion in this way it would drive a coach and horses through the disqualification Order.

Why?  You have already been advised that it is perfectly legal to do so.  In fact the report says as near as damn it that is what you should do.

We will also have set a precedent.  (heaven forbid we should do that)

We are a new legislature and we must take the consequences of our decision seriously. We cannot set aside a Crown Order just because we might like to do so. (No but you can if the rules allow you to do so.)

Setting aside the Order in these circumstances would……have consequences for future elections and would undermine the clarity in procedure and law that is essential for our electoral process.

No Mick, what undermined the clarity in procedure was the incompetence of the Electoral Commission in failing to provide accurate information.)

When you’re in a hole stop digging

Someone should surely remind the Electoral Commission in Wales of that.  They have got themselves in deep enough, they really ought to just show some grace and shut up now.

There was a huge sigh of relief yesterday when Welsh Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts had his disqualification overturned at the Assembly – albeit tinged with regret over the situation as a whole and the loss of John Dixon.

However, anyone right thinking person who read the report produced at the request of the Presiding Officer would surely come to the conclusion that justice has been seen to be done in Aled’s case.

The Electoral Commission have messed up big time here, and instead of putting their hands in the air and just admitting they made an error they are making themselves appear even more incompetent.

Following the publication of the Gerard Elias report the Commission issued a statement it said that

“It is important that all guidance published by the Electoral Commission is accurate and trusted and as today’s report identifies there were mistakes made by the Commission in the issuing of our guidance for the May 2011 election.”

Once the Commission became aware of the change to the Order, the relevant English language guidance for candidates “Can you stand for election?” was updated on our website on 11 March”

“However, the Welsh language version of the guidance for candidates was not updated ahead of the election. We regret and apologise for this very rare error.” 

They should have left it at that.  Instead they decided after the vote was taken to start making waves.

As reported by the BBC,

“following the vote to lift the disqualification, the Commission says statistics suggest nobody visited the website although it also said its data-collecting methods were not wholly reliable.

Spokesman Rhydian Thomas told BBC Wales's CF99 programme on S4C: "Now this is not some kind of forensic analysis, it is possible that someone looked at it and it didn't register."

Mr Thomas said the Commission had gathered statistics on how many hits the document received in Welsh and English. He added:

 "The English version, to give an example, received around 143 hits. But the Welsh version, from what we see, not one person looked at the document or downloaded the document

So if their statistisc are not reliable, why bring it up?  Why tell Mr Elias one thing and then dispute it afterwards?

But the plot thickens,  As reported by Betsan Powys the Electoral Commission then release another statement which said

"The commission apologised on Thursday to the Welsh Assembly and Aled Roberts for the mistakes we made. We fully accept the conclusions of Mr Elias' report and have nothing to add to the statement we have already made.

"On the television programme CF99 last night, the commission gave information about usage of its Welsh language website in response to a specific question from a journalist about visits to our website.

"We provided the website statistics, along with an explanation about them, to Gerard Elias as part of his investigation. As we made clear to Mr Elias we do not believe they are a reliable guide to whether or not individuals used our website and this is reflected in the conclusions in his report."

Unbelievable – are the people there actually communicating with each other at all?  It would seem the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.

It has resulted in yet more unnecessary anxiety for Aled and his family, and allowed people’s opinions of this body to slip even further.  BBC headlines today report

“The elections watchdog has been criticised for its handling of the case of a disqualified Welsh assembly member.”

The Electoral Commission describe themselves as

“an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. Our aim is integrity and public confidence in the democratic process.”

There will not be much public confidence left in the process unless this whole issue is addressed.

Will somebody please take the shovels away.