Friday 6 August 2010

Plaid Councillor calls Council Terms of Engagement "wrong and slanderous"

Cllr Rhian Medi (Plaid Cymru)
In an interview in this weeks edition of the Welsh language magazine, Golwg, Plaid Cymru county councillor Rhian Medi has publicly slammed Anglesey County Council's "Terms of Engagement":

  • She calles the Allliance's Terms of Engagement "wrong and slanderous" ("wallus ac enllibus");
  • She claims that the Terms of Engagement go against the internal regulations of Plaid Cymru in calling for any Alliance member who doesn't support it to be disciplined by all of the leaders of the Alliance;
  • The number of councillors who accept the Terms of Engagement are in the minority;
  • To attack individuals and name names is a step back in the history of the Council;
  • David Bowles is supposed to stop the infighting and lead the council forward, yet we have returned to personal politics;
  • If things deteriate any further then the Assembly will have to take control of the Council.

Considering that Plaid Cymru leader, Cllr Bob Parry, signed the Terms of Engagement and brought his Plaid Cymru councillors into the Alliance with him, Rhian Medi's outburst is both a personal attack on him and must bring the Council one step closer to being taken over by Assembly appointed commissioners. Surely the Recovery Board will feel that an outburst like this from a member of the Alliance is indicative of serious fractures within it.

What will now happen to Rhian Medi? Article 4 of the Terms of Engagement makes it very clear what should happen:
 "Any member of the Groups within the Alliance who does not publicly support this stance, and refuses to "sign up" to the principle described in the paragraph above [i.e. isolate and publicly identify those Councillors who block progress], or whom their Group Leader  considers to have failed to demonstrate sufficient ongoing commitment to the recovery, shall be ejected from their Group". 
Bob Parry has no choice: he must now eject Rhian Medi from the Plaid Cymru grouping. However doing so could have unknown consequences for the governance of the Council as a whole.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

"David Bowles is supposed to stop the infighting and lead the council forward, yet we have returned to personal politics"

"If things deteriate any further then the Assembly will have to take control of the Council"

This is a far cry from what Bowles reported in last weeks post. I think his reputation is already in tatters and his rather "bullyish" tactics dont seem to be working.

Holyheadman

Anonymous said...

Good for Councillor Rhian Medi.
Its not so much what Councillor Parry is going to do to Rhian Medi more to the point, what is the Plaid Group going to with Councillor Parry?

He's already been caught out telling lies about the taped meeting, now we find out he's signed up to an undemocratic document to bolsterer a failing régime run by a fanatical leader on behalf of a socio-path interim Managing Director who has caused more trouble than the whole Council since 1996.

Anonymous said...

Well said her. She is bang on the button. Two people come out of this looking foolish - Parry & Bowles.

An Insider said...

Carl Sergeant and the Recovery Board have already stated that the Terms of Engagement are nothing to do with them.

That being the case, if it is felt that the Third Reich style Terms of Engagement are causing problems to the Alliance, then that's down to McGregor, Parry and Bowles and not a reason to bring in the Welsh Assembly to run the Council.

What has now been highlighted is that, McGregor, Parry and Bowles have caused untold damage to the Alliance, the Council, and Anglesey as a whole and shown themselves to be totally unfit for purpose and should go.

Anonymous said...

We need not dilly dally about.

The whole essence of David Bowles's strategy from day one, is to cover up the fraud and corruption carried out by officers of the council.

The allegations as he puts it, are well documented and proven, but David Bowles refuses to accept that fact, preferring to attack and abuse members. Its as simple as that

Having been sent packing as the Managing Director of Lincolnshire Council, he said.

"I SHALL LEAVE HERE WITH MY REPUTATION ENHANCED, MOST OF YOU WILL LEAVE WITH YOURS IN TATTERS.

Well Mr Bowles. Not from Anglesey County Council, you won't.

Anonymous said...

If I were McGregor, Bowles and Parry right now,I'd take what little integrity I had left, if any, and be gone before the public slaughter commences.

Anonymous said...

They will never leave until they are forced out, these are the same names that are bandied about day in, day out, their grip on power is incredible, they will fight tooth and nail to stop any attempt at democracy getting in the way of their grip on power and their control of the day to day running of this Council.

Good old Bob Parry, keep on keeping on, keep on dragging the good name of the Island through the mire, good old Bowles and McGregor, keep on holding to power by the skin of your teeth, the truth will come out and you will fail, fail to gag the people, fail to stop right from wrong.

Anonymous said...

Rhian Medi ??...a non-entity, insignificant, little busybody with no influence on anything or anyone. Lets move on !

Anonymous said...

Rhian Medi ??...a non-entity, insignificant, little busybody with no influence on anything or anyone. Lets move on !

Anonymous said...

Cllr Rhian Medi has, or should have, as much significance and influence as any other Cllr.
Good on you Cllr Medi for speaking your mind.

Anonymous said...

Cllr Medi is the crack in the dam. From here on in it will get bigger until it breaches.

When it does breach there are a fair few people who are going to be left with their reputatioon in tatters and bloody lucky if they aren't deservedly facing criminal proceedings.

This should be good and I can't wait. I bet ITV's Ferret is making tenattive 'no names' overtures to Cllr Medi as we speak.

Anonymous said...

As the position of an elected member is far from insignificant or a none entity. Will the double no-entity at 19.31 please explain his/hers rude remarks.

Anonymous said...

The dam has breached, Cllr Durkin has already seen to that. These revelation by Rhian Medi are precisely what Cllr Durkin has been saying all along, that the Terms are illegal and a breach of Human Rights.
Unlawful, Unethical, Unpalatable, Unworkable.
Cllr Clive McGregor took on Cllr Durkin for exposing Dishonesty. He deemed it as not in the interest of the Council. He played very dirty and lost. He must now consider his position untenable and go. As for David Bowles, NO MORE COMMENTS NEEDED.

Anonymous said...

We shouldn't be to surprised if we see Cllr Durkin standing against IWJ at the next election. He's certainly got what it takes to put Anglesey and it's People first, that's for sure.

Anonymous said...

No elected representative is a non-entity.

Every elected representative is honour bound to tell all of the truth all of the time otherwise they aren't even good enough to be garbage.

Hopefully Rhiam Medi (and Barry Durkin) are about to start very publicly destroying the rubbish.

And lets hope ITV's Ferret is taking note.

The more the merrier.

Anonymous said...

Another very rude unnecessary comment from someone at 00:32 with nothing to offer other than abuse. Don't bother wasting your time the issues at hand are obviously beyond your intelligence bracket.

Anonymous said...

Cllr Clive McGregor's "Terms of Engagement" have caused, arguably, more trouble than any other one subject since the County Council was formed in 1996. and rightfully so.
To add to this Cllr McGregor has made it abundantly clear publicly, that out of the twenty members of his new Alliance, all twenty have signed up to its "Terms of Engagement"

We can now see this not to be true, making Clive McGregor out a public liar. and his position untenable

Insider. said...

Isle of Anglesey County Council-Corporate Governance Inspection.

"The Council faces the immediate problem of restoring trust between some members and some officers. To begin this process, the Council needs to resolve the Graigwen issue".

It is interesting to note that the Original Independents and Plaid Cymru made an issue out of how the Executive committee meeting gave the go ahead to purchase Graigwen.

It is also worth noting that part of the evidence that the executive and senior officers were in conflict, lies in a letter written by Cllr Clive McGregor,to managing director Derrick Jones.

Former policeman, Cllr McGregor was one of the new faces that emerged from the elections of may 2008. He was elevated straight into the executive committee taking up the highways portfolio.

In December 2008, Cllr McGregor wrote a stinging letter to managing director Derrick Jones suggesting officers were covering up issues on Graigwen.

The letter said:"Graigwen is one of several issues highlighted by Price Waterhouse Coopers, where this authority has serious corporate governance issues.

"As a new councillor and executive member I have been dismayed by the obvious distrust shown to us by senior officers.

"It pains me greatly but doesn't surprise me given that the issues surrounding Graigwen have eroded whatever trust and confidence there might be between the ruling administration and certain members of the corporate management team.

"It may be that we require a police investigation into the issue as offences of malfeasance in public office would appear to be made out".

This shows exactly who was leading a campaign against officers. Not Cllr Durkin But CLIVE McGREGOR HIMSELF.

Anonymous said...

Did I just read on the BBC that another two Councillors had been suspended?

Anonymous said...

Yes.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-10899580

Anonymous said...

Another very rude unnecessary comment from someone at 00:32 with nothing to offer other than abuse. Don't bother wasting your time the issues at hand are obviously beyond your intelligence bracket.

7 August 2010 05:20

Identify yourself and I would surely bury you in a chwinciad....

Groundhog Day said...

Slightly off thread for which I apologise but what do the Druid's readers make of the latest nail in this council's coffin, namely the suspensions of two cllrs by the Adjudication Panel for Wales?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-10899580
refers.

I'm not the least surprised regarding the numpty Aled Morris Jones, he has been an accident waiting to happen since his elevation to the council and his business acumen doesn't stand up to scrutiny either having purchased a local shop in Llangefni High Street at the time other shops were closing due to the arrival of Asda in the town - similar to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic methinks.

I have no commnet regarding the other cllr, O Glyn Jones, not being familiar with him. Can someone throw any light on the reason for his suspension albeit a shorter one than AMJ?

The Great Councillini said...

I've no idea what Cllr. Medi stands for, but she certainly wins a big round of applause from me for standing up against this utter twaddle that is the Alliance's terms of engagement.

I watched Mr. Bowles, with some surprise, the other night on TV, harping on in his inimitable fashion about cultural difficulties within organisations, and how whistelblowers shouldn't end-up being victimised and made to sign 'shut-up' clauses when they identify real problems.

Check the dictionary, under 'hypocrisy', Mr. Bowles.

Legal said...

10.21 Much as I admire the wisdom of TGC, I`m not sure if he really advocates the failure and destruction of the Alliance ?
What of the consequences ?
The Recovery Board ?
We shall be in the unknown ?

Prometheuswrites said...

I note that one of the suspended coucillors was NOT Barrie Durkin.

Having read much of his being reported to the Ombudsman are we to assume he has been exonerated or is judgement still to come?

These two (AMJ & OGJ) have been suspended by the Adjudication Panel, so presumably they were referred to the panel by the Ombudsman as that is the next procedural step in the complaints/disciplinary process.

There must be an Ombudsman report published giving the details of the complaints and the Ombudsmans decision. Can anyone dig it up and post it on this thread?

Does anybody know what happened with the well publicised reporting (pre-election besmirching) of Pete Rogers to the Ombudsman? I'm sure I remember that this one was 'fast tracked' so as to be dealt with by the time of the election. I would have thought that we would have heard something by now - or was it indeed just Plaid dirty tricks?

What is the score with Rhian Medi? According to the 'Terms of the Alliance' there is a clause about speaking out, (unless it's to condemn BD and ES - and maybe Bob Parry, after his letter of support for BD or ES - I can't remember which right now - ah yes I recall - he made an apology, resigned his portfolio and retained his position in the Alliance).

Does this mean she is out of the Alliance and what are the consequences for all these suspensions in terms of the voting blocks of The Alliance vs. The Rebel Independants?

Legal said...

11.19 Pertinent questions indeed.
What does anything "mean" in IACC these dark days.
We are in the realm of the unknown.

Anonymous said...

'Troublemakers'

Leader of the council, Clive McGregor, said: "Who knows what's in the future? It certainly won't be through any lack of effort on my part to maintain the authority and try to move it forward.

"What is needed is that all of us councillors pull in the same direction to make this county council a far more open and transparent authority than it has been over the year."

The recovery board was brought in to avoid Anglesey reaching a similar fate to Doncaster council


It seems the above was exactly why the new alliance was formed and the Terms of Engagement drawn up - so the corrupt IOACC could avoid the same fate as the corrupt Doncaster Council. We know what happened there.

Anonymous said...

Rhian Medi has a backbone unlike the majority of the jellyfish floating around the Councill Chamber.

I believe that Clive McGregor and Bowles drafted up the "Terms of Engagement" as a result of evidence provided to Clive McGregor by a member of the Public that infers fraud by theft accounting has been committed.

I will shortly post links on this site to all the evidence given to CM and you can decide for yourselves whether or not he has jeopardised the Public purse by failing to report the matter to the Police.

Lug

Anonymous said...

£75,000 + of OUR money spent on outside solicitors to try and put a case together against Cllr Durkin for having the audacity to raise concerns of dishonesty within the Council (ALL NOW PROVEN). Yet still no complaint to the Ombudsman.

If Bowles and the Council had any brains, they should know by now all they are doing is wasting their time and our money.

The Great Councillini said...

"10.21 Much as I admire the wisdom of TGC, I`m not sure if he really advocates the failure and destruction of the Alliance ?"

If it were a true alliance, based on progressive, not regressive approaches to moving forward, then of course I would not advocate any scuppering of any movement in the right direction. But, like Cllr. Medi, I have nothing to indicate that this is the right way forward, and ever indication it is not.

We have to remember that elected representatives are being publicly humiliated, strongly supported by a non-elected interim Managing Director, for reasons that are at least as unclear as those claims against others being made by the councillors themselves.

So, I suspect that, in the round, Anglesey Council will not, as most of us perhaps expect and many even want, be able to avoid a takeover in the end.

Anonymous said...

Rhian Medi gets my full backing on her move that has exposed Cllr Clive McGregor as a liar and a fraud but She's not the only one. Lets see who-else comes out and denies signing the Term of Engagement. because there are others. That's fact.

Paul Williams said...

Several comments deleted for being unduly abusive or for making allegations against named persons. You all know the rules!

Anonymous said...

Clive I heard it straight from the horses mouth and you know exactly who I mean.

Evidence is all, so please lay down a counter-attack so I can blow you clean out of the water.

Anonymous said...

Clive McGregor's to gutless to come out on his own account. He dare not breath without Bowles permission.

Anonymous said...

Let's get the Police in and get these Corrupt people in court and in prison. Then let's get the SOCA people in to seize and sell all their assets.

But above all, let's have it done publicly and openly so that people start to believe in the system again.

Fellow Councillor. said...

Your not on your own Rhian.
All the Member not in the Alliance and a good few in the Alliance support you.
We haven't signed up to the illegal terms either, nor will we.