Monday 31 January 2011

Of nuts and sledgehammers.

Expensive.
I hadn't realised this previously but in 2003 the Welsh Assembly narrowly approved a measure which would allow local authorities to pay existing councillors up to £20,000 to step down and not seek re-election. The idea at the time was to encourage older councillors to retire thus making way for new and younger people with fresh ways of thinking. Councillors would be eligible for a payout of £1000 per year of service up to a maximum of £20,000.

I'm not for a moment suggesting that this is what Anglesey Country Council should do, but it does occur to me that, as distasteful as it seems, financially inducing a small number councillors to step down might have been a faster and ultimately more cost-effective way of solving Anglesey's problems. Instead the Welsh Assembly Government, through appointing a £160K a year MD and a recovery board stuffed with quangocrats (cost unknown), have taken a very expensive sledge hammer to crack a nut -- yet a year and a half later the 'nut' appears to be very much still intact!

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

I live in rural Amlwch and think £20,000 would be a small price to pay.
Where do I send my donation?

Anonymous said...

What's all the fuss about merging with Gwynedd.

Given that the reduction of MPs down to 600 is now highly likely despite Gordon Browns Lordy friends (Lardy in the case of Prescott) isn't the constituency at risk of merger?
Albert will be out on his ear in 2015 so that'll be a new AM and a new MP and new Council for IoA. Happy Days.

Anonymous said...

Anon 11 43

You want to be careful about slagging Albert in case you get the dreaded midnight knock given his loyalties to such commie papers as Morning Star as is evidenced by his signing the below early day motion. The nutjobs that signed it want the MS to have more prominence on telly and radio etc!!
It has a circulation of 13 to 14 000.
I suppose in commiespeak that is a 110% support of the population.

EDM 1334
"That this House notes the Morning Star is a national daily newspaper available in shops across the UK; further notes that it is the only socialist daily newspaper in the English language worldwide; further notes that the Morning Star and its management have strong links with the trade union movement; welcomes the different light it shines on news and current affairs from that of other daily newspapers; expresses concern that the Morning Star is rarely ever shown on or reported by the BBC on television and radio; and calls on the Director General of the BBC to ensure that the Morning Star is featured regularly and as a matter of course in broadcast newspaper reviews in the interests of fair and balanced reporting."
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=42353&SESSION=905

Anonymous said...

Don't you think some of our Councillors have trousered enough out of the Council Tax payers on Anglesey without giving them more?

At the Llanddeusant meeting Cllr McGregor said that the Council's infighting problems were down to "not 40 councillors, not 30, not 20 ...but less than 10 members who seem hell bent on destroying the Council". Now whether you think that he is one of them or not you have to ask the question: which is worse - the minority of playground bullies or the majority who stand by watching the bullying take place but do nothing to stop it?

Every single one of them should fall on their swords now AND rule themselves out for re-election.

we get rid of the bad and the indifferent without wasting any more time or money and the good ones can see through the window that their sacrifice will have resulted in a better, fairer, more responsible Council.

Anonymous said...

BBC ratings would go up significantly if they regularly showed certain pages of the DAILY STAR rather than the Morning Star -
perhaps Albert would want to suggest that there's a couple of good points there for them to see
(...whoops! sorry ...slipped into Sky TV Footie pundit mode for a mo' :-))

An Eye On... said...

Doubt very much whether the councillors who should go will go for no more than 20K.

Their slice of the cake is bigger

Puck said...

Never mind the Morning Star:

Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPWH5TlbloU

Applies to UK as much as US.

And better than Disney for the kids.

Anonymous said...

"not 40 councillors, not 30, not 20 ...but less than 10 members who seem hell bent on destroying the Council".

So if the troublemakers are a small minority, why don't the 'silent majority' do something about it, rather than sitting silently and invisibly on the sidelines collecting their allowances, with never a word to their colleagues or the public or the media about the state of things ? [Yes I realise there may be a couple of exceptions who have spoken out - where are the rest?]

Anonymous said...

why don't the 'silent majority' do something about it

They're cowards!, they should all stand down now. And let us all have a fresh clean start.

And druid, I though you said it's £1,000 for every year of service. I think most of us would agree that the majority of councillors have given us more of a 'dis-service'.
- so how much will they have to pay US?!!!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 12:46 and Anonymous 13:13,

I'm not in any way condoning the councillors, but perhaps the reason for the majority keeping quiet is fear of:-

(i)the consequences of the notorious 'Terms of Engagement', and possibly

(ii)the way Councillor Barrie D is being treated by Clive McG and David B.

Photon said...

"Where do I send my donation? "

He he. That made me laugh! I'll take your donation, raise you double.

Nobody took the £20,000 back then. And why would they, when they're able to get pretty much that amount each year they sit there, playing schoolboy games with the island's future.

It's actually quite revealing: anyone worth their salt would step aside for the best interests of Anglesey. But no, they want the money and the perks AND most of them are dumb enough to think only they can do the job.

Groundhog Day said...

I think you are incorrect Photon. No names but I know one in particular who took the pay-off, he is now clerk of a local parish council having been a cllr for over 20 years and is still very influential with a certain pipe smoker, his car can be seen parked outside a certain town council offices on most days. I understand that the maximum pay-off was £25k and not £20k but I stand to be corrected.

Maes Llwyn said...

Let's face up to it !
The 40 don't give a fig about what the People think of them.
Until the 2012 Election that is !
We shall have our say when they grovel up to our door, looking for votes.
It will not be pleasant !!

Anonymous said...

No one got the payoff. Those who retired from the council 7 years ago got nothing.

Anonymous said...

They had their slice of the Anglesey cake while they were in, the stigma that attaches itself when the words Anglesey Cake are mentioned.

Let me see, I have a scraggy piece of land that's worthless, however if I become a Councillor, I could turn that sraggy peice of land into a small estate, happy days....

The Anglesey cake, if you want a slice join the Council.

Anonymous said...

McGregor is being economical with the truth, the number isn't that low, the facts are simple, the moaners who are hell bent on destroying this Council are those who have found out just how much Anglesey Cake the others have had.

And because the minority want as much as the majority they are up in arms, a bit like kids in a sweetshop, it's the cake you see, it's like a wonder drug, they're hooked on planning permissions for friends, relatives and the power they can get from it, incredible, wow! that cake can make you say mad things and you can get away with it, paedo and other bad names, the anglesey cake has got them hooked, brother.

Anonymous said...

I like cake. Mostly. I don't much like carrot cake. I definitely don't like turnip cake. Make it go away.

Anonymous said...

"Not 40 councillors, not 30, not 20, but less than 10"

Give over Clive. The only Councillor causing trouble is you.

Any one who could engineer such a monstrous "Terms of Hate" to abuse and attack his fellow man, should be tarred and feather in public and sent packing.
What a nasty Bas..rd you must be.

The Real Insider. said...

News from the Kremlin
Clive McGregor has gone.

Bowles has f..ked up so much that IWJ has come to the Council to try and sort things out.
more soon.

Anonymous said...

It official Clive McGregor is no longer the Council Leader.

Anonymous said...

Wow, thread up for 5 hours and the Human Rights bore hasn't, well....bored us.

Mind you, he has had all the other usual snipes at CMcG over the afternoon.

Anonymous said...

The comic cuts of 17:03 are in for a TV award this year. Well Done.
Is just between you and that other gob-shit from down your way er, what the name now.

Anonymous said...

What the Council need now is a Leader who will lead and aid the recovery and allow those wishing to clean up the Council to get on with the job.

Anonymous said...

17/15. You're a bit touchy. Nerve hit was it?

Where's 'down your way'?

Anonymous said...

Well if IWJ is going to sort it out we'll have a long wait

Unknown said...

A large part of the fuss about merging with Gwynedd is about history and another large part is about money. Why should the Mother of Wales be expected to absorb the much greater financial shortfall of its child county? isn't it time that Gwynedd grew up and took responsibility for its own debts?

In the Know. said...

Today we have witnessed IWJ coming to the Council to try and sort things out because Bowles can't.

The hight of his efforts were to try and get Plaid and Labour to work together, with Bob Parry and John Chorlton taking on joint leadership.

Who the hell does he think he is? What an idiot. The Plaid and Labour group combined only comes to 13 members. So is IWJ saying the the leader of the council should come from the minority? What about the other 27 members?

In reality, according to the Council's Constitution (That's if it still exists) The Majority rules and the Leader of the Council Should be Bryan Owen. And only then after a full Council Meeting to ratify.

So my message to IWJ is:

Go put your own defunct house in order before you stick your nose in anyone else's.

Anonymous said...

Bryan Owen for Leader and ex choice.
Bob Parry and John Chorlton will surely only bring more chaos.

Anonymous said...

IWJ is no mug? He's not interested in the state of Anglesey County Council. All he's trying to do is grasp the opportunity to get the council in the hands of a plaid, Labour coalition for his own benefit, and f..k Democracy and the People.
What a Tosser.

Anonymous said...

The Anglesey cake and the Human Rights Act don't go well together in this sordid little Island, we want more cake stories!

Is IWJ's intervention because of the ill feeling generated by the Druid and his followers?

Real followers ignore the snipers who feel they are being bullied is it because they have been at the cake?
IWJ ONLY GETS INVOLVED WHEN HE IS GETTING EMBARASSED IN CARDIFF.

Anonymous said...

Paul

We discussed this yesterday, however the one thing I did not mention was that after "retiring" most councillors reappeared and put thmselves up for re-election after a 4 year break....

Clearly if such a "cash for retire" proposal was floated for Anglesey Councillors a "permanent" retirement would be sought!!!

Anonymous said...

IWJ get's upset when the people write bad things about his little baby, the Council, and the postings about the Anglesey Cake really, really upset him, he wants to know who is behind it all? Poor IWJ we all are.................

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Anonymous said...

I hear the Public meeting in on 2nd February could be very interesting!

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Soros said...

I think I could help Anglesey out. £200,000 to "retire" 10 councillors is doable.

Please list them and I will contact them with an offer.

Anonymous said...

DRUID, A QUESTION:

I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW. WHO THE LEADER OF THE COUNCIL IS OF TODAY? OR ARE WE NOW A SHIP WITHOUT A CAPTAIN?

Anonymous said...

the question is not do we have a ship without a Captain ...we need to know whether the ship we have is going to remain afloat or, if it's sinking, will we see proper rescuers or Pirates approaching?

Anonymous said...

The Admiral of the fleet, the right honourable IWJ, famed for his naval battles at Beaumaris, Traeth bychan, Traeth coch, (sunk twice), battle of Holyhead and the high seas off Trearddur bay (Torpedoed), returned to his naval command centre at the turnip dockyard, Llangefni.

He has re-assumed command of the flagship Llangefni, his first job, will be to reinstate his Captain Bob " Blackbeard" Parry, the greatest helmsman in the Plaid Cymru navy.

"A daily tot of rum will be issued to all those free men and sailors who will sail under his command" was the Admiral's cry as he addressed the crew.

"The voyage we are setting on will take us to unknown waters, we will sail around the Shell Offshore Moooring in Amlwch, we will gently sail over the mussel beds at the menai straits, we will cruise and admire the Anglesy Aluminium works were hard pressed men forge the metal for the ship yards of Wales"

"All those with Captain Bob and the Admiral say Ay!!" shouts sailor Bowles, " Not on your life" says I.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8.28
Can you please use your indoor voice and not the OUTDOOR one.