Friday 4 February 2011

IWJ: third meeting at Anglesey Council in a week

As I write Ieuan Wyn Jones is at Anglesey County Council's offices in Llangefni again trying to push through his preferred solution of a Plaid Cymru and Labour-led coalition to replace the current faltering Alliance (which also contains Plaid Cymru and Labour...). Anyway as he was there last Friday, this Monday, and now today too, this is his third set of meetings at the Council in a week -- and clearly demonstrates either (a) how earnestly he is trying to resolve the council's problems; or (b) just how embarrassing he feels it would be to him personally should WAG be forced to send in the commissioners to Anglesey just before the Assembly elections.

I'll leave it to you to decide which...

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

IWJ does nothing unless it suits him. Too little too late.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what he is planning, some emergency ressurection where Bob Parry will walk on water and praise us all for putting up with this shit for so long.

I did see a very large turnip raft moored up in Llangefni Council docks this lunchtime, with a large Welsh Dragon flag, a wicker basket, filled with pate, champagne and kit kats, a celebratory picnic. How they enjoy their picnics when they have a day out. I wonder who it belongs I thought, a quick glance at the lifejacket confirmed my suspicions..Plaid Number 1, well I wondered, there's spmething going on.

Where do we go from here is what we should be thinking, what plan have they hatched? the answer to that mystery we'll have to wait, but I'm not having faith anymore. I know my days as a freeman are numbered, I cut the mooring of his turnip raft and watched it sail down the river, into the future, a bit like all of us, future unknown, destination on the rocks?
The hamper was lovely, and my boyfriend and I enjoyed every bit.

Anonymous said...

Amazing hypocrisy - you used to be against independent councillors who stand for nothing. Now you don't want the two larger parties to run the place. You would'nt have an agenda would you?

An Eye On... said...

@19:18 Anonymous said...IWJ does nothing unless it suits him. Too little too late.

Maybe it suits hom as being seen as the man who tried to save Anglesey council form itself. (When really he want's it part of Gwynedd to 'solidify' North West Wales)

Anonymous said...

NEWS FROM THE KREMLIN.

News emerging from the Council this afternoon is that after abusing and threatening Councillors who have always supported him the vast majority of Councillors are now calling for David Bowles to be removed as soon as possible.

It is reputed, that a row erupted after David Bowles in a meeting, tried to dictate to Councillors who was going to do what, and where.
showing precisely who has and still is, destabilising the Council for his own agenda.

More to follow.

Photon said...

Sounds a lot like things are getting totally out of control now.

Ieuan: there are more, not less votes in it for you if you pull the plug on these idiots now.

Anonymous said...

IWJ's re-election campaign is tarnished by:

1. Loss of employment
2. Inability to sign up business
3. Business has no confidence in IWJ
4. "Zero" from the "do nothing" party.

Fall on your sword mate.

Anonymous said...

LEIN AMLWCH ?
Sorry, off topic.
Lots of activity up at Amlwch on the Cannatex section of the Lein.
The pipe-puffing community gang in action.
By whose authority, at whose expense, and why ?

Anonymous said...

It probably is high time DB's contract was terminated.
The troubleshooter has become the troublemaker, and there is no way to redeem him, the DB effect can only get worse. He is now a stumbling block to progress and recovery.
Appoint LB as acting MD and start looking for a permanent replacement ?
Meanwhile roll on the Election so we can vote in some new blood.

Anonymous said...

the commissioners are sharpening their pencils and just waiting for the word.

In the Know. said...

News from the Kremlin this morning.

David Bowles's reign of terror is all but over.

Demands have made of David Bowles, that go now or be sacked.

This follows a heated discussion yesterday over his totallatarian attitude and abusive behavior toward elected members in Staff meetings and in public arena.

It has apparently dawned on his supporters that he is a dangerousness liability to the Council, Its Staff and the proper recovery of the Council. Very reminiscent to his tenure with Lincolnshire County Council, and he must go.

Anonymous said...

A technicality.
The Council has no authority to sack him.
It must be the Minister and the Rec. Board !

An Eye On... said...

If Bowles is terminated what would be the terms of his opackage? Quite substantial I would have thought.

Is his contract open-ended? If not, offer he re-assignment as a street sweeper for the remainder of his time. If he won't take it start the warning and dismassal procedure and then fire him.

Anonymous said...

If I had a penny for every time I have heard the phrase "last chance saloon" in the context of IoACC in the last couple of years I'd have about 4p by now. Let's face it - the WAG have neither the balls nor the know-how to fix this situation - and the councillors are repeatedly calling their bluff. Much as I like to think something big will happen soon - we're talking about civil servants and local government workers here - the end result will be changing not much of anything and hope the problems go away ... or pass-away.
Hope I am wrong - but,I will eat my hat if we're still not going over the same old ground 12 months from now.

Anonymous said...

I remember David Bowles's quote " some will leave with their reoutation in tatters, some leave with their reputation in tatters" I wonder if he regrets being so obnoxiously arrogant. We will judge what your reputation will be, and it doesn't look good.

Mind you, we will survive, David Bowles, and the Welsh Assembly scaremongerers will not. History will tell, and sooner or later, the way forward is an indepth honesty check on the past, and then we will move forward, no excuse for bad judgement and bad decisions, we depended on you all as a Council to be honest and decent, we didn't get much of that did we? Will the Council change now, that the people are up in arms, let's hope so.

Anonymous said...

13.24 No, the obstructive destructive agitative self-interested forces on IACC will not change now that we the People are up in arms.
They don't care a f..k about the People as long as their own interests, incomes and allowances are promoted.
Have we learnt nothing ?
Having said this, we should not tar all with the same brush.
We know full well who the culprits are and they will be told in no uncertain terms when they grovel up to our thresholds at the next Election. I for one can't wait.

Anonymous said...

"the obstructive destructive agitative self-interested forces on IACC" might not be there much longer. Lets hope eh.
And I totally agree that we should`nt tar all with the same brush.
The people ARE up in arms and we support the honest staff at the Kremlin make no mistake. We should unite and rid ourselves of this cancer once and for all.

Crystal Ball said...

and it's not just our council -

http://carmarthenplanning.blogspot.com/2011/02/embarrassing-emails.html#comment-form

See the red text in the right hand column

Anonymous said...

Sorry off topic. I hear that the Board of Directors of Betsi LHB have re-named their board meetings to "Star Chambers" I assume they have not researched the name in regards to Wales. I suggest they do.!!

Anonymous said...

There is a degree of sneakiness involving the pledges they promise and what they actually deliver, if they come knocking, remember the Anglesey Cake and the slices they have devoured, there is no shame in asking them if they have had a piece?

There are good employees working there, but there are crooks too, the special permission granted to the select few, to approve Planning Permission behind closed doors, the sign of the cake.

The problems will never go away, this is what they sign up for, special allowances, greedy development schemes, the taking over of towns to suit their needs. Then, there's the special relationship between development grants, job creation schemes, economic schemes, that are designed to help the locals, but, instead line the bank accounts of the greedy.

That's the only reason, they put themselves forward, to get access to the gold mine, that pot of gold, that makes their life so worthwhile, be it a brand new house or cars, they have it all, without having to WORK.

All they have to do is attend and make noise and threats when they feel challeneged, or feel threatened by bloggers who voice opinions and facts that humiliate them.

You choose, more of the same, more greed or none of them.
Any one with sense would vote for none of them. Get rid of all of them, especially IWJ, he left us years ago.

Another in the know. said...

Mr, David Bowles, an insight.
thisislincolnshire.co.uk

"The NHS high flier went off sick with stress at the hight of a furore surrounding the trust's failure to meet key Government targets. The debacle culminated in David Bowles being suspended and resigned from the trusts board".

"Mr Bowles's claims that he was bullied by bosses at NHS East Midlands were later thrown out in an independent report commissioned by the Department of Health".

"Meanwhile MP for Lincoln and public health minister, Gillian Merron, has branded the sorry saga among hospital management as "unacceptable".

New revelations have also come to light that the former chairman of the trust, David Bowles, following his appointment as Anglesey County Council's, Interim Managing Director, did, following the sacking of the ULHT chief executive, Mr Gary Walker for swearing, showed his support for him by saying publicly, "Mr Walker swore no more than another member of the trust's board".

"He was nothing like Gordon Ramsey".

On must ask why, having been sent by the Assembly to help Anglesey County Council, with it's recovery, David Bowles then instead of getting down to what he was been paid for, chose to involve himself in something which had nothing to do with him, compounding that behavior by making such derogatory remarks about a well known celebrity.

It appears that David Bowles, isn't happy unless he's causing trouble. That in any person in his position is a very dangerous trait, and the sooner gone the better.

Mr David Bowles, on leaving Lincolnshire County Council said.
I shall leave here with my reputation enhanced. Most of you Councillors will leave with yours in tatters.

What appalling arrogance. Not from Anglesey County Council you won't, Mr Bowles.

Anonymous said...

"but there are crooks too"

Bang on my friend.

We have crooks running the show and crooks protecting them at our expense.

Anonymous said...

IWJ will never, ever allow Bowles to be made a scapegoat, IWJ defends ALL of this Council and is determined to make sure that HIS WORD is obeyed, beware, IWJ and his gang are fighting back, big time, he has had enough of all the bad press the Council is getting and wants action.

Anonymous said...

The bad press started in 1997 and has`nt stopped since. It`s nice to hear that, at last, IWJ has had enough.

Now that he has had enough, lets hope he has all the crooks investigated. The bad press will only continue otherwise.

Wishfull thinking, of course he wont, it will only give cause for the public to prove themselves right.

As for Bowles, of course he`s going to back the man. WAG put him there. They have to save face, it has to look like they made the right decision and it has to look as if Bowles was worth the money.

In years to come we will be saying that the crooks should have been sorted in 2010/11, exactly the same as we are saying now about 1997/98.

Anonymous said...

Well its official then- Bob Parry as leader , JC as deputy .... Groundhog day !

Anonymous said...

"Well its official then- Bob Parry as leader , JC as deputy .... Groundhog day !"

Nonsense.... they can't be serious; these 2 are retiring, besides chorlton was sacked for undermining the council/plotting. putting him back would be a complete mockery

Anonymous said...

Very bad news tonight.

Major pile up outside Pentraeth Motors on the A5025. Quite a few dead.

cyn aelod o Blaid Cymru said...

Chorlton the puppet of the pipe puffer as deputy leader! Don't these idiots learn (IWJ and AO that is) anything. There is no hope for Anglesey with Chorlton anywhere on the Council.

Ieuan and Albert please explain to us plebs how rewarding Chorlton for this latest shenanigans is justified. How much time, effort and embarrassment has this caused you two and this is all you can come up with? Dim pleidlais tro ma Ieuan. Dwi'n troi fy nghefn ar y Blaid am byth. Cachwr di-egwyddor wyt i.

Dear readers I encourage you all to write to both our elected representatives asking them to explain to us why they are rewarding Chorlton, after he has let his totally out of control ambition to be leader wreck this Council a few weeks ago. I wonder what mealy mouthed crap we'll get back from them.

We've not heard your thoughts on this Druid. There's a chance here for some of your wisdom

integrity said...

00.11:

if true about AO and IWJ behind scenes deal, it's an absolute disgrace.

Anonymous said...

Extraordinary Meeting of the Isle of Anglesey County Council on Tuesday 8th February at 2:00pm
All public welcome.

Could be interesting?

The Real Insider. said...

Lets not forget whilst we are all up in arms about the current situation at the Council, a seventeen year old lost his life last night in an horrendous car crash outside Pentraeth Motor's on the A5025.

Anonymous said...

yes, is very sad.. also all over world, every second of the day and every day of the year, are many tragedies; but the world goes on.....

Anonymous said...

Awful news, hellish day.

Anonymous said...

"Extraordinary Meeting of the Isle of Anglesey County Council on Tuesday 8th February at 2:00pm
All public welcome. Could be interesting?"

Could be fiction? If you want to be taken seriously you need to have a reliable source for this information, one which provides a few more details.

Even if a source is provided, any sensible organisation will have rules (standing orders, a constitution, whatever) dictating what they can and cannot do with an EGM. I am assuming IoACC has such rules (may be a very very rash assumption).

Typically an EGM is called to discuss one matter only which must be publicised well in advance.

Typically an EGM cannot be held at very short notice (in that respect, this claim sounds dubious) and the mechanisms for publicising the EGM will be specified. "In the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign outside the door saying "Beware of the Leopard." " does not usually count, but then IoACC are not a usual Council.

wrt car crash: Not far off four thousand people die in UK road accidents every year. In many places fatal road accidents are so routine that they no longer make the local news. Not that it makes it any more bearable for the families and friends of those involved.

The BBC report reveals some slight confusion over the ages of the people in the car whose driver was killed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12376769

Anonymous said...

19:44,
O'ye of very much Ignorance.
Just checked with my Local Member? How much more of a reliable source do you need than that?

Extraordinary Council meeting, just as anon said, is on Tuesday at 2:00.

Full Agenda available from the Kremlin, as from tomorrow (Monday.)

Anonymous said...

"Just checked with my Local Member? How much more of a reliable source do you need than that? "

Well given the well known variable quality of IoACC Members and Officers, readers might have accepted an image of the invite, or at least a hint at the agenda which is constitutionally required to be on the invite. Perhaps together with a link to the Council constitution.

As I don't have access to a friendly reliable Member, the only bit I can help with is the constitution, at http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=1529

It turns out that Section 4.1.3 covers EGMs. Notice for meetings, is apparently covered by 4.1.6.1 and is rather shorter than I would have expected - notice must be posted to members three clear days in advance. Does that mean "working days" or do weekends, Bank Holidays etc count (which would be stupid but hey).

So when would an agenda have had to have gone out to be "three clear days in advance" of Tuesday? When did it actually go out?

Now let's move on a bit, it's past my bedtime.

Section 4.2 of the constitution covers Access To Information Procedure Rules, http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=1530 Without going into too much detail, it very much reads as though the agenda for Tuesday should already have been published, e.g. 4.2.5 "The Council will make copies of the agenda and reports open to the public available for inspection at the designated office at least three clear days before the Meeting.". There are exceptions to this rule but they have to be specifically justified.

It is also a constitutional requirement that, unless specifically justified otherwise under relevant constitutional terms, the public must be allowed to be present at the EGM.

Can someone get that agenda here ASAP, please. No further permission is necessary.

If the agenda was NOT published three clear days before the meeting, ie if it is first made available to the public tomorrow, the meeting will not be constitutionally valid, though I don't suppose IoACC would fret greatly.

Anonymous said...

O'ye of moaning Minne.
Do you really think the Council would call an extraordinary Council Meeting and all that, that entails, without following the correct procedure?

Anonymous said...

"<...> without following the correct procedure?"

Readers might note that there's plenty of evidence (and even more allegations) in recent years that Council rules and procedures have been made for bending.

Not knowing what's behind this latest move, it's hard to guess whether it'll follow the rules (as posted above) or not. Obviously past performance is no guarantee of the future, but sometimes it's a hint.

I still don't see a published agenda around, which is a shame, if you want to be taken seriously - and there is plenty to be taken seriously. There's also plenty of hot air around. It's up to you which camp you want to be seen in; you claim to have the agenda info, the council constitution clearly shows the right to publish it, The Druid doesn't pre-mod, over to you.

Or we find out tomorrow anyway, unless there's been an Intervention in the interim of course.

Anonymous said...

The council agenda for meeting on 8th Feb @2pm is published on Council website don't think this is a coverup or a breach of procedure it is there for all to see and headed as Extraordinary council meeting

Paul Williams said...

There will be a Extraordinary County Council Meeting tomorrow, the agenda can be viewed here:

http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/doc.asp?catid=5417

The majority of items to be discussed appear to be those which were not discussed at the raucous December meeting which was dominated by the new pay and display proposals.

The last item however is a 'verbal update' by David Bowles on the current status of intervention at IoACC.

Anonymous said...

Thank you most kindly. Readers can now find the agenda at
http://www.anglesey.gov.uk/doc.asp?cat=5417

Anonymous said...

You wait ages for a URL and then two come along at once. Cheers Paul, feel free to delete duplicates and this!

the outsider said...

A very full agenda for this EGM.

including some changes to the 'Interim Housing Policy - Large Sites' these are in part to reflect the European Directives that protect species and habitats. These Directives are now incorporated into our law by means of the 'Conservation of Habitat and Species Regulations 2010'.
All planning bodies must comply with these Directives. All plans are relevant and any planning authority that does not observe the Directions can be challenged in the Courts. (both UK and EU). As I understand it Habitat Regulations Assessments are required when producing a Local Development Plan, The LDP needs to take account of not only individual planning applications but also the total plan and the cumulative effect of plans and development, within and between planning authorities. So it is important that IoACC can demonstrate that the Local Plan and policies are robust in this regard.

Anonymous said...

The meeting tomorrow is just a extra Full Council meeting. Nothing extraordinary about it except that it wasn't in the orginal plan of meetings.
It would have been more interesting had it be an Extraordinary General Meeting, or sometimes referred to as an Emergency General Meeting. It is at these meetings where issue with regard the leadership would have been resolved. Looks like we ill have to wait till May for the AGM to get closure on this.

Anonymous said...

Is Carl" Mr Fix-it" Sargeant coming to the meeting? Or will he be away licking his wounds? He knows his reputation and credibilty has gone, maybe he should resign, we had high hopes for him to sort the last chance saloon out, but where was he? In the back with Desperate Dan the MD, eating Anglesey Cake.

Anonymous said...

@19:28 "just a extra Full Council meeting. Nothing extraordinary about it"

Exactly. As you and Paul have both said, it looks just like an ordinary Council meeting that hadn't previously been scheduled, it doesn't look at all like a real EGM would look.

Why all the earlier cloak and dagger stuff was thought necessary, we may find out tomorrow. Or we may not.

There's a lot of hot air about at the moment.

Anonymous said...

So, there was going to be a Council meeting at 2pm Tuesday (9+ hours ago). It was supposedly going to be well worth waiting for.

The link for the agenda was posted earlier and had a couple of potentially interesting items on it.

Did the meeting happen?

Was "Item C" (the recovery report which should have been published with the agenda) published and discussed?

Any other points to note?

Someone who was there. said...

Extraordinary Meeting of the Isle of Anglesey County Council?

It may not have been apparent to many of the public there but was all important to the members present.

During a debate on agenda item 13. David Bowles actually said, he was appalled in the way Councillor Durkin had been treated?

Full transcript soon.

Anonymous said...

"David Bowles actually said, he was appalled in the way Councillor Durkin had been treated? "

And Bowles' plan for doing something about it? Will that be in the transcript?

Words are easy. Everybody knows that. Even David "no cuts in front line services" Cameron and Nick "no tuition fees" Clegg's former supporters know that a promise is worth nothing until it is delivered. IWJ knows better than those two; he doesn't even say anything much these days.

the outsider said...

I have a very illuminating piece of art produced by a Northern Irish painter during the 'troubles' - it was on the theme 'hear no evil;speak no evil; see no evil'. Quite a thought provoking image of lots of deaf, blind and muted people.

Anonymous said...

Following his behavior.
Is David Bowles the new Anti Christ?

Anonymous said...

So, almost a week later, when should we be expecting the minutes from the Feb 8th EGM, an EGM which some round here said would reveal a great deal, but about which we have heard little except Paul's brief report?

The Agenda's Enclosure C, the report from the Recovery Steering Group, should constitutionally have been available with the agenda, but is still not visible on the website. Anyone else seen it?

And perhaps not directly relevant here, but...

Who nicked the Photon's blog? Or is it just another generic blogger hiccup?

"Blog has been removed

Sorry, the blog at photonicanglesey.blogspot.com has been removed. This address is not available for new blogs."

Google's cache has the front page, up to the post relating to the sad death of Geraint Hughes, but the comments are not so easily found. Save yourself a copy before the lawyers have it deleted from Google too?

Anonymous said...

Photon is back, looks like the disappearance was just another blogspot hiccup.

Maybe we'll see the minutes soon too?