The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) has come out against Carl Sargeant's proposed postponement of Ynys Môn's local elections in May next year. Despite the specific circumstances of the Welsh Government's intervention in Anglesey County Council, the 22 Welsh local authority leaders who attended the WLGA's Co-ordinating Committee last Friday felt it vital that ALL electors throughout Wales, without exception, should have the right to exercise their right to vote. The WLGA will be writing to the Minister accordingly.
Quite right too — it is a curious form of 'democratic renewal' which denies people the right to vote in a timely and normal manner.
UPDATE: Apparently even the Labour group within the WLGA voted against postponing the poll on Ynys Môn — which is fairly substantial vote of no confidence in Carl Sargeant's actions from within his own Party.
UPDATE 2: The WLGA's letter to Carl Sargeant AM opposing the postponement of local elections on Ynys Môn:
WLGA letter to Carl Sargeant
13 comments:
Look at it this way. If the local election on Anglesey goes ahead in 2012 we will end up with basically the same shower of rubbish that are there now and their antics will continue. The Commissioners will have to stand down on the ggrounds that the people have chosen their council and the sasme tawdry corrupt circus will continue.
That will be the death sentance for Anglesey as an independent council and we'll end up in Gwynedd. The WG will be left with no alternative other than amalgamation.
The principle of holding an election on schedule and not postponing it is a good one. But I do fear for the actual result.
It is not often I agree with The Red Flag....but on this occasion ....um......I think agree with The Red Flag.
The only thing that would justify the holding of the election next year is the most rigorous prior public examination of each and every candidate including their credit rating, business interests, property and land ownership and - in the case of existing councillors - their previous conduct in office.
Red Flag - as I shall shortly be blogging, all of this is anyway a pretext to the rolling up of Ynys Môn into a Greater Gwynedd.
Well Druid, I have been of the opinion for some time that Anglesey and possibly Conwy will be placed into Gwynedd as a county council. That that will then be split in half at Westminster level into Gwynedd East & Gwynedd West, and possibly into three for the WG so that the council boundaries match the outer WG and Parliamentary ones and that this will happen right acros Wales in order to rationalise things.
Red Flag - so the 'death sentence' for Anglesey as an independent council will occur whether elections take place next May or not, as we will anyway end up in Gwynedd, no?
I am a native of Anglesey and have absolutely no doubt that Anglesey's subsumation into and as a region of Gwynedd is the only certain-sure way to cleanse this Island of its political cancer, and if its the price to pay I would not for one minute object to it.
17.14 I agree entirely, we need to be rid of the Rotten 7, and a merger with Gwynedd would go some way to ensure this....we need to move forward and away from the cancer of the gutter politics of Anglesey.
Well Druid, it's looked to me for a while that they are just looking for the excuse. The old 'Give them enough rope..' trick. They are just looking for the excuse to call time.
However us not kicking a stink up and not insisting we have elections in 2012 throws a spanner in their works but ultimately they'll do it - just take them a bit longer to manoevre it. But if 2012 goes ahead, the announcement of execution will follow within a couple of years and be carried out for the following election.
If we haven't run out of money at all levels first.
Local government is so dreadful (and so expensive) I think most people wouldn't care one jot if it disappeared overnight.
Indeed, if we have to have elections anytime soon I do hope that we can vote for such.
Local government has already disappeared on Anglesey, and that's why the Council elections should be held in 2012.
I get the sense that there are a growing number of people on the island who do care about getting some new Councillors elected. Issues to do with loss of local jobs and massive wind turbines popping all over the place are leaving people feeling bruised and wanting change. A lot has changed for the worse in the wider world in the last 5 years and likewise on Anglesey. People are better informed now, change will come.
Many of the commentators on this and other posts concerning IoACC seem to see themselves as totally divorced from the actual electoral process. If you feel so strongly that IoACC needs to change - then stand for election and put your ideas up for public scrutiny! It's no good just "tut tutting" from the sidelines.
I don't believe that there is any necessity to subsume Anglesey or anywhere else in a greater Gwynedd. The delivery of services jointly can and will effect savings. Anyway, are things so much better within Gwynedd Council?
@bydbach
I don't think 'we' as you put it are divorced from the electoral process, more I think that we have become disenfranchised from it.
After all the services that the Council provides are very good.
It's all well and good saying to those of us who are disgusted with the behaviour of some Councillors, that if we want to change things we should stand for election ourself. But does that mean that those of us whom; for various reasons, could not stand for election as Councillor, our views don't somehow count?
If we are to have elections next year I do hope that the political parties do their bit, by ensuring candidates for most wards.
But above all, I hope as Paul Williams (aka the Druid) has suggested for a long time, that all candidates will be required to publish a manifesto, so that there can be proper public scrutiny of what they stand for.
And lastly a suggestion why don't some of the independents take the 'bull by the horn' and establish a new political party as those who formed Llais Gwynedd did.
Ice....Like the idiots who got together to creat Mon Ymlaen you mean? No thanks.
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