With such dramatic changes going on at the Council you would think that our well-paid Council press office would, you know, tell us what's going on wouldn't you? Apparently not - the Council's news page's hasn't been updated since Friday. Good job the Druid is here to keep you all informed of the day's going ons:
- Clive McGregor has only been able to persuade three Original Independents to join his new group, Llais i Fôn: Thomas Jones, Robert Ll Hughes and Chairman of the Council, Selwyn Williams
- As a consequence, McGregor has sacked the following Original Independents portfolio holders from the Council Executive: Bryan Owen (Economic Development & Tourism), Ieuan Williams (Corporate Management), Aled Morris Jones (Planning), and Kenneth P Hughes (Education & Leisure)
- The remaining Original Independents have re-grouped under a new leader, Bryan Owen. They are listed in the above graphic.
- In the end, Gareth Winston Roberts and his Anglesey Forward group (William T Hughes and Derlwyn Hughes) refused to join McGregor's new Alliance.
- Accordingly, the Alliance is now composed of Llais i Fôn (4 members), Plaid Cymru (8 members), Labour (5 members), and the Menai Group (3 members) - making a total of 20 members.
- As the council has 40 members in total, this means that the new Alliance does not command a majority - unless the Unaffiliated councillors provide support. However as McGregor has this year sacked the now Unaffiliated Elwyn Schofield, Barrie Durkin and Goronwy Parry they are unlikely to support him. Which leaves only Peter Rogers and Robert Ll Jones - and its unclear whether these unaffiliated councillors will support the Alliance or not.
- As McGregor's Llais i Fôn group has only 4 members, it now makes it a junior partner to both Plaid Cymru and Labour. Accordingly Plaid Cymru is the senior partner - it is therefore unsurprising that Plaid leader, Bob Parry, has been canvassing support to now usurp McGregor and become leader of the Council.
- One final oddity to report is that the Lib Dems on the council now find themselves in the ridiculous situation of being in two different groups: Selwyn Williams in Llais i Fôn and Aled Morris Jones in the re-formed Original Independents.
For all those councillors who are reading (and council press office staff too) you might like to know this blog has received numerous hits today from the Commission for Local Administration in Wales, the BBC, Trinity Mirror and the Houses of Parliament (Albert must have woken up).
More news when the Druid hears it...
32 comments:
DRUID, thank you for keeping us posted....we can rely on little else it seems, only propoganda by subversives.
We the public should wish this alliance every success of course. We hope it lasts and consolidates, for the recovery of Anglesey.
There is a clear message to the OBSTRUCTIVES : support progress, or resign and face the electorate ?
This blog is being watched we know by higher authorities than IACC...and by an increasingly vexed population, and its good for that.
So let us join together in reconciliation and move on, positively.
BoF
DERWYDD,
What exactly is it in political, or any other ideology, or whatever, that prevents the 40 Members working together.... for the common good...after all they are elected for the aggregate common good, are they not ?
Can I echo the thoughts of BoF.
We the fed up electorate welcome this move, and please Bob Parry I have said it before Clive McGregor is in my opinion our last best hope to save the council. He is doing a good job as council leader let him continue to do so.
Hopefully this new alliance will be given a chance to work.
We should also propose a public vote of thanks to DB....for having hearded the cats into this position...no mean feat.
We should have confidence in him completing his difficult task, hopefully without puerile interference.
As we see, he is up to the JOB.
Thank you.
BoF
I'm glad that we live on our respective sides of the Menai, or I'd find myself having to work all this out!
Menaiblog - If Anglesey and Gwynedd county councils merge you will have to anyway!
A shrewd move by Mr McGregor.
With 50% of votes assured the Alliance cannot lose motions and it will only take one of the unaffiliated, (two votes likely available by the Druids count, to carry a motion. (assuming Original Independents are opposing the motion)
However 1/2 of the elected councillors will not be bound by the 'no revelations' clause, so allegations of indiscretions may well continue to be made.
Assurances that an independent scrutiny body will examine documented instances of irregularities would do much to assuage public concerns.
I am of course assuming that the Alliance has been formed for political purposes, to 'work cooperatively .... to address the challenges facing Anglesey', rather than just to isolate and silence dissenters.
Menaiblog - If Anglesey and Gwynedd county councils merge you will have to anyway!
Hmm, perhaps - but in the days of the old Gwynedd things seemed rather simpler (& less acrimonious for that matter).
Maybe we should bring good old Caernarfonshire back, and create the Ynys Môn and Caernarfonshire County Council.
21:58.
It has nothing to do with Mr McGregor
he's only doing what Bowles is bulling him in to. That's why it will not work.
What will happen, say in a few days time, if the Unaffiliated Members join forces with the Original Independents. Will plaid cross over again to save face or will McGregor resign when Chorlton stabs him in the back and takes over the Leadership.
None of this is going to be as simple as they think.
Could this be a shrewd plot by Bowles to get all the corrupt Councillors to sign the fake Term of Agreement.
Those who didnt sign have nothing to hide and are going to be told that they will run the Council.
What is it exactly in political or any other ideology that prevents these 40 working together for the good of Anglesey....if Cameron/Clegg can do so on the national scale, and indeed Brown/Clegg if it had come to that...why not in this quiet backwater that is Anglesey....or is it not just down to petty personalities....no need to answer, we know the answer !
BoF
BoF 7.05
Yes....and meanwhile the efficient staff of IACC continue their good work of delivering the daily services that we are paying for, despite these petty personality wranglings.
Good for them !
Why do we need expensive Councillors ?
"Why do we need expensive Councillors ?"
That is indeed a good question, and the type of thing we will confront much more often in the coming years as the old ways of doing things, for financial and other reasons, come to an end.
In these days of good communications, a reasonably well-educated population and a much higher public confidence to challenge authority and the problems they face, the idea of having a councillor could well be argued to be an idea well past its sell-by date.
Given the rubbish (still) going on here, you could argue quite easily that the majority of councillors have never worked for the people and have not been remotely successful in much of anything - other than getting what they want for themselves.
9.11 I agree.
Consider this - Of the 40 Members, only a handful
(5 at most ?)have any degree-level or professional education.
The rest are uneducated beyond 5th Form, and are nothing better than toy-town rabble.
We do not need them....we can do better.
You hate to say it, but just by looking at those mug shots, you kinda cringe at the kind of people they look like.
9.17 AMJ ? word is his little enterprise has collapsed ??
Sorry - two comments deleted for being irrelevant to the current discussion.
"It may be that we require a Police Investigation into the issues, as offences of Malfeasance in Public Office would appear to be made out. It is then and only then that confidence in the Isle of Anglesey County Council would be apparent.
Yours Sincerely Councillor Clive McGregor".
This unedited paragraph from a letter to Mr Derrick Jones, IOACC, Managing Director, dated December 22nd 2008, gives a good example of, (and there are more.) Mr McGregor's leading example of his quest as an ex senior Police Officer to rid IOACC of Dishonesty and Malfeasance.
This is the type of action Cllr McGregor took to encourage others to do the same. Now we see him colluding with David Bowles to cover up past dishonesty with their Stay Out of Jail Card.
It is under stood that yesterday, Cllr McGregor, went to see Bowles to resign from the Council but was bullied and threatened into not doing so, as it would leave Bowles exposed for what he really is.
Having encouraged members of his group to investigate and expose dishonesty, then to demand that all elected members of his new Alliance. "Make no reference, verbally or in writing, in public or in private, to any issues relating to past conduct, allegations or grievances in relation to other Alliance members, beggars belief. Giving the Public the perception of what have they all been up to.
Further to that, having written such a letter and given so much encouragement he then encourages Members of the Alliance to: "Publicly and robustly condemn named Councillors in a clear statement supporting the Council's position in reporting this individual to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales for breaches of the Members' Code of Conduct".
Clive McGregor was the leader in starting today's problems which will no doubt cost the Council and the tax paying public a lot of money in the end.
His position is totally untenable.
Message from Anglesey residents to the Commission for Local Administration in Wales:
Thanks for taking an interest. PLEASE HELP US!!!
9.25 Thank you Counc. Durkin.
We know your style.
09:33: Yes, we do. And? Personally, although there is a lot remaining unanswered, Cllr. Durkin's accounts are very interesting, and amongst all the hype, you can't help feeling that something interesting - and true - is going on.
Let's let Old Father Time show us whether the Council is whiter than white.
Today's Daily Post. Page 4.
"Cllr Barrie Durkin, who was sacked from the ruling group after being accused of undermining the recovery has instructed his legal advisor's to take action against the council.
It is also understood that legal action is being sort against Clive McGregor, David Bowles, and every Councillor who signed, supported or Acquiesced in the "Terms of Engagement"
CONSIDER - Of the Original Independents, 2 are facing disciplinary hearings before the WAG local government commission, whilst the financial affairs of another is in Administration.
Public fact !
It does not fill one with confidence ?
Comment made at 9.56 deleted for making unfounded allegations against named persons. Follow up comments may also be deleted.
To the Druid and to those who give constructive comment.
The (past) day to day working of the council has obviously created debate & disagreement which in the traditional way was resolved by vote. Can anyone tell me when and / or why things escalated to this rediculous degree? It would seem to me that there must have been a particular agitator digging away to bring about such illfeeling and disrupttion...who is it?
Throughout the whole of Britain there are pseudo nationalistic teasings but when the crunch comes we stand side by side and fight the common enemy. Is Anglesey any different? If Anglesey was truly under attack would all these petty squabblers say "oh let it fall I don't care" or would all rally together to defeat theenemy. I cincerely hope it is the latter.
So boys, get rid of the agitator, then for heavens sake shake hands and stand side by side to make Anglesey great again.
Anglesey Islander
I am not putting my name to this so as not to identify a young Anglesey man in the Hell hole of war. I have no idea what, from day to day is in the young mans mind. Councillor Durkin claims he knows because he said that when that man wanted a quiet place on his home isle of Anglesey, the said councillor stirred up such a level of opposition saying it was greed, not the desire for a home which inspired the application. This opposition could all be verified by the wonderful programme WTW re-runs.. So wife and little children remain close to camp instead of near family. Exactly the same applies to a second member of that same family.
What a wonderful caring, sympathetic man he is.
Disgusted
Comment made at 18:28 deleted.
DRUID Re the deleted 18.28
Thank you, to put such people at risk in this climate of radicals and loonies is lowest of the low.
Thank you
To Anglesey Islander
An interesting article at http://www.cio.com about harassment on the blog, an extract:
TrollsEssentially, a troll is a person who posts with the intent to insult and provoke others, Wood explains. The goal is to disrupt the normal traffic of a discussion group beyond repair. "A group is considered to be cohesively destroyed when two-thirds to three-quarters of the messages are a result of [trolls'] comments," Wood explains. They often target new users, who are more likely to take offense, hence the term "troll" (as in "trolling" for newbies).
Many trolls are characterized by having an excess of free time and are probably lonely and seeking attention, Wood says. "They often see their own self-worth in relation to how much reaction they can provoke," he says.
So it suggests ignore them.
Post a Comment