Below is a copy of an open letter from myself to Ieuan Wyn Jones AM which was published in yesterday's Daily Post. Considering the continuing political problems at Anglesey County Council some people may think that forcing a merger with Gwynedd Council is a possible solution. I disagree. Due to the diligence and hard work of the staff Anglesey County Council's services are very good -- therefore Anglesey is by no means a failing council. To force a full merger of two independent Local Authorities -- with all the attendant turmoil that will cause -- for the sake of dealing with just a handful of troublesome councillors in one of them is, in my opinion, a massive overreaction. In the below letter I ask Ieuan Wyn Jones AM to rule out this option unless such a course of action is endorsed by a majority of residents in both counties.
"Following WAG’s decision to ask the Auditor General to
re-inspect Anglesey County Council, we can justifiably conclude that
Labour-Plaid’s vastly expensive intervention into the council has
failed.
As Labour and Plaid Cymru AMs are
currently forcing through legislation which will allow the Welsh
Assembly Government to amalgamate councils with little or no public
consultation, a new audit of the Council could simply provide cover for
WAG to proceed with an unwanted merger of Ynys Môn and Gwynedd local
authorities.
Although nobody objects to more
cooperation between councils to cut costs, I believe that the majority
of Anglesey residents are opposed to a full merger for the following
reasons:
Firstly, Gwynedd needs to find £28.8
million in savings over the next four years compared to just £10 million
in Anglesey - sharing this burden could result in more Anglesey
services being cut.
Secondly, council tax
rates are on average £160 higher in Gwynedd meaning big rate hikes for
Anglesey residents if they are harmonised.
Thirdly, a full merger will place the jobs of many local authority staff in danger.
For
these reasons I completely oppose any merger with Gwynedd Council and
ask Ieuan Wyn Jones AM to answer following two questions:
1. Does he agree with his AMs that local authorities should be forcefully amalgamated without the consent of those effected?
2.
Will he give an unequivocal statement that he will oppose a merger
between Ynys Môn and Gwynedd unless it is endorsed by a majority of
Anglesey residents?
Paul Williams
Welsh Conservative Assembly Candidate for Ynys Môn"
25 comments:
I remain amused by your concerns that council taxes may rise if a possible merger with Gwynedd is forced through.
Insofar as Anglesey is now the poorest place to live in the UK council taxes on this island should only travel in one direction .... down.
Down, down and down.
I think Paul Williams assessment is correct as is his determination to stand up for local democracy.
I amire your tenacity in defending the rights of people against a dictatorship in Cardiff that is driving a coach and horses through our constitutional rights, we are an independent authority and should remain so, we must always remember that Carl Sargeant,Brian Gibbons all conspired to try to turn this Council around by still keeping the unkempt and out of control Councillors on a lead, the solution lies in Cardiff but it is NOT a merger we need, we need duty of care by the Council, decency, honesty, integrity and above all, we need to be heard and not ignored by IWJ and the Cardiff Cowboys.
Why do council members need to go to a swanky hotel to talk budget matters rather than use the (equally expensively built) county council offices?
As shown on ITV news yesterday!
Problem is, that the people who vote for them don`t know what`s really going on. The local papers only print what they are told to print by the Council.
With apologies to Groundhog Day I have deleted his/her post and am reposting it below with various names removed:
"I've just watched Clive McG on the lunchtime BBC Wales news bulletin. I think he picked up a poisoned chalice when he became leader and there was no way anyone was going to turn this council around however well-intentioned they were. As long as you have the dinosaurs [removed] and a few others within sniping distance then it was always going to be a lost cause. GWR was also on the news having the gall to blame McG for all the ills that have befallen this council forgetting that the current leader only became a councillor in 2008 whereas he and the other mentioned have been involved from the days of the damning Ceri Stradling audit. These are the usual suspects who have consistently popped up when anything controversial has been raised with regard to IoACC. The problem is, as has been highlighted by others on these blogs, is the apathy of the Anglesey electorate who vote these people in time and again giving them licence to continue to ruin our island and bring our council to the fore as a laughing stock. Many of these councillors do not even get opposed and are back in power on the nod of the head. It is time for the people of the wards in Amlwch and Holyhead and other places to come to their senses and get rid of these parasites at the next election. As long as the cancer is within the council with the likes of [removed] and his cronies then it will always be a lost cause."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-12534687
"The outgoing leader of Anglesey council has criticised some councillors who have announced they will run the authority after he stands down in May".
"He (McG) names five councillors in a letter to the other 35 council members, saying the individuals "have been members of this authority for a long time and have had plenty of time to change the governance of the council on more principled grounds".
Over recent years we have had a number of Council Leaders and Managing Directors come in and leave shortly after under acrimonious circumstances. The members referred to by McG have been around since 1996.
"Last week, a new ruling coalition led by Plaid Cymru was agreed.
The deal was sanctioned by the local Labour MP Albert Owen, and Plaid AM Ieuan Wyn Jones.
But it is understood the new arrangement did not satisfy the minister who announced an immediate inquiry into the way the council is run".
Disatisfaction between councillors and the leader, disatisfaction between the deputy leader and the minister.
Tells us something about the political culture in Wales.
The Truth behind all this trouble will prevail and you are all in for one hell of a shock.
www.ynysmon.com blows the lid of Clive McGregor.
Not to missed.
WAG must call early elections for IoACC on condition that in these unprecedented circumstances, for the sake of stable and effective governance, no existing councillor wil be permitted to stand.
this is the only way to get rid of the bald eggs mentioned in CMcG's press release the other day.
Is this the cover up of all cover ups?
"No wonder the council has such a bad name?"
Indeed. Even if there are no murky goings on in this instance, there is the appearance of the potential for murky goings on, and the Committee for Standards in Public Life (aka Nolan) says that's A Bad Thing.
It's about as daft as expecting the BBC to report independently on City wheeler-dealing in general and Barclay's taxdodging and similar antics in particular when a senior BBC director is the Chairman of Barclays (Marcus Agius). He doesn't have to interfere directly, his mere presence on the Board is enough for folk to think carefully about what may be career-limiting if it gets high level visibility.
Groundhog 12.39
The individual is well known for bullying, intimidation and covert threats....and perversely he will take this as a compliment....the Maes Llwyn population fear him more than love him (I am an exception)....that is our problem.
22 Feb 19:49
"News from the Kremlin today.
[zzzzzzzzzzzz]
More to follow tomorrow"
And?
I see quite a few spurious Kremlin references, allgedly from an Insider, mostly full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Did anybody notice anything of local significance happening today, have I missed it?
17:50
YOU WOULD KNOW IF IT FELL ON YOU.
Maes Llwyn 17:28 all you need is Love, the people of Amlwch will understand that, they have had enough of him as well, they can't stand the sight of him and his crew.
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