There are likely to be some moments of high drama in a few of the wards this year, with some very tight contests in store. Elsewhere, low comedy is likely to be the order of the day.
As the first ward alphabetically is Abergwili, that is where we'll start. Readers of a nervous disposition who may be put off by a relentless trawl through every ward need not worry. It just so happens that some of the bigger beasties come at the beginning of the alphabet. Today, then, it's A and B.
Abergwili
This seat, just to the east of Carmarthen, is currently held by Pam Palmer for the "official" Independents (as opposed to those councillors who are really independent). Pam was also a member of the ruling Executive Board, with a rag-bag of responsibilities ranging from public health to "modernising local government", a portfolio which in true Carmarthenshire style was probably given to her as a joke as the person least likely to modernise anything.
She also plays a leading role in the shadowy Business Management Group, an unofficial body which holds its meetings in private and without records. There she has been busy pushing through changes to the council's constitution which have undermined democratic accountability and transparency.
Pam played a key part in the arrest of Jacqui Thompson by objecting loudly to the filming of a public meeting. She stated at the time that if children could be protected from being photographed and filmed, so should county councillors.
Pam is also a leading supporter of the Towy Community Church bowling alley and "auditorium" (aka new church) which taxpayers are funding, and one of her most recent exploits was a ridiculous PR exercise in which she "saved" the county's two museums from herself.
Given the choice between Pam Palmer and botulism, botulism would be most people's first choice. Fortunately they have a very good candidate in the shape of Dewi Evans (Plaid Cymru).
Bigyn
Both seats in this ward are currently held by Plaid. Labour is fielding two candidates who oppose the downgrading of Llanelli's Prince Philip Hospital, plans which they don't seem to have noticed are being pushed through by their own party in government.
People First is also contesting one seat.
Burry Port
Another two seat ward, this time held by the unlikely duo of Stephen James (Independent) and Pat Jones (Labour).
Stephen James says in his declaration of interests that he is a serving officer in Llanelli's Conservative Club, as well as a "part-time" publican. His political views are whatever the Daily Mail is ranting about that day, delivered in a terrifically pompous style. His memorable quotes include a prediction that Burry Port could become the Saint Tropez of South Wales. We just hope he doesn't go topless.
Pat Jones has been a member of the Executive Board responsible for Health and Social Care. She combines that role, generally considered to be a full-time job, with being a county councillor, community councillor, school governor, member of various committees, and, according to her register of interests, a full-time carer.
Yes, Pat is Wonderwoman!
Contesting the election are an out-of-the-closet Tory (as opposed to Stephen James who likes to pretend he is an Independent), a Labour candidate and a Plaid candidate.
Bynea
This ward is currently home to Gwynne Wooldridge (Independent), yet another member of the Executive Board, this time responsible for Education and Children's Services. Like Pam, he was probably given this portfolio by someone with a sense of humour, and just in case people didn't get it, they made the old boy "Younger Persons Champion" as well.
Britain still had an empire when Gwynne was a youngster, and he is a firm believer in old fashion values. Not long ago he told a council meeting that the only book worth reading was the Bible. Fortunately, he is not in charge of the school syllabus.
Labour is fielding a very strong candidate in Derek Cundy, although Labour's website doesn't actually tell us his name (perhaps the spellchecker wouldn't allow it). Derek has campaigned hard to stop the closure of care homes, and he is also campaigning against plans for a massive new housing development locally.
People First is also fighting this seat.
If you can stand any more of this, further installments will follow.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Bant â'r cart! And they're off!
Here's the official list of candidates for the county council elections in Carmarthenshire. Analysis to follow.
Every seat is being contested, and there are some interesting fights in prospect.
Here are the statistics:
74 seats are being fought, and 16 of the 58 wards are represented by two councillors.
Plaid Cymru are fielding 65 candidates.
Labour has 44 candidates.
People First are putting up 10 candidates.
The Conservatives have 17 candidates.
The LibDems are fielding 4 candidates.
There are 67 candidates standing as Independents or under no ticket.
The Independents are a very mixed bag, and there is no way of telling from the list which of them would take the Independent whip and support Meryl Gravell.
Every seat is being contested, and there are some interesting fights in prospect.
Here are the statistics:
74 seats are being fought, and 16 of the 58 wards are represented by two councillors.
Plaid Cymru are fielding 65 candidates.
Labour has 44 candidates.
People First are putting up 10 candidates.
The Conservatives have 17 candidates.
The LibDems are fielding 4 candidates.
There are 67 candidates standing as Independents or under no ticket.
The Independents are a very mixed bag, and there is no way of telling from the list which of them would take the Independent whip and support Meryl Gravell.
Wednesday, 4 April 2012
Abuse of vulnerable adults - more spin
Two weeks ago S4C aired a programme in the current run of Taro 9 which looked at the scandal involving abuse of adults with learning difficulties in a council-run day centre at Johnstown near Carmarthen. The abuse came to light thanks to the bravery of Delyth Jenkins, who fought long and hard to get the county council to act.
Delyth no longer works for Carmarthenshire County Council, but just about everyone else involved in the scandal does.
Shortly after the programme was broadcast, Delyth wrote to the Carmarthen Journal to thank everyone for the messages of support she had received. There must have been a lot of more important letters that week, because the newspaper was unable to find space for Delyth.
Fortunately, space was found in this week's paper. Here then is Delyth's letter:
Thank you for your support
I would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support following my appearance on S4C's Taro Naw recently.
I will continue to speak up for the vulnerable, especially those who cannot speak up for themselves.
I will also continue to speak out about this case until Carmarthenshire County Council holds to account the Managers who failed so miserably as evidenced in the Public Services Ombudsman For Wales Report of September 2009.
Delyth Jenkins
By what was no doubt pure coincidence, the Journal also managed to squeeze in a very long and rather technical piece on the annual report of the CSSIW (Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales) on the council's adult care services.You can read the article here.
By what was no doubt pure coincidence, the Journal also managed to squeeze in a very long and rather technical piece on the annual report of the CSSIW (Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales) on the council's adult care services.You can read the article here.
The CSSIW report was published on 31 October 2011, and was discussed at a meeting of the full council in February of this year. You can read a report of that meeting in a previous post, here.
Perhaps the Journal has a bit of a news backlog.
The County Council was furious at the BBC's decision to make the programme, and refused to cooperate. The CSSIW report, on the other hand, was music to the council's ears, as it talks of progress and improvement.
The decision to run the old CSSIW story at the same time as the (delayed) publication of Delyth's letter looks very odd, especially when set against the recent history of relations between the council and the press.
The whole point of the programme, and Delyth Jenkins' reason for taking part, was not to rake up an old story to cause trouble for the council, but to highlight how little has changed in key aspects of the council's organisation, and the need for a public inquiry.
Contrary to what the council would like people to believe, this issue is not ancient history, and the council itself has only recently completed its investigations and internal procedures relating to the case. Moreover, Mrs Jenkins pointed out that just about all of the people involved in the case are still employed by the council. Some should almost certainly have been the subject of a criminal investigation.
Whether we are talking about public or private sector organisations, it is invariably the case that the culture of any corporate body is determined by the people at the top. The facts are that these individuals failed to act; turned their anger on a brave woman who was trying to stop the abuse; tried to brush the whole matter under the carpet by ensuring the ombudsman's report was not openly discussed; and then tried to blame the press for the council's own ineptitude as it attempted to spin the story.
The case for a public inquiry is a compelling one, as there can be little confidence that the council's secretive and PR obsessed senior management has learned the right lessons from this dreadful episode.
Council elections - Llandovery
Councillor Ivor Jackson's last words as he ended the March meeting of Carmarthenshire County Council were that he had survived his first year as Chair unscathed.
Whether he survives the May council elections unscathed is something we shall soon see, as the contest in Llandovery will be one of the most interesting in the county.
Four candidates are known to be standing. They include Ivor Jackson himself (Independent), Pat Racher (Plaid Cymru), Gill Wright (independent, as opposed to capital 'I' Independent), and Andrew Morgan (Conservative).
One of the biggest local issues is the future of the town's secondary school, Ysgol Pantycelyn. The council's plan is to merge it with Ysgol Tregib in Llandeilo and build a new school at Ffairfach just outside Llandeilo.
The proposals have understandably been bitterly opposed in the town, which faces a future without a state secondary school. Children from Llandovery and the surrounding area face long journey times to school, and without a secondary school the town will find it hard to keep and attract younger people and families to live and work there.
Cllr Jackson's pronouncements on the schools question have been few and often impossible to understand. Here he is talking to the Carmarthen Journal in May 2011 to mark his election to chair:
Although something like the fight to save Ysgol Pantycelyn, or anything else which goes all the way to the Welsh Assembly, it is never going to be about one person, I would like to think I could make a difference with many local issues.
A prize to the first person who can make out what that means. In a separate article in the same edition of the Journal the Executive Board member for Education, Gwynne Wooldridge, thanked Cllr Jackson and neighbouring councillors including Tom Theophilus for supporting the proposals in the face of such strong local opposition.
In March 2012 the Journal spoke to him again. "It's not for me to comment at this stage", he said, before adding that he thought the site chosen for the new merged school at Ffairfach outside Llandeilo was wrong.
Make of this what you will, but facing in all directions at once seems to sum it up.
The young Tory candidate for Llandovery is Andrew Morgan, originally from Llanelli. There can't be many Tories in Llanelli, although one or two sit as "Independent" councillors in County Hall.
Andrew Morgan has campaigned against the school plans, but he is fighting against a strong head-wind, and will not have been helped by the efforts of David Cameron and George Osborne to alienate Welsh voters once and for all.
An interesting question for voters to ask would be whether he will commit to not joining the Independent group if elected, because local people could forget any hope of a change in the schools plan if he did.
Gill Wright lives locally and is very active in promoting the Heart of Wales Railway. She is a member of the Town Council and is also active in Calon Cymru, the venture which seeks to revitalise mid-Wales.
Whether he survives the May council elections unscathed is something we shall soon see, as the contest in Llandovery will be one of the most interesting in the county.
Four candidates are known to be standing. They include Ivor Jackson himself (Independent), Pat Racher (Plaid Cymru), Gill Wright (independent, as opposed to capital 'I' Independent), and Andrew Morgan (Conservative).
One of the biggest local issues is the future of the town's secondary school, Ysgol Pantycelyn. The council's plan is to merge it with Ysgol Tregib in Llandeilo and build a new school at Ffairfach just outside Llandeilo.
The proposals have understandably been bitterly opposed in the town, which faces a future without a state secondary school. Children from Llandovery and the surrounding area face long journey times to school, and without a secondary school the town will find it hard to keep and attract younger people and families to live and work there.
Cllr Jackson's pronouncements on the schools question have been few and often impossible to understand. Here he is talking to the Carmarthen Journal in May 2011 to mark his election to chair:
Although something like the fight to save Ysgol Pantycelyn, or anything else which goes all the way to the Welsh Assembly, it is never going to be about one person, I would like to think I could make a difference with many local issues.
A prize to the first person who can make out what that means. In a separate article in the same edition of the Journal the Executive Board member for Education, Gwynne Wooldridge, thanked Cllr Jackson and neighbouring councillors including Tom Theophilus for supporting the proposals in the face of such strong local opposition.
In March 2012 the Journal spoke to him again. "It's not for me to comment at this stage", he said, before adding that he thought the site chosen for the new merged school at Ffairfach outside Llandeilo was wrong.
Make of this what you will, but facing in all directions at once seems to sum it up.
The young Tory candidate for Llandovery is Andrew Morgan, originally from Llanelli. There can't be many Tories in Llanelli, although one or two sit as "Independent" councillors in County Hall.
Andrew Morgan has campaigned against the school plans, but he is fighting against a strong head-wind, and will not have been helped by the efforts of David Cameron and George Osborne to alienate Welsh voters once and for all.
An interesting question for voters to ask would be whether he will commit to not joining the Independent group if elected, because local people could forget any hope of a change in the schools plan if he did.
Gill Wright lives locally and is very active in promoting the Heart of Wales Railway. She is a member of the Town Council and is also active in Calon Cymru, the venture which seeks to revitalise mid-Wales.
Finally, Pat Racher is standing for Plaid. Of the four candidates she almost certainly has the most varied and interesting background. In a long career she has been an editor with “British
Farmer and Stockbreeder”, a feature writer for “Farmers Weekly” and a tourism
promotion consultant for Dinefwr Borough Council, as well as a lay inspector of
schools for Estyn in Wales and Ofsted in England.
Pat's interests include the environment and energy use as well as safeguarding and developing use of the Welsh language.
People in Llandovery will not be spoiled for choice, and Pat's experience, energy and ideas would certainly mark a dramatic change for the better from the way the town has been served in recent years. As part of a Plaid-run council, she would also be in the strongest position to ensure that a better solution is found to the schools question than the one currently on offer.
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Carmarthenshire County Council and press freedom
In recent months Carmarthenshire County Council has responded to press enquiries about its decision to fund the chief executive's libel actions by issuing what is effectively the same statement over and over again, and the authority says that the action against Jacqui Thompson should not be seen as an attempt by the council to stifle debate and free speech.
The only way to gauge the sincerity of that claim is to look at the council's track record, and when actions are contrasted with words, the public and the press have every reason to be worried.
Council bullying of the Carmarthen Journal and its sister papers goes back to the end of 2009, when the chief executive complained to the paper's proprietors about what he regarded as negative reporting of council news (see Western Mail article here). The complaint was backed up with threats that the council would withdraw advertising from the Journal, and the council's own propaganda sheet, now branded Carmarthenshire News, was beefed up to remind recalcitrant editors that the council meant business.
After a brief return to critical reporting in mid-2011 following Jacqui Thompson's arrest for filming a council meeting, it seems that the Journal has gone back to the straight and narrow, and recently letters critical of the council from various people have gone unpublished. Subjects covered included the chief executive's libel indemnity and a row about the St Catherine's Walk shopping centre development.
The end of 2009 was a particularly busy time for the chief executive, as he grappled with Northcliffe Media, owners of the Carmarthen Journal and other local titles; presided over the launch of Carmarthen TV (intended to be the video counterpart of the council's "newspaper"); and dealt with the fallout from the Delyth Jenkins case. In the dying days of 2009 he even managed to blame the local press for upsetting the parents of the abused woman in the same case (see previous post here).
Those who thought that Carmarthen TV had had a quiet funeral a few years ago would have been shocked to hear from Caebrwyn this week that this propaganda vehicle still exists in the shadowy world of the Local Services Board. There it lurks, probably waiting to be unleashed as part of some new multi-media platform that embraces all of the Council's other broadcast-only communications channels.
The council is not afraid to tackle bigger fish in the press pond, either. In 2008 the Western Mail published an editorial comment criticising the council for amending its constitution to allow it to fund libel actions brought by councillors and officers. The offending editorial can be found here.
It is worth reading this piece, especially in the light of what is happening now in the Jacqui Thompson libel case. The comments made by Martin Shipton are sober and avoid sensationalism.
But that was not how the chief executive saw it. The editorial provoked fury in County Hall, and a complaint was made to the paper's editor.
It seems that what particularly upset the council was this argument:
Yet it is difficult to envisage circumstances where the officers concerned would be facing criticism other than in their capacity as employees of the council. And if the circumstances were entirely private, without connection to their job, why should public funds be provided for such litigation anyway?
The mere suggestion was outrageous, according to County Hall. Yet wind the clock forward four years, and the chief executive is embroiled in a libel case triggered by comments he made on the Madaxeman blog published by a man in the North of England. Quite which part of his job description compelled him to do this and attack Jacqui Thompson's family while he was at it, remains a mystery.
And as we have seen from its recent statements, the council itself does not seem to be able to decide whether the chief executive was allegedly libelled in a personal or a professional capacity.
Martin Shipton, the chief executive told senior councillors and officers at the time, was "not known for being friendly to or giving the benefit of the doubt to Councils".
The editorial was not fair or balanced, the chief executive thundered, and he secured an agreement from the editor of the newspaper that it would publish a letter from the council's then senior legal officer. The editor had also agreed to follow the letter with an acknowledgement stating that "the facts of the previous articles were not as they should have been". This concession was "almost unheard of", he boasted.
Sure enough, a letter from Lyn Thomas (now retired) appeared in the paper a few days later. You can read it here. The editor added a brief statement saying that he accepted the facts as stated by the council, and thanked them for clarifying the matter.
Lyn Thomas's letter makes for very interesting reading, and the editor of the Western Mail may now be wondering whether the council was straight with him.
Mr Thomas assures readers of the newspaper that the council's policy was not to provide indemnities to cover the cost of instituting defamation claims, and that policy had not changed, despite the constitutional amendments.
Being a lawyer, however, there is a strong draught blowing through the letter, with many doors left open. "Exceptional circumstances" may cause the council to change this policy, he adds.
And lo and behold, when the council decided to fund an action for defamation against Jacqui Thompson, it did so because of "exceptional circumstances".
The nice thing about council policies in Carmarthenshire, it seems, is that they can be made up and changed as you go along. No need for any consultation, debate or documentation. The same is true of the filming "policy". Pretty much the same can be said of the "exceptional circumstances" bit. You just say that circumstances are exceptional, but then slap on a public interest exemption so that nobody can know what the justification was or what was so exceptional.
Here's a final thought. Martin Shipton finds himself in good company when he is described by the chief executive as "not known for being friendly to or giving the benefit to Councils". Over the years, pretty much anyone who has criticised the way Carmarthenshire County Council has been run has been branded as "hostile to the council". Others have "issues" or "problems" with the council, councils and/or local government in general.
The impression is created of some turbulent underground anarchist minority which is opposed to the concept of local government.
Well, no, Mr James. The issues and problems that so many people have are to do with the way you have been running our council. And we want it back.
The only way to gauge the sincerity of that claim is to look at the council's track record, and when actions are contrasted with words, the public and the press have every reason to be worried.
Council bullying of the Carmarthen Journal and its sister papers goes back to the end of 2009, when the chief executive complained to the paper's proprietors about what he regarded as negative reporting of council news (see Western Mail article here). The complaint was backed up with threats that the council would withdraw advertising from the Journal, and the council's own propaganda sheet, now branded Carmarthenshire News, was beefed up to remind recalcitrant editors that the council meant business.
After a brief return to critical reporting in mid-2011 following Jacqui Thompson's arrest for filming a council meeting, it seems that the Journal has gone back to the straight and narrow, and recently letters critical of the council from various people have gone unpublished. Subjects covered included the chief executive's libel indemnity and a row about the St Catherine's Walk shopping centre development.
The end of 2009 was a particularly busy time for the chief executive, as he grappled with Northcliffe Media, owners of the Carmarthen Journal and other local titles; presided over the launch of Carmarthen TV (intended to be the video counterpart of the council's "newspaper"); and dealt with the fallout from the Delyth Jenkins case. In the dying days of 2009 he even managed to blame the local press for upsetting the parents of the abused woman in the same case (see previous post here).
Those who thought that Carmarthen TV had had a quiet funeral a few years ago would have been shocked to hear from Caebrwyn this week that this propaganda vehicle still exists in the shadowy world of the Local Services Board. There it lurks, probably waiting to be unleashed as part of some new multi-media platform that embraces all of the Council's other broadcast-only communications channels.
The council is not afraid to tackle bigger fish in the press pond, either. In 2008 the Western Mail published an editorial comment criticising the council for amending its constitution to allow it to fund libel actions brought by councillors and officers. The offending editorial can be found here.
It is worth reading this piece, especially in the light of what is happening now in the Jacqui Thompson libel case. The comments made by Martin Shipton are sober and avoid sensationalism.
But that was not how the chief executive saw it. The editorial provoked fury in County Hall, and a complaint was made to the paper's editor.
It seems that what particularly upset the council was this argument:
Yet it is difficult to envisage circumstances where the officers concerned would be facing criticism other than in their capacity as employees of the council. And if the circumstances were entirely private, without connection to their job, why should public funds be provided for such litigation anyway?
The mere suggestion was outrageous, according to County Hall. Yet wind the clock forward four years, and the chief executive is embroiled in a libel case triggered by comments he made on the Madaxeman blog published by a man in the North of England. Quite which part of his job description compelled him to do this and attack Jacqui Thompson's family while he was at it, remains a mystery.
And as we have seen from its recent statements, the council itself does not seem to be able to decide whether the chief executive was allegedly libelled in a personal or a professional capacity.
Martin Shipton, the chief executive told senior councillors and officers at the time, was "not known for being friendly to or giving the benefit of the doubt to Councils".
The editorial was not fair or balanced, the chief executive thundered, and he secured an agreement from the editor of the newspaper that it would publish a letter from the council's then senior legal officer. The editor had also agreed to follow the letter with an acknowledgement stating that "the facts of the previous articles were not as they should have been". This concession was "almost unheard of", he boasted.
Sure enough, a letter from Lyn Thomas (now retired) appeared in the paper a few days later. You can read it here. The editor added a brief statement saying that he accepted the facts as stated by the council, and thanked them for clarifying the matter.
Lyn Thomas's letter makes for very interesting reading, and the editor of the Western Mail may now be wondering whether the council was straight with him.
Mr Thomas assures readers of the newspaper that the council's policy was not to provide indemnities to cover the cost of instituting defamation claims, and that policy had not changed, despite the constitutional amendments.
Being a lawyer, however, there is a strong draught blowing through the letter, with many doors left open. "Exceptional circumstances" may cause the council to change this policy, he adds.
And lo and behold, when the council decided to fund an action for defamation against Jacqui Thompson, it did so because of "exceptional circumstances".
The nice thing about council policies in Carmarthenshire, it seems, is that they can be made up and changed as you go along. No need for any consultation, debate or documentation. The same is true of the filming "policy". Pretty much the same can be said of the "exceptional circumstances" bit. You just say that circumstances are exceptional, but then slap on a public interest exemption so that nobody can know what the justification was or what was so exceptional.
Here's a final thought. Martin Shipton finds himself in good company when he is described by the chief executive as "not known for being friendly to or giving the benefit to Councils". Over the years, pretty much anyone who has criticised the way Carmarthenshire County Council has been run has been branded as "hostile to the council". Others have "issues" or "problems" with the council, councils and/or local government in general.
The impression is created of some turbulent underground anarchist minority which is opposed to the concept of local government.
Well, no, Mr James. The issues and problems that so many people have are to do with the way you have been running our council. And we want it back.
ShahidWatch goes off air
It looks like Shahid Hussain's career in politics will mercifully be very short. He's now in trouble with his party's bosses, and his Twitter account has fallen silent.
The South Wales Evening Post reports on the end of Shahid's plans for world domination here.
Update: A quick check last night showed that the Twitter account has now been deleted.
The South Wales Evening Post reports on the end of Shahid's plans for world domination here.
Update: A quick check last night showed that the Twitter account has now been deleted.
Sunday, 1 April 2012
ShahidWatch - Update
Forget Bill Oddy, or whoever presents the BBC's springtime nature orgy these days, ShahidWatch is much more entertaining.
Here is our wannabe Labour politician responding on Twitter to a man who feels aggrieved over a planning matter.
@johnsouthwales Also surely u would want a chnage on administration to see if i can help you! im willing to talk to anyone!
@johnsouthwales As u may know im not on council-so anything thats gona before, i cant be held responsible for.
Here is our wannabe Labour politician responding on Twitter to a man who feels aggrieved over a planning matter.
Shahid Hussain
If we ignore the dodgy spelling, what Labour's candidate for Glanaman ward is telling "Johnsouthwales" is, vote for me if you want a change of council administration.
I wonder if he has passed this by his boss and near neighbour, Kevin Madge?
Labour, as we have to assume Shahid knows, has been in coalition with Meryl Gravell's Independents for the last 8 years and is showing no sign of ending its love affair any time soon.
Here's a snap of the happy couple taken about three weeks ago:
 |
| Looking forward to another 5 years together |
Kevin Madge is one of Meryl's biggest fans, and together with his Labour colleagues he voted against Plaid's motion of no-confidence in her in February this year. He has also repeatedly described Meryl and the chief executive as "the dream team".
So either Shahid is completely ignorant of county council politics, or he was misleading Johnsouthwales.
You decide.
Update
Shahid's antics on Twitter have been reported on Queerty, an American gay news website, as you can see here. Who would have thought it? And who would have thought that the Americans, unlike Welsh Labour, would be able to spell Glanaman correctly?
Despite this, there is no word yet as to what action if any the Labour Party intends to take.
Update
Shahid's antics on Twitter have been reported on Queerty, an American gay news website, as you can see here. Who would have thought it? And who would have thought that the Americans, unlike Welsh Labour, would be able to spell Glanaman correctly?
Despite this, there is no word yet as to what action if any the Labour Party intends to take.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)