When he's not zooming around Carmarthenshire in the new Mercedes, chauffeur-driven or otherwise, provided courtesy of the county's tax payers last year, Kevin Madge likes to pose as a man of the people. Sometimes he comes over all misty eyed when Cardiff Bay awards a slice of funding to Carmarthenshire and says things like, "Carwyn has not forgotten his roots", implying that the county is being singled out for special favours, when of course it isn't.
For years now he has sat at the top table of an administration which has lavished money on pet prestige projects and sacred cows, such as the council's bloated PR machine, while pushing through cuts to bread and butter public services.
He fought the last council elections in 2012 not on a platform about what he would do for Carmarthenshire, but on the basis that a vote for Labour would send a message to Cameron and Clegg, although it is unlikely that either of them could identify Carmarthenshire on a map.
Unison has now had enough, and has written an open letter to Cllr Madge pointing out that this particular Labour leader doesn't appear to have any time to talk to the unions on which the Labour Party is so reliant for funding, and querying the council's spending priorities.
With more than four years to go before the next council elections, Kev's circle of friends now seems to be confined to the likes of Meryl and Pam Palmer. And with friends like those, he can scarcely afford to alienate Unison.
11 comments:
The Labour Party and Madge and his sort long ago stopped being the party of the people, and have a vested interest in keeping their 'supporters' in poverty and servility.
If Mr Evans is seeking a party with a social conscience, then he would do well to urge his followers to 'do the unthinkable' and support Plaid, and at last move Wales forward.
I sort of see where you atre coming from but I think the Labour party needs to think about itself before transferring alliances to a nationalist party.
Clearly the party in carms has lost its way but this is not new - how a proper labour party can sit alongside independents baffles me.
Talking about posh cars etc is flim flam - what is much more serious is how a labour council can sanction spending millions of our money on a church project and then many thousands on funding a libel case against a middle aged woman who was arrested for filming a council meeting.
It is withing the grasp of Labour members to change the situation - especially the Llanelli group. Ditch the independents and form a coalition with plaid.
On another subject - will there be resignations from the cabinet if the libel case goes badly for the council ?
I think there should be resignations regardless of whether it goes badly wrong or not!
Anon. 15.51
Unfortunately the Llanelli group are a total shower, a bunch of grasping incompetents, who wouldn't recognise a situation to change if they saw one.
Is that the same Mark Evans who is a member of the SWP, who happily turn a blind eye to allegations of rape?
Unison in Carmarthen long ago voted to di affiliate with the Labour Party. This letter should not be read in any other context other than a local branch which has not been Labour friendly for a log time.
are unison seriously arguing the old Liverpool Council in the 80's line that Carms shouldn't implement cuts to balance the budget! Liverpool went bankrupt and Councillors lost their houses due to not balancing the books! You can disagree with cuts but you can't bankrupt the county!
I understand that several Labour politicians have been to visit Mark at Barn Road but he has been unwilling to work with them.
Everybody understands the needs for cuts - you dont have to be einstein to recognise that the last Labour Government left the country up shit creek with no paddle.
However the council must at least try to give us the impression at least that we are all in this together.
For a Labour led council to spend even a pound on chaffeur driven cars at a time when they are closing day centres and youth clubs is nothing short of scandalous. Local Labour politicians should be embarrased about thois one fact alone.
When you add the fact that public money is being spent on a church, in an attempt to outsource social functions is terrible. They use the pretext that the church will provide a food and furniture bank as justification for this.
Can anybody reading this honestly say that what Carmarthen needs right now is a church owned and operated bowling alley ?
As regards the county squandering god knows how much on a libel action, when all that was needed was for the CE to (a) not publish a silly letter on a blog site (this has got to be the most unproffesionl thing anybody could think of doing) or (b) when challenged he should have apologised.
It is obvious, however the cae goes that it wil cost us money.
For local politicos to stand by and be silent when a middle aged woman was arrested by two police officers, placed in handcuffs for god sake and then put in a cell in Llanelli for two hours before being asked to sign an undertaking before release is absolutely scandalous.
It is very fortunate that we have blog sites like this otherwise these scandals wil never be uncovered.
Go on, just give me a little reminder so I can get really incensed all over again...How much was put in for 'expenses' at the local gold club?
Anon @23.02 Go on, spill the beans!
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