Only time will tell if the two independent and three Plaid councillors who supported the labour group in their hour of need have done the right thing. On the face of it it looks like a betrayal. However what does the average non-labour voter want in Torfaen? Change, yes, but what we need is a long term radical change in the way the council is run, making it more accountable to the people.
To do that we need to ensure that in future no group or party has a position so secure that they can ignore public opinion. If the Famous Five have this at the back of their minds, and they are determined to work for change with the rest of the non-labour group (if that is now possible) and with the more open-minded of the labour group, then maybe, just maybe, they will eventually redeem themselves.
Time will tell.
6 comments:
My prediction for every contentious vote taken by the new council
For 23
Against 20
Save money, don't bother with the meetings!
Save more money, don't bother with elections. Just pay Bob the Boot his 40K per year and let him carry on.
What genius the labour leader has shown! For a mere £90,000 per year he has secured his own position, for a while at least, AND he has ensured that Plaid will never again be a threat to labour in Torfaen. For short term political and financial gain, the Plaid members have forsaken us; they have jumped into bed with their sworn enemy on the first night. This will be their first and last time in office so they will need to make the most of it. It is a pity, they seemed to be such talented people.
Frazer said...
Bob Wellington has got his "bargain" for less than you say. The additional allowance for the chairs is either £5402 or £8105. The total is therefore £35,126.
It would be an impossible coincidence, if all five deserved these positions (on merit) and Bob was able to determine this so quickly. Bob has been clever because he has soiled the reputations of these five, but it is the offering of these positions that is particularly wrong.
We had a "newletter" off Fiona Cross recently, thanking us for our support. It forgets to mention her alliance with labour or her extra £8000 position.
It also does not mention her landline number (so we will have to pay premium rates to speak to her)or her address (so we cannot return the form she included on the page).
Still she promises to be "a listening councillor" but at 50p per minute we cannot afford to ring her.
Anyway her first surgery is at Coed Eva and Hollybush Community Centre 10-12 am on Saturday 14th of June. See you there!
If they felt the need to back the labour group that is one thing, time will tell as you say, but they should never have taken the money!
If they have any integrity they should now resign from their posts, these chairmanships have little real power, they are mainly a perk for labour councillors who tow the line.
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