Money, Money, Money

So what's been happening in the media world and blogosphere this week relating to Carmarthenshire County Council? One would be forgiven in thinking that 'empty barrels' truly do make the most noise when one sees the analysis of the local papers and blogs about the ratification of the county council budget. All you can see is the word 'reserves' as if this was a magic panacea for everything. It really does not take a brain surgeon to work out it was a political stunt but all mentions of this have been 'cleverly' edited out by all. Not even a mention of the ConDem cuts which truly are the pantomime villain of this budget settlement.

Talking of Pantomimes, I am flabbergasted that nobody seems to have picked up the fact that Plaid Cymru reduced the budget meetings to their own version of  Alice in Wonderland, playing the part of the rabbit in their own unique way.

Chatting to Secret Squirrel this week reveals how much of a farce their last minute ploy was. Not only was playing party politics at the most cynical level ever but they seemed to think that by waving the 'reserve magic wand' all the world's ills would be cured.

A nice simple solution?

Well perhaps not....

If they use £6,000,000 from the “reserves” this year (Plaids’s Financial Gurus’s figures) to pay for this years services, they have to spend another £6,000,000 from the reserves next year to pay for next years services (that’s £12,000,000 in two years) or increase the Council Tax by 10% in year two.

Seems OK?

Seems to be good to be true?

Probably is then......

There is a big 'BUT' however because in year 2 the County Council has further cuts in its budget of £15,000,000.

So in reality in year 2 using the Plaid Budget, the Council would need to take an extra £6,000,000 from the reserves (£12,000,000) to deliver the services, making a reduction in reserves of £18,000,000 in 2 years.

Year 3 is the same so by using the Plaid Budget they would have to find £18,000,000 in “reserves” – and would have spent nearly all our available reserves £36,000,000 in 3 years.

A vote for Plaid would be a vote for bankruptcy.......within in one term of office.

Fiscal Gurus they ain’t.

Added to this add them to the list of 'doing nothing means we cannot be blamed' and they are the absolute masters of this as we saw from the National Assembly Plaid Group earlier this year.

Literally.......

On the crucial vote to set the Council Tax so that services could be protected and the lower paid employees in the Council had their pay increased as promised by the Labour and Independent Coalition to bring them closer to the Living Wage – Plaid did nothing!

They didn’t support services continuation, or keeping jobs, or helping to improve the lot of the less well off, or protect the vulnerable and the elderly. Neither did they have the courage of their convictions to vote against the budget.

No – they abstained.

In other words they may have as well not been there at all!

The sad thing is that they choose not to bother, not because they may not have something positive to input but, because, they don’t want to share them even though a consensus between all political parties has to be in the interests of the people they represent. With responsibilty comes accountability and Plaid Cymru seem not to want any of that so they stay silent, shamefacedly 'abstaining' from the most important vote of the year.

Plaid Cymru – not so much the Party of Wales as the Party of Wails!

Coming to an elections hustings near you - 'Fight the Labour Cuts - we did not vote for them' So there we have it - nothing from the party of nothing where nobody does anything. 

Silk Purse and Sow's Ear?

On St. David’s Day it may well be appropriate to pay tribute to Elfyn Lywd,  the last of the Plaid Cymru MPs with any credibility at all who leaves Parliament this year. He has been an MP since 1992 and during this time has made a valuable contribution to Parliament. Whether one agrees with all his views or not, his grasp of detail and intellect has to be admired. Most recently he presented a ten- minute rule Bill on the issue of coercive control within Domestic Abuse. He petitioned successfully for this to become a criminal offence and this will give a great deal of protection and the long overdue, force of law, to those who have suffer emotional as well as physical abuse. Diolch yn fawr!

It was therefore, with mixed feelings of admiration and ambivalence, that I heard the news that he was to visit Llanelli to assist the Plaid Candidate in his pursuit of power  a seat in Westminster. They had a ‘grand’ dinner in his honour and it was interesting to see how hierarchical and formal the table plan was, with a top table that even had a different colour of table cloth so there was absolutely no doubt who sat 'below the salt.

 I am not sure if this picture does Elfyn justice either.  

A recent tweet suggested it was the Plaid Cymru Bridge team? Answers on a postcard please.

Day two of Elfyn's visit saw him attend at the Plaid Cymru stall in the Llanelli town centre. Elfyn looked every inch of a Barrister which was in stark contrast to the Plaid candidate who seemed to have dressed for a day out in Panama or auditioning for a remake of the Dirk Birgarde role in the 1971 film 'Death in Venice'.

Then, obviously, wanting to make the most of Mr. Lywd most of the Plaid Cymru contingency left to what was described as 'an enjoyable day in Tumble'. This again, was in stark contrast to the few left behind who did not seem to have 'an enjoyable day' as they had underestimated how cold it was and seemed in need of a 'duvet day'. Indeed, one seemed so fed up at not being able to be get his voice heard above the loud cries of the Socialist Workers 'Fight the Cuts', that he waved his leaflets in the air and with a huge air of frustration squeaked 'Plaid is against the cuts too you know'.

Stark contrasts all around really and it is rumoured that when the Plaid Candidate loses his opportunity to become the next Martin Luther King he can always take a 'tour of London' in the Play Bus at the entry of the indoor Market. A bargain at the cost of £1 it could be said - I am sure the people of Llanelli will have a whip around for it.  

Plaid Cymru - another Political Stunt. What's New?

28. Feb, 2015

What could you hear from Plaid Cymru in the months of public consultation and seminars for the budget of Carmarthenshire County Council - a pin drop!  Obviously cwtched up cosily by the fire in Ty Bres having first, created a new car park in front of it obviously making sure that all disabled and Mum's with prams would vote for somebody else.
 
The anticipation within the Plaid Group mounted and mounted - some being heard to cry this, at last, will be our day of glory!  It had to be, to brighten up Councillor Emlyn Dole's day who had been branded 'an eternal optimist' on his assumption that Plaid would win the Hengoed County seat.


On the day itself the Plaid Cymru Group came to life like Durucell battery bunnies - you could not stop them or shut them up. Their smiles were as wide as the River Towy - you would swear Wales had already won the World Cup! (Rugby or Football - take your choice).  Cries of 'this is it boys, our time has come!' came at two minutes before the start of the meeting when a motion was introduced to the Council requesting that the whole period of consultation where 1,800 surveys had been received and hundreds of Carmarthenshire residents had attended many seminars be totally ignored. 


Unfortunately, as usual, they had not done their homework and were swiftly given advice by the officers of the Council that impact of their motion would mean that the budget could not be balanced and it would mean a 10% increase in council tax increase in year 2.


You could say, giving them the benefit of the doubt, that they forgot that year 2 and 3 should be included to enable the Council to balance a budget or you could say that having refused to enter meaningfully into budget negotiations until 2 minutes before the meeting, it was a great excuse to say 'Don't blame the cuts on us', a tactic already used by the Plaid group in the Assembly earlier this year. You take your choice as to what you believe but one thing is for certain it was NOT a good day for democracy although it was noticed that the Independent Group gave them a merit badge for trying.