The Anglesey Angle

Probably the best blogger on Welsh local government

Anyone who has followed any of the shenanigans in Wales’s most dysfunctional Council will surely have breathed a huge sigh of relief when a new alliance was formed to run the Council last month. The official statement released to coincide with this change in administration is clear about intention – and does not shy away from recognising the problems of the past. The opening line of the press release reads:

“A new alliance of four political groups committed to putting past rivalries and petty bickering aside is now in charge at the Isle of Anglesey County Council.”

At the heart of the new administration is this mission statement:

The new alliance will seek to marginalise unacceptable conduct through two key principles, namely:

working in cooperation with those who have demonstrated a commitment to moving forward to address the challenges facing Anglesey

leaving behind those who remain motivated by past grievances and personal animosity.

Last week local government Minister Carl Sargeant issued a new letter to all members of the Council in which he commended progress but also said:

“But the underlying issues have never gone away. Council business too often focusses on internal disputes and rivalries rather than on delivering for the citizens of the Island. Too many members still prefer jockeying for their own personal advantage rather than serving those who elected them… Recent development have shown how quickly change can occur. That works both ways: arrangements can fall apart as fast as they can be put together. Accordingly I have asked my officials in the Recovery Board to prepare contingency plans which we can implement urgently if recovery falters and/or the alliance fails. Those plans would have drastic and possible permanent consequences for the council and its current membership. It is in everyone’s interests to ensure that they are never needed.”

Quite clearly a keen eye is still being kept on the authority. I tend to get most of my intelligence on Ynys Mon from the Druid’s website (and he has used my references to him as testimonials on his blog).

If you want to see why Carl Sargeant is right to keep an eye on Anglesey, read Cllr Barrie Durkin’s reply to the Minister. And then work your way through the brutality of the comments that followed this post.

It’s almost as extreme a reaction as if the English Democrats had decided to use the site to claim Anglesey as their own…