Press Release.

The announcement a few days ago that 30 members of the Isle of Anglesey County Council
had come together to create an alliance to move the Council forward should have been
welcome news for the staff of the County Council and the residents of Anglesey. The group
may have had their plans approved by Mr Ieuan Wyn Jones AM and Mr Albert Owen MP and
in legal terms is a valid document. It did however fall short of satisfying certain key players
in this unfortunate drama. It did not meet in full with the wishes of the Minister for Local
Government, the Recovery Board set up by the Minister to oversee the intervention
measures in Anglesey and with Mr David Bowles the Interim Managing Director. Certain
members of the Original Independents have frustrated recovery in the past, members such
as
.

To set the whole thing in context, we probably need to go back to 1996 and the formation
of the present Authority. It became apparent very early on in the life of the Council that
governance was poor culminating in a very critical District Auditor’s report. It is ironic that
many of the difficulties highlighted in the 2009 Corporate Governance report involved the
same issues. A common theme emerging was that many of the Councillors were active
members of the Authority through both periods. For so long the “numbers” game has taken
precedent over principled leadership, patronage has been the order of the day in order to
secure working majorities, difficult decisions have been fudged in case a working majority is
lost. Taken together it is little wonder that the Authority is in intervention and internal
turmoil.

I stood for election as a Councillor in 2008 for the first time because I was hugely
embarrassed that the Island which had been my home for 20 years was being portrayed
nationally as something akin to a “banana republic” I also recognised that it would require
very many new faces in the Authority if change was to happen. I wanted to change the
political culture of the authority, this culture that had existed since 1996 (and even before
that in the Borough Council). Upon entering the Council, it soon became apparent to me
that good governance and integrity were in very short supply amongst the longer serving
councillors, “the winner takes all culture” was endemic, a change of administration merely
rearranged the personnel with no recognition being paid to the skills of individual
councillors to undertake posts carrying Special Responsibility Allowances.

In 2008 , a total of 11 new councillors were elected to the Authority together with 3 others
returning for a second period having been absent from the Council for some years. For
many of them it was a harsh welcome to the realities of politics Anglesey style where
personalities took precedent over policies. I was fortunate that I was appointed a portfolio
holder upon entering the Council so was even closer to witness the vested interests being
played out. Despite all the difficulties that have emerged over the last two years I consider
that I have been privileged to have been elected leader of the Authority, I have tried to
follow an “inclusive” path as leader but have been frustrated along the way by many
members.

Throughout my time as a member of the Authority, I and other like minded councillors have
tried to tackle the vested interests that existed amongst some members. Trying to change a
culture where members’ personal interests trump political principles has been very
demanding and often attracted unsavoury comments in the press and electronic media. The
reaction of many members to the efforts that have been made tells a very sorry tale, many
members are resistant to change, there is a reluctance to change and recalcitrance amongst
a few. They continue to put the pursuit of self interest and settling old scores above that of
governance.

We have members whose sole interest is seeking revenge, by whatever means possible, on
members of staff for instigating complaints to the Ombudsman. We have members whose
participation in Council activities depends on whether they receive an SRA or not, members
who are more concerned about how much money they can make out of their positions as
Councillors on bodies that pay an attendance allowance or a fixed remuneration sum than in
representing their electorate.

This new coalition announced last Monday is a clear manifestation and continuation of this
agenda. Let’s be perfectly honest, many of those putting themselves forward as saviours of
the authority have played prominent roles in local politics over the last 15 years. Many of
the longstanding issues that we have experienced as an authority emerged when they
controlled the authority. These members have had plenty of opportunities in the past to do
something to improve governance. They did nothing.

I have looked at documents prepared by the Wales Audit Office from 2003 to the present
time. It was little wonder that intervention was imposed in 2009, every year reported a
failure politically to deal with issues, who were the leaders and cabinet members in that
period? It will be no surprise that they included ,
, , to name but a
few. These are the very same people who are now offering up a solution to “save” the
Council. They spurned the opportunities of the past yet now when their interests are under
threat they experience a damascene conversion. Suddenly things need to change. Let’s be
clear however, the changes they seek is on their terms, it cannot be in the interests of the
people of Anglesey and the hardworking staff of this Authority, otherwise it would have
happened long before 2008.

In June 2010 I was party in forming the Alliance and the terms of engagement as a means of
trying to stabilise the Council. The Executive was strengthened by members from outside
the then ruling group. There was a great deal of hostility within the Independents regarding
certain aspects of the Terms of Engagement, some of the points in contention were directly
attributable to inappropriate member behaviour, it would be fair therefore to assume that
they concurred with accepting inappropriate behaviour by members towards the staff of the
Authority. Amongst the leaders who signed the June 2010 document were Councillor John
Chorlton and Councillor Hefin Thomas, by so doing they signified their and their groups’
acceptance of the Terms of Engagement, one of which was to ensure a stable political
environment for the Authority up until June 2012.

On 6th January 2011, I was told by that a majority of

members in the Authority including and along with
required my immediate resignation as Leader and that I would be
replaced by . I declined his suggestion. On Friday 7th January 2011, I
had taken a personal decision to stand down as leader of the Authority at the completion of
my two year appointment at the AGM in May 2011 and that I would not be seeking re-­‐
election. Later both and sought to further persuade
me to resign under threat of a vote of no confidence in me as Leader of the Authority.

These two Councillors along with were party to the

drafting of the Terms of Engagement except that he having initially signed the document
disassociated himself with it a couple of days later. How can members of the public have
confidence in the integrity of councillors if they behave in such a fashion and quite willingly
and knowingly break agreements because they don’t meet with their aspirations at a given
moment in time.

It is little wonder therefore that the Minister, the Recovery Board or even Mr David Bowles
can have any kind of faith in what they propose let alone the people of Anglesey and more
importantly our staff who, day in, day out provide the services for the citizens of Anglesey.
This Authority handles a budget of £150 million annually, in the past it has failed to grasp
vital issues because the “winner takes all” philosophy prevented stable governance from
addressing key decisions such as school rationalisation, care homes investment and
rationalisation and many other issues. Officers could not be certain that their professional
views on modernising services would be acceptable to the politicians of the day. Whilst
other Authorities forged ahead and modernised their services, we unfortunately are playing
catch up and doing so against a backdrop of member vested interest.

The average age of Councillors in this Authority is 62.5, in the rest of Wales it is 57, we only
have two women members in the Authority which is 5% of the elected members, the Welsh
average is 22%. We need to rejuvenate the democratic process by attracting younger
candidates to stand as councillors, people who will be committed to governance
improvement and not pursuing vested interests. Above all we must be honest with the
public as to who we are, what our background is and why we are seeking election or re-­‐
election.
I am reminded of a quote made by Nick Robinson of the BBC in April 2009

“For years politicians have argued about how to spend the proceeds of growth. For
years to come they will have to argue about what should be cut”

In this current climate I would change one word only and that is in the future we have to
agree about what should be cut. To do that all members have to abandon self interest and
put the needs of the community ahead of any other interests and carry out their duties with
integrity and in a professional manner.