Connect with us
Advertisement
Advertisement

Politics

Online abuse motion goes before Council

Published

on

“I’M UNDOUBTEDLY the most abused councillor in Britain.”

That’s the claim made by Pembroke Dock Central County Councillor Paul Dowson in an interview with The Herald about a notice of motion due for debate by the Full Council next Thursday (Oct 14).

In a revealing interview, Cllr Dowson said he regretted becoming embroiled in a series of social media spats and acknowledged mistakes in how he dealt with them.

Paul Dowson was not, however, wholly contrite.

He told us that, while he thought social media’ pile-ons’ had gone too far, he felt justified in standing up for what he thought was right.

Since his unexpected election in 2017, Cllr Dowson has courted publicity. He was vocal about issues affecting his ward and his hometown of Pembroke Dock. He rubbed up plenty of people the wrong way, especially council officers and his fellow members, with his use of social media to communicate about the issues he felt – and still feels – affect Pembroke Dock.

He is notably disparaging about councillors he thinks do little apart from striking poses about issues remote from everyday life as it’s lived in Pembroke Dock.

I pointed out that a friend of mine had described him as ’a typical Dock boy’ of his age and background.

He enthusiastically agreed.

SOCIAL AND ANTISOCIAL MEDIA

He told The Herald that the turning point in his relationship with social media and controversy came following his outspoken condemnation of a Council statement that supported the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

“I’m not a racist,” he told The Herald.

“People who know me know I’m not a racist. I stand against racism, and I have no problem with saying ‘Black Lives Matter.’ Of course, they do.

“I said what I said about lighting up County Hall because I opposed the violent protests [following the murder of George Floyd in the USA]. The political agenda behind how those protests developed is something I couldn’t agree with – it was jumped on by people with a violent agenda I just couldn’t support. The cause is fine, but violent protests are not.

“So, I said what I said. ‘All lives matter.’ I didn’t know it was a term used offensively in America. Why would I? I’m not from America.

“And so the pile on started, with people being invited to complain about me being a racist to the Ombudsman by another County Councillor [Joshua Beynon].”

And what about his involvement at Penally, we asked.

Things got confrontational there.

“When the protests got violent, I knew the protestors against the unjust use of the camp without public consultation had lost. The night it kicked off, I made a point of speaking to the Police afterwards and thanking them for doing their job.”

He told us: “I sent Josh a message around Christmas last year saying everything had gone too far and we should both back off. I didn’t get an answer.”

THE OMBUDSMAN

We asked about the complaints made to the Ombudsman about his words regarding Black Lives Matter.

“Yes, people did complain. Some of those complaints lied about what I’d said, so they were dismissed. Some came from fake accounts, so they were dismissed. There’s one last one to go to the Council’s Standards Committee. I will insist that is heard in public, so people can hear everything and make their own judgements.”

We asked him whether he’d ever used an account under a phoney name to argue with others on social media, as he mentioned fake accounts.

“Yes, I have. I’d rather not have done it, but I think it’s justified when people are abusing you, bullying you, and stopping you from responding and carrying on targeting you, your business, and your family. And I’m always pretty obvious about it.

“In the heat of the moment, I’ve said things online that I’ve regretted. I don’t pretend to be a saint, but I don’t like being told what to think and do. When people push me, I push back.”

We asked Paul Dowson about comments made by those who apparently support some of his social media posts and respond aggressively to those who disagree with them.

His response was immediate: “Some people who’ve commented on social media have gone way too far in what they’ve said on some of my posts. When it’s been drawn to my attention by those who’ve been targeted, I delete the comments. I can’t do that 24/7 and I can’t stop people saying what they feel.”

A SIMPLE PROPOSAL

Although some will attack it because of its source, Cllr Dowson’s Notice of Motion should be uncontroversial.

Strip away the exposition from the text, and it’s a straightforward proposition.

Potentially good councillors are not coming forward for election thanks to social media trolling.

The Council needs to be more proactive with how it supports members.

The Council should be more modern in its approach to tackling the abuse of elected members.

 The Council – and councils – should do more to halt the tide of abuse directed at elected members and candidates.

To illustrate his point, Paul Dowson told us former Monitoring Officer Claire Jones had advised him not to use social media.

He scoffed at the advice.

“That’s so out of date, it’s unreal. How does she think people communicate with each other, these days? You don’t go knocking door-to-door or wait for them to come to you, you make yourself available to people who get in touch on social media!”

On the wider issue of whether social media companies do enough to prevent abuse, harassment, and trolling, Cllr Dowson was clear.

“No. It’s ridiculous that you can open an account without any identification or verification of who you are or that you are who you claim to be.

“I’ve had fake accounts pretend to be me, and I’ve had fake accounts make bogus complaints against me. If there was a system of verifying identity that all social media companies use, that’d be a start.

“Look, they can trace an IP address and locate you, but it takes too much time. If you have verification, that’s avoided, and things can be dealt with quickly and finally by social media companies.”

If it appears bitterly ironic to his detractors that Cllr Dowson has brought forward a motion to tackle online abuse, suppose it passes when councillors vote on it.

In that case, it will go before a committee chaired by Cllr Joshua Beynon.

When we pointed that out, Paul Dowson grinned.

Before we left, we asked Councillor Dowson whether he would seek re-election.

“Damn right, I am. In Pembroke Dock: Bush.”

News

Welsh Water has increased sewage discharges into waterways ‘by 40%’

Published

on

NEW figures released by the Environment Agency have shown that Dwr Cymru discharged sewage into waterways for a staggering 23,354 hours last year, a 40% increase on 2022. 

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are now calling for tougher action against sewage dumping in Welsh waterways.

The party has also called for a halt on bonuses for water company bosses whose firms have dumped sewage into waterways.

Conservative MPs have consistently voted against measures which would have helped to tackle the crisis.

The Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said: “It is a complete scandal that filthy sewage is being pumped into our nation’s rivers and waterways without consequence.

“It’s beggars’ belief that both the UK Conservative Government and the Welsh Labour government are allowing water firms to get away with this environmental vandalism.

“We as a party are calling for tougher action to stop sewage being dumped in local waterways. We have also called for a halt on bonuses for water company fat cats whose firms have pumped filth into our waterways.”

Continue Reading

News

New bus services announced by Pembrokeshire County Council

Published

on

A NUMBER of changes to local bus services will be introduced in the coming weeks as a result of a shake up to bus funding. 

From April 2024, the funding which has been provided directly to bus operators by the Welsh Government to keep services going in the wake of the Covid pandemic will cease. 

Additional funding will instead be provided to Local Authorities to support their local bus network.

In total, Pembrokeshire County Council and the Welsh Government will provide over £3million in support for bus services in Pembrokeshire during the coming year.

As part of this process, all Pembrokeshire’s local bus services have been re-tendered. 

A public consultation, receiving over 300 responses, helped to inform decisions about which services should be prioritised. 

Councillor Rhys Sinnett, Pembrokeshire County Council Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services said: “I am delighted to be able to report that we are able to maintain the whole of Pembrokeshire’s current local bus network in the coming year.

“We have also secured key improvements such as reinstating an hourly service on the 349 route between Haverfordwest and Tenby via Pembroke Dock, and the popular Strumble Shuttle and Puffin Shuttle coastal bus services during the summer.”

The changes will also see two key services, the 302 Haverfordwest to Milford Haven and 349 Haverfordwest to Tenby via Pembroke Dock, brought under Council oversight for the first time. 

This will give the Council greater oversight of service operations and fares.  Pembrokeshire residents will also benefit from a new fare structure on all First Cymru services, due to be introduced from 1 April 2024. 

This will use Tap On Tap Off to allow passengers to pay the cheapest fare depending on the number of journeys they make or distance travelled, and will cap the maximum adult fare at £3 single and £5.40 return. 

More information about these fares can be found on the First Cymru website

A number of additional service changes and improvements are being considered for introduction during the course of the coming year in response to feedback received from the public consultation.  

The following bus service changes have been confirmed:

From 23 March 2024:

  • The Celtic Coaster (403) on the St Davids peninsular will restart for the 2024 season on Saturday 23 March and will run until Sunday 29 September. This is an hourly service, increasing to half-hourly during the whitsun half term and school summer holidays. There will be no service departing Caerfai Road at 13.00 and 13.30.
  • The 351 (Tenby to Pendine via Amroth) will return to its summer timetable.

From 1 April 2024

  • An hourly service will return on the 349 (Haverfordwest to Tenby via Pembroke Dock) service (April to September only).
  • The 356 (Milford Haven to Monkton) service will no longer call at Waterston and Hazelbeach due to operational issues caused by the narrow lanes in this area. The Fflecsi service will still be available.
  • A Saturday service, between 07:30 and 18:30, will be reintroduced in the Fflecsi Mid Pembrokeshire zone (formerly known as Bwcabus). This zone covers the area between Letterston, Crymych, Clunderwen and Wiston.  Passengers can also travel from this zone to Fishguard and Haverfordwest. 
  • The 302 (Haverfordwest to Milford Haven) and 349 (Haverfordwest to Tenby via Pembroke Dock) services operated by First Cymru will come under Pembrokeshire County Council control, giving the Council greater oversight of service operations and fares.
  • The 322 (Haverfordwest to Carmarthen) and 381 (Haverfordwest to Tenby via Narberth) services will be run by First Cymru. The 322 timetable will remain the same. The 381 timetable will remain the same from Haverfordwest to Tenby but journeys from Tenby to Haverfordwest will depart slightly earlier (37 past the hour instead of 45).
  • The X22 and X61 services which provided journeys at the start and end of the day between Pembroke Dock and Kilgetty, and Pembroke Dock and Haverfordwest will be withdrawn.
  • The 410 (Fishguard Town) and T11 (Haverfordwest to Fishguard via St Davids) services will be operated on a commercial (T11 part commercial) basis by Richards Bros. An improved connection with the ferry at Fishguard Harbour will be provided at 12.30.

From 19 May 2024

  • The Tenby Coaster service between Tenby and Saundersfoot will return for the summer season.

From 25 May 2024

  • The 400 Puffin Shuttle and 404 Strumble Shuttle services will return to the coast between Marloes and St Davids, and St Davids and Fishguard. These services will operate 7 days a week until 29 September 2024.  The Fflecsi service is also available in this area throughout the year.
  • The 387/388 Coastal Cruiser service around the Angle Peninsula will also return to its summer timetable, operating 7 days a week until 29th September 2024.

Further information about all Pembrokeshire bus services can be found on the Council’s website.

Continue Reading

News

Surrogacy: Carmarthenshire solicitor calls for legal reform

Published

on

ON the anniversary of the Law Commission’s call for surrogacy law to be overhauled, JCP Solicitors’ Angela Killa, Director in the Family team, is calling on prospective surrogates and parents to better understand the legal rules around this complicated path to parenthood.

Proposing a new regulatory route for surrogacy arrangements in the UK, the Law Commission’s recommendations for the Government puts forward a change to the law so that intended parents would become parents of the child from birth in certain circumstances. Currently, intended parents must wait months to obtain a parental order ¾ which causes stress and anxiety, not to mention administrative difficulties when registering the child.

A Surrogacy Register would also be created under the new proposals, allowing surrogate children to trace their birth origins later in life. Overall, the recommendations laid out in the report would improve regulation of domestic surrogacy to dissuade UK residents from going abroad, as international surrogacy agreements can bring greater risk of exploitation of women and children in some countries.

A year on from the reform suggestions, surrogacy rates continue to rise in the UK – surging by 350% over the past 12 years. Now, legal experts say it is more relevant than ever to understand the full implications of entering a surrogacy agreement.

Angela Killa, Director in the Family team at JCP Solicitors, explains: “In the UK, a surrogate (and her husband or male civil partner, if relevant) are considered the mother (and father) of a child at birth. Intended parents must apply for a Parental Order, which is heard before the Court ¾ making it highly advisable for those involved in surrogacy cases to appoint a Solicitor.

“We often see immense stresses from both the parents and the surrogate, as the current law means that the parental order can take months to obtain which can be incredibly anxiety-inducing.

“For example, intended parents may worry that the surrogate will change her mind or will not give her consent freely, whereas surrogates may also worry that the intended parents may change their mind(s) or make unreasonable demands during pregnancy.

“This feels particularly difficult given the fact that many intended parents are likely to have dealt with a lot of trauma before considering surrogacy: many have faced fertility struggles and may even have dealt with the devastation of failed pregnancies or baby loss. For LGBTQ+ couples, there may have been additional challenges faced due to discrimination or prejudice. Therefore, empathy and consideration is of paramount importance when discussing this issue.”

The government published an interim response to the report in November 2023, with Maria Caulfield MP stating: “While we appreciate the importance of this work, parliamentary time does not allow for these changes to be taken forward at the moment.” Despite this response, legal experts working in surrogacy encourage the Government to take action and fully consider the proposed amendments. 

Angela explains: “The reforms laid out in the Surrogacy Reform Act by the Law Commission may help to ease the stress and pressure for all involved. The Government are encouraged to provide a full response as soon as possible so progress can be made in this important area of law”.

Angela Killa is a member of Resolution, a family law organisation advocating for a constructive approach to family issues.

Continue Reading

Business17 hours ago

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that...

News1 day ago

Police ask motorists to avoid A44 trunk road due to heavy snowfall

DYFED-POWYS POLICE have issued an appeal to motorists to avoid a 25 mile section of the A44 trunk road between...

Crime2 days ago

Woman will quit the booze after seeing shocking drunken video in court

A HAVERFORDWEST woman this week vowed to undertake ‘a complete alcohol abstinence’ after being shown court video footage of her...

News3 days ago

Family heartbroken by loss of ‘larger than life character’ in M4 crash

THE FAMILY of the man who died in a collision on the M4 motorway say ‘he will be greatly missed...

Business3 days ago

Victory for WASPI women but the fight goes on

A LANDMARK ruling by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman could benefit around 5,000 women in Ceredigion born in the...

Entertainment5 days ago

A night to remember: Symphonica Tywi’s ‘Film Fantastics’ was a triumph

ON SATURDAY (Mar 23), Haverfordwest High School was ablaze with the soaring melodies and dramatic scores of some of cinema’s...

News5 days ago

Memorial for all those affected by Covid-19 unveiled at County Hall

A LASTING tribute for Pembrokeshire loved ones lost during the Covid-19 pandemic and those working on the frontline has been...

Top News6 days ago

Princess of Wales announces cancer diagnosis and treatment

CATHERINE, the Princess of Wales, has shared her recent health struggles with the public, revealing a diagnosis that has sent...

Charity7 days ago

RNLI lifeguards back on patrol in Pembrokeshire for the Easter Holidays

RNLI lifeguards will be on patrol once again in Pembrokeshire ahead of the Easter holidays. This Saturday, 23 March 2024,...

Community1 week ago

Neglected Pembrokeshire poodles find their forever homes 

THIRTY poodle type dogs were in total rescued after they were found in an unsuitable environment where their owner also...

Popular This Week