News

Council discusses scrutiny

Published

11 years ago

November 20, 2014

County Hall

AT TUESDAY’S Democratic Services Committee, Councillors discussed a number of ways to help improve scrutiny. They discussed its effectiveness, ways to improve it, adequacy of support and public engagement. Cllr Owen James said: “There needs to be a recognition of how good they think scrutiny is. What measurement facilities are there?” Mark Elliot, Head of Public Protection, responded: “It’s very hard to define success criteria; the way it was done was all about a self-assessment process, identifying examples of good practice and areas for development. There is nothing previous to this but there is nothing set in stone other than the examples we have.”

Cllr Pat Davies said: “With my committee we evaluated where we were going and what we wanted to achieve. The task and finish group was set up as was the school standards. Each committee should be able to do a self-evaluation.” Mark Elliot added: “It is important to get member engagement. The starting point would be to begin with the template that the Welsh Audit Office has come up with and trial that. Then there can be some sort of judgement as to where we are.” Cllr Rhys Sinnett said: “I support trying it out and seeing if there are any gaps.

We won’t know unless we try it out.” Cllr James added: “With regards to member engagement – this is something that you need right across the authority. If everyone is involved it will be quite a pleasant environment, at the moment we don’t have that. You can’t do one without the other.” Huw Miller, Head of Legal & Committee Services, said: “The stance you are taking so far is good. There is a need to involve all members – members of scrutiny will change. You have to consider how you notify and involve all other members.”

He continued: “All chairs will produce annual reports and they will all be put on the website. The scrutiny website is building up quite nicely. Any member can see how scrutiny works.” Cllr Pat Davies said: “Scrutiny members sit in their groups; I don’t like that and I have switched names around in the past. They shouldn’t be there to sit in political groups.” Cllr John Allen-Mirehouse said: “I can see the point of this but it depends on the size of the committee and the size of the room and the business being discussed.”

Cllr Keith Lewis added: “I would always argue caution in terms of trying to over manage the situation. We are where we are, we’ve got to sit somewhere.” Cllr Allen-Mirehouse added: “Public engagement is very important; councillors are elected to represent their interests and views. It is very important that the public know what is happening. Somebody who does not know what is going on will come to a wrong decision. We are not trying to cut the public off; we all have a responsibility to our electors.”

Cllr Sinnett said: “We have to respond to our direct electors. The question is how we get their views of a topic we are looking at. We invite external views and this would be very useful to triangulate those. We are the ones who have to make the decision.” Cllr Keith Lewis said: “I agree with everything being said but you are missing out on one fundamental tier of government. “We should also consider the roles of community councillors. There are some which are very efficient and there are some which are useless.

“There have been examples recently like the public toilets; any decision we make will affect that area. “There have been different outcomes, other communities have said they would take them on but they haven’t”. Cllr Pat Davies said: “This could be a vehicle for trying to engage better with town and community councils”. Cllr Allen-Allen-Mirehouse added: “The community councils are very keen for the council to spend money in their wards. The town and community councils do not want a certain asset removed and this is where the role of the community council comes in. “It is good for democracy, that although a councillor may not get their way, their voice has been heard”.

Huw Miller then spoke about the adequacy of scrutiny support. He said: “This is the first report of adequacy of scrutiny. When the team was set up it was pointed out that there was a gap in terms of support for scrutiny. They have done a great job in taking the authority forward in terms of the scrutiny function. We are getting there, we are not there yet.

I don’t think there is perfect scrutiny and we’ve got to do our best to try and get as close to that as we possibly can.I’m certainly of the view that the current provision of staff is sufficient but it has to be kept under continual review.” Finally, Councillors spoke about public engagement, focussing on the forms that are available on the council’s website. Members of the public are free to submit their views on any agenda item that is being discussed and they can also submit a proposal for an agenda item.

Cllr Owen James said: “This is something new you’re engaging in. It may cause an awful lot of work. I think we should let this grow organically rather than push it out there.” Cllr Rhys Sinnett added: “It is down to the committee to decide whether or not and when to add it to its work agenda. It needs to be clear that you can suggest things but it won’t automatically be discussed. There is a process that has to be gone through by a committee.”

Community

Tudor women’s lives explored in upcoming Pembroke history talk

Published

2 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKE & MONKTON Local History Society will welcome a leading Tudor historian to its next meeting on Saturday, March 7, promising a fascinating insight into the lives of women in the sixteenth century.

Guest speaker Melita Thomas will present a talk titled The Life and Times of Tudor Women, drawing on research from her acclaimed book 1000 Tudor People. The talk will explore the social, legal, political and economic challenges faced by women during the Tudor period, while also examining how some were able to carve out their own paths in areas such as trade, literature and even warfare.

Organisers say the event will offer a fresh perspective on whether Tudor women’s lives were as restricted as often portrayed, highlighting both the hardships and opportunities of the era.

Melita is the founder of the popular Tudor Times website and a member of the Tudor Players performance group. Alongside researching and writing books, she is currently undertaking a PhD at University College London.

Doors open at 10:00am for coffee, with the talk beginning at 11:00am. The event takes place at Pembroke Town Hall, where the Pembroke Museum and Council Chamber — located on the first floor — will also be open to visitors. A lift is available for disabled access.

The society has also announced that Pembroke Museum has reopened following its winter closure. The museum is open from 10:00am to 12:30pm Monday to Friday, with hours extended until 3:00pm from Easter. Entry is free.

For more information, visit www.pembrokeandmonktonhistory.org.uk or follow the society on Facebook. Enquiries can be sent to [email protected].

Local Government

Candidate who withdrew from Hakin race will still appear on ballot paper

Published

2 hours ago

February 22, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Election law means Labour hopeful’s name cannot be removed after nominations close

THE LABOUR candidate who withdrew from the Hakin county council by-election yesterday will still appear on ballot papers when voters go to the polls next month.

Nicola Harteveld announced she was stepping back from the race after nominations had already closed, meaning election officials are legally unable to remove her name from the ballot or allow Welsh Labour to nominate a replacement candidate.

Under UK election rules, once the deadline for nominations passes and candidates are formally confirmed, the ballot paper is fixed except in very limited circumstances, such as the death of a candidate. Withdrawal after that point does not change the ballot.

As a result, Harteveld will remain listed as the Welsh Labour candidate for the Hakin ward when voting takes place on Tuesday, March 17, even though she is no longer campaigning.

***The First Minister gave Nicola Harteveld her endorsement earlier this week in a social media video***

Potential confusion for voters

One elector in the ward told The Herald the situation could lead to uncertainty at the polling station.

“This will cause confusion, and technically means she could still be elected, when in reality she doesn’t want to be,” the resident said.

Any votes cast for Harteveld will still be counted in the election result, as there is no mechanism to invalidate votes for a candidate who has voluntarily withdrawn after the close of nominations.

If a withdrawn candidate were to receive the most votes, further procedural steps could be required, potentially including a fresh election depending on the circumstances at that stage.

Background to withdrawal

Harteveld stepped back from the contest after reporting verbal abuse directed towards her son, in a development that also led to political controversy after the First Minister visited the ward to support her campaign on the same day she did not attend and later confirmed her withdrawal.

Because nominations had already closed by that point, Labour was unable to field another candidate, leaving the party without an active campaign presence in the contest.

Election context

The Hakin by-election was called following the death of long-serving Independent councillor Mike Stoddart.

The remaining active candidates are:

Derrick Abbott (Independent)
Sam Booth (Wales Green Party)
Lee James Bridges (Independent)
Duncan Edwards (Independent)
Brian Taylor (Welsh Conservative)
Scott Thorley (Reform UK)
Sam Warden (Welsh Liberal Democrats)

Polling stations across the ward will be open from 7:00am to 10:00pm on March 17.

Local Government

First Minister left red-faced as Labour candidate pulls out during Hakin campaign visit

Published

19 hours ago

February 21, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Candidate says withdrawal follows ‘abuse’ towards candidate’s son and backlash over Withybush Hospital downgrade plan

THE FIRST MINISTER was left in the embarrassing position of arriving to campaign in the Hakin ward without an active candidate. Labour’s by-election hopeful withdrew from the race on the same day as a high-profile visit to support her campaign.

The visit had been organised to support Labour candidate Nicola Harteveld, but she failed to appear, leaving party activists canvassing in the ward without her and apparently unaware she was about to pull out of the contest.

Harteveld later confirmed she had been considering her position before announcing her withdrawal shortly afterwards.

The former Labour candidate confirmed she was stepping back from the Pembrokeshire County Council by-election following verbal abuse directed towards her youngest son, bringing an abrupt end to the party’s campaign after nominations had already closed.

The development meant Welsh Labour could not field a replacement candidate, leaving the party effectively without representation in the contest despite a scheduled campaign visit by First Minister Eluned Morgan MS and party activists.

***First Minister: Eluned Morgan MS, made a video statement backing Nicola Harteveld on Thursday***

‘Abuse’ towards child

In a video statement released on social media, Harteveld said the decision followed an incident in which her son was allegedly shouted at by two men while walking home from volunteering.

“My youngest was walking home… and two men on the opposite side of the road shouted across ‘tell your mother she’s a Labour loving c***’,” she said.

She said her son was “absolutely devastated” by the incident.

“My family comes first. I am not prepared to put them in the line of fire to be targeted because of something that I’m doing,” she added.

Final decision

Harteveld, who currently serves as a town councillor, said she had spent several days reflecting on whether continuing in the election was compatible with her personal values before the incident involving her son became “the final straw”.

“My morals, my views and my values will not allow me to take this by-election any further,” she said.

She explained that she had wanted to stand in order to take residents’ concerns directly to County Hall, rather than relying on others to represent them, and believed standing as a Labour candidate would have allowed her to raise issues more directly with decision-makers.

First Minister visit confusion

Earlier the same day, First Minister Eluned Morgan MS and Labour activists were canvassing in the Hakin ward in support of Harteveld, apparently unaware she was considering withdrawing from the race.

Campaign photographs were later shared on social media showing the First Minister and party members canvassing locally. However, observers quickly noticed the absence of the candidate herself, prompting repeated questions online about her whereabouts.

Multiple commenters asked “Where is the candidate?” beneath the post, with the situation attracting significant criticism from some social media users.

Shortly afterwards, Harteveld confirmed she was withdrawing from the election.

A post by the First Minister praising what she described as a “great response in Hakin for Nicola Harteveld & Welsh Labour” while also addressing concerns about Withybush Hospital services was later deleted after attracting a large number of comments, many of them critical of Labour and Welsh Government health policies.

Healthcare tensions backdrop

The by-election campaign has taken place against the backdrop of continuing anger across Pembrokeshire over decisions affecting Withybush Hospital, which Harteveld acknowledged had “rocked our community”.

She described personal experiences of travelling long distances for medical appointments with her partner, saying such situations contributed to frustration among residents.

The hospital controversy has become a dominant political issue locally, with strong emotions expressed during campaigning and on social media.

Political impact

Because Harteveld withdrew after the legal deadline for nominations closed, Welsh Labour cannot substitute another candidate. Her name may still appear on ballot papers depending on printing arrangements, although she is no longer campaigning.

The sequence of events left Labour campaigning in the ward without an active candidate and represents a significant setback for the party locally, particularly given the personal involvement of the First Minister in the visit.

Election background

The by-election, scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, was called following the death of Independent councillor Mike Stoddart, who had represented the Hakin ward for many years.

The remaining candidates are: