News

Cabinet backs revised Council budget plan from opposition group

Published

1 year ago

February 28, 2025

THE IPG and Cabinet have jointly proposed a budget for Pembrokeshire County Council, including a reduced Council Tax rise, on which councillors will vote at next week’s Full Council meeting.

The budget cuts 0.5% from a proposed 9.85% Council Tax increase and includes key concessions from the budget originally proposed by the County Council’s Cabinet.

The budget was originally scheduled to be set at a meeting on February 20. At that meeting, the Independent Group moved a Notice without Motion to delay consideration of the budget until the final financial settlement from the Welsh Government (WG) was confirmed. The move aimed to prevent the implementation of a 9.85% Council Tax rise for 2025/26.

On February 21, the Welsh Government confirmed a 0.25% increase in its financial settlement for Pembrokeshire. That decision added around £540,000 to the Council’s budget for next year.

After considering the revised settlement, the IPG drafted an alternative budget to the one proposed by the Cabinet Member for Finance, Cllr Josh Beynon. In an unprecedented move, the Cabinet considered the alternative proposal and decided to endorse it. This marks the first time in the Council’s history that an administration has accepted a budget proposed by one of the opposition groups.

Key takeaways of the proposed budget:

A Council Tax rise of 9.35% instead of 9.85%
A proposed 3.5% cut in education reduced to 2.9%
Proposals for four-weekly bin collections abandoned, with three-weekly collections to remain
The Enhancing Pembrokeshire Fund retained
Additional funds for street cleaning maintained, rather than removed as originally proposed
Additional funding allocated for public toilets

Speaking to The Herald, a member of the IPG said the decision to agree on a budget with the Cabinet was “the socially responsible thing to do,” as the Group acknowledged that services had to be protected without incurring further debt, which would necessitate future cuts and higher tax increases.

IPG Leader Cllr Huw Murphy told this newspaper: “Cabinet requested sight of the Independent Group’s proposals, and we agreed to that step.

“It’s important to remember that councillors have a legal duty to set a budget. Therefore, in the best interest of Pembrokeshire’s residents, we agreed to allow the Cabinet to see our proposals.

“In light of the additional funding received from the Welsh Government, the Cabinet accepted the Independent Group’s proposals without the need to present a budget of their own on March 6.

“It is highly unusual for an opposition budget proposal to be accepted by any administration, but it indicates the delicate balance of power within PCC and the reality that offering a significant reduction in Council Tax carries inherent risks to both the authority and residents in terms of the loss of services many consider essential.”

However, Cllr Murphy added: “As the largest opposition group, the Independent Group will continue holding the Cabinet to account. Doing so on February 20 led to this budget.”

Cllr Murphy continued: “Any Council Tax rise is not good news for residents. However, the Independent Group’s proposals mean a slight decrease in the proposed Council Tax rise while offering options to retain services under threat.

“Fundamentally, the lack of funding from both London and Cardiff is the root cause of financial pressures on Welsh local authorities, which have risen exponentially. Furthermore, the UK, with vanishingly small economic growth alongside a need to increase defence spending to confront existential threats abroad, will see reduced funds available for local authorities.”

Huw Murphy concluded: “As Independent councillors, we speak free from the pressures of party loyalty on any subject where the best interest of residents is our core objective—not winning or saving a Senedd or House of Commons seat.”

The Conservative Group, which proposed its own budget, reacted furiously to the apparent deal between the largest opposition group and the Cabinet.

The Herald understands a flurry of messages expressing exasperation, disappointment, and anger have flooded councillors’ phones, with one Conservative Group member questioning whether the Independent Group still counted as the opposition.

The Conservatives said their proposals would increase school budgets by £6.6 million and offer an innovative solution to the Council’s future leisure provision.

With the publication of the Council agenda, their hopes of passing their budget appear dashed.

Cllr Aled Thomas, the Conservative Group spokesperson on Finance, was relatively restrained, though his frustration was evident when he told The Herald:

“It’s clear from the proposals on the table that the Independent Group and the Labour-leaning administration are happy to work together to see the continued managed decline of the Council rather than work hard for the people of Pembrokeshire.

“Every day, this council asks for more money from residents and provides them with less in return. That mindset has to stop, and a change is clearly needed.

“What’s even more disappointing is that around 2.5% of this year’s Council Tax increase will go straight to Rachel Reeves’s coffers in Westminster as a result of National Insurance increases and won’t be spent on Pembrokeshire services.”

News

Parties make final push as Wales prepares to vote in historic Senedd election

Published

8 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Campaign leaders criss-cross country in last-minute battle for crucial votes

WALES heads to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, May 7) after a frenetic final day of campaigning that saw party leaders, candidates and activists make one last push to win over undecided voters in what is being described as the most unpredictable Senedd election in modern Welsh history.

With polling stations due to open at 7:00am, parties spent Wednesday targeting key battleground constituencies across the country, including the new Ceredigion Penfro seat, amid growing expectations of a fragmented Senedd and a dramatic shake-up in Welsh politics.

The election is the first to be held under Wales’ new expanded Senedd system, with 96 Members of the Senedd being elected across 16 large constituencies using a proportional closed-list voting system.

Reform UK appeared to finish the campaign with significant momentum following a major rally on Tuesday attended by party leader Nigel Farage. The event drew large crowds and considerable online attention as Reform attempted to convert strong polling figures into seats in Cardiff Bay for the first time.

Farage used the rally to attack both Labour and Plaid Cymru, while positioning Reform as the party of “change” for disillusioned voters. Reform campaigners have focused heavily on immigration, cost of living pressures and opposition to what they describe as “wasteful government spending.”

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth spent the final day presenting his party as the main alternative to both Labour and Reform UK, insisting Plaid could “build a fairer Wales” while warning against what he described as “divisive politics.”

Labour figures, including First Minister Eluned Morgan and deputy leader Huw Irranca-Davies, urged voters not to “take risks” with public services, arguing only Welsh Labour could protect the NHS and local councils during a period of economic uncertainty.

Labour activists were heavily focused on turnout operations in traditional strongholds, amid polling suggesting the party could lose ground after decades as the dominant force in Welsh politics.

The Conservatives attempted to rally core voters with warnings about both Labour and Reform, while also focusing on farming, the rural economy and healthcare waiting lists.

In west Wales, Conservative candidates Paul Davies and Sam Kurtz spent the day meeting voters and carrying out final campaign visits across Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, arguing their experience and local knowledge would be important under the new electoral system.

The Liberal Democrats and Green Party also maintained visible campaigns in several areas, hoping tactical voting and the proportional voting system could help them secure representation.

Across Wales, campaign teams handed out leaflets outside transport hubs, supermarkets and town centres, while social media campaigning intensified throughout the day.

Political analysts believe turnout could prove decisive, particularly because the new voting system means relatively small shifts in support could determine the allocation of the fifth and sixth seats in many constituencies.

The campaign has been dominated by debates over the NHS, farming, the economy, transport, tourism and the rising cost of living, alongside concerns about the future direction of Welsh devolution.

Polling stations open across Wales from 7:00am until 10:00pm on Thursday, with counting due to begin on Friday morning.

The Herald will provide live election coverage online throughout polling day and count day, including updates from count centres, candidate interviews and reaction as results emerge from across west Wales and the rest of the country.

News

Plaid Cymru projected to lead Senedd as Labour faces historic collapse

Published

8 hours ago

May 6, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Final poll suggests Welsh politics could be on the brink of a major realignment

PLAID CYMRU is on course to become the largest party in the Senedd, according to the final YouGov MRP projection for ITV Cymru Wales before polling day.

The model suggests Labour’s century-long dominance of Welsh elections could be coming to an end, with Plaid projected to win 43 seats in the newly expanded 96-member Senedd.

Reform UK is forecast to finish second on 34 seats, while Labour is projected to fall to just 12.

The poll, based on responses from more than 4,600 adults between April 25 and May 4, puts Plaid Cymru on 33% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 29%. Labour is on 12%, the Conservatives on 9%, the Greens on 8% and the Liberal Democrats on 6%.

Labour facing major losses

The projection points to a dramatic collapse in Labour support across Wales.

YouGov’s central estimate would represent a notional loss of 32 seats for Labour compared with the 2021 result under the new electoral system.

It would also be Labour’s worst result at any major Welsh election since 1906.

The model suggests Labour may fail to top the poll in any of the 16 new Senedd constituencies, and could return no members at all in four of them.

In west Wales, Labour’s support is projected to have fallen into single figures in some areas.

First Minister Eluned Morgan, who leads Labour’s list in Ceredigion Penfro, could also be at risk if the projection proves accurate.

Reform surge

Reform UK is projected to make major gains, rising from just 1% of the vote in 2021 to 29% in the final pre-election model.

The party’s support appears to be spread widely across Wales, though it is weaker in Cardiff and strongest in parts of the south Wales valleys.

One of the most striking projections is in Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, which includes the Merthyr Tydfil area where Keir Hardie was elected as Wales’s first Labour MP in 1900.

There, YouGov’s central estimate puts Reform UK narrowly ahead on 34%, Plaid Cymru on 33%, and Labour on 14%.

Smaller parties

The Conservatives are projected to win just four seats, which would be their weakest devolved election result.

That would leave them one short of the five members needed to form an official political group in the Senedd.

The Greens are forecast to enter the Senedd for the first time, winning two seats in Cardiff.

The Liberal Democrats are projected to win one seat in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, keeping Jane Dodds in the Senedd.

No majority expected

No party is projected to win the 49 seats needed for an outright majority.

YouGov’s modelling suggests Plaid Cymru would be best placed to lead the next Welsh Government, but would probably need support from another party.

Plaid and Labour together reach a majority in most of the model’s simulations, while a Plaid-Green arrangement does so far less often.

A Reform-Conservative majority appears unlikely in the projection.

Under the new D’Hondt voting system, small movements in vote share could still make a significant difference, particularly for the final seats in each constituency.

Polling stations open tomorrow, Thursday, May 7.