News

Pembrokeshire council budget war of words breaks out

Published

1 year ago

March 5, 2025

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A WAR of words has broken out over the setting of Pembrokeshire’s annual budget on Thursday, March 6, with three potential council tax increases ranging from 7.5 to 9.85 per cent on the table.

Last month, Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet backed recommending a council tax increase of 9.85 per cent, with a special meeting due to decide that recommendation on February 20.

That meeting was deferred to March 6, in part awaiting the final Welsh government local government settlement, which saw the county gain a small amount of extra money, worth roughly an extra £500,000, reducing its funding gap to £26.9m.

With the council budget D-day looming, opposition groups the Independent group and the Conservative group have submitted their own proposals for the March 6 meeting, with the Independent Group proposing a 9.35 per cent increase and the Conservative group a 7.5 per cent one, achieved in part using a higher proportion of the second homes council tax premium for certain parts of the budget.

The Conservative group, in its proposals, has said it will increase the education budget by £6.6 million in the next financial year, along with greater savings from “reforming the leisure services in Pembrokeshire”.

The Conservative proposal says it would also see debt and interest payments reduced by disposing of unused and empty council buildings as well as a commitment to only proceed with projects relating to net zero if they have a clear financial benefit to the council.

Cllr Aled Thomas, the group spokesman for finance has said: “It’s clear from the proposals on the table that the Independent Group joint with 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 less in return, that mindset has to stop, and a change is clearly needed.”

The conservative proposals also include addressing a claimed £2.5m deficit in council leisure services by partnering with a national leisure trust.

The Independent group, led by Cllr Huw Murphy, has reacted to the Conservative group statement issued to the press, saying the claims of collusion are “are misleading and inaccurate with no meetings, conversations or exchanges of emails,” adding: “It might disappoint Cllr Aled Thomas but the truth is rarely as exciting as a conspiracy theory.”

Its statement adds: “The Leader, Cllr Jon Harvey asked would we divulge our budget proposals and in the interest of residents this was provided. The Independent Group were informed that Cabinet had accepted our proposals. Councillors have a legal duty to pass a budget which Independent Group members take seriously.

“Subsequently it became known that the Conservatives intended to submit their own budget but some of their proposals were unacceptable to Independent Group members, such as cuts to Adult Social Services provision.

“Social Services is a department under significant pressure and needs investment not cuts and if a society discards its most vulnerable on the altar of political ideology to offer a lower council tax then the Independent Group will not put its name to it.”

The Independent Group statement also says the blame for the “managed decline of the council” was “in large part through insufficient funding from the Treasury between 2010 & 2024 under a Conservative Chancellor,” going on to criticise Welsh Labour in Cardiff for “providing insufficient funding to Pembrokeshire”.

It says the Conservative group proposals on education “fail to mention a reduction in early year’s pre-school education, which if implemented could cause PCC to fail in delivering a statutory function under the Childcare Act”.

On the leisure services proposals, the group says: “The Conservative Group propose the privatisation of Leisure Services but cannot provide detailed information on how this is will be achieved and the consequences if their proposal fails, which could result in job losses and loss of facilities.”

Responding, Cllr Aled Thomas said: “The Conservative budget proposal is bold and different, focussing on bolstering the authority’s statutory functions while pushing for greater efficiency in other more council functions such as leisure, regeneration and net zero.

“Councillors at Thursday’s [March 6] meeting have the opportunity to vote for meaningful change for the people of Pembrokeshire or stick with the same old status quo, and I know which one I’d rather.

“Cllr Huw Murphy and the Independent Group should spend less time trying to re-write history and doing political hit jobs on me and spend more time talking their residents, who will undoubtedly tell them how sick and tired they are with continued extortionate council tax rises to pay for things they do not want or is not a priority for them.”

News

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

Published

9 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

9 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.