News

Calamity as joint committee cancelled

Published

11 years ago

March 19, 2015

A ROW between councillors and officers has escalated this week after a meeting intended to scrutinise the decision to close

Truth seeker: Jacob Williams

Community Learning Centres was postponed at the eleventh hour.

The proposed joint meeting of the Older Persons’ Health & Well Being and the Children & Families Overview and Scrutiny Committees was called by Head of Legal Services, Claire Incledon. Her decision followed a call-in of the Cabinet’s decision to shut Community Learning Centres in Fishguard and Pembroke Dock by members of the Older Persons’ Committee.

Due to meet on Wednesday (Mar 3) the meeting was cancelled late on Tuesday (Mar 2).

The Pembrokeshire Herald became aware of a potential difficulty when preparing its preview of the joint committee meeting. The council’s constitution provides only for the Head of Legal Services to summon one committee to consider a call-in request.

We put our detailed observations on the point to the council. A council spokesperson told us subsequently that: “The Head of Legal and Committee Services has provided advice to members in relation to the call-in The advice clarifies that it is not a Joint Committee (or ‘new’ Committee) that has been created and that the calling of both committees to sit concurrently is not unconstitutional.”

A lengthy explanatory note from Ms Incledon, which The Herald has seen, was emailed to councillors at noon on Tuesday. That note maintained the position that the meeting was constitutional, but appeared to suggest that both committees would sit as two separate committees in the same room at the same time to discuss the same subject.

That note received a strong response from Cllr Mike Stoddart. Cllr Stoddart pointed out the express provision of the constitution and pointed out that: “The constitution does not allow the head of legal services to declare it a dead-heat and call a meeting of both committees.”

Ms Incledon’s advisory note also states that calling the meeting in the way would save ‘on officer and member time and unnecessary duplication, and ensures consistency in consideration of the matter; and provides a sensible and reasonable way forward’.

The Herald understands that the decision to cancel the meeting was reached following an intervention from Acting Head of Paid Service Ian Westley, citing ‘further consideration of Procedure Rules’.

The subsequent council statement read: “It was felt that procedurally the meeting would have been overly bureaucratic.”

After the publication of that statement, Cllr Jacob Williams said: “I think the public deserves to know the truth – that, as councillors have pointed out, the handling of this vital call-in was hopelessly flawed and the meeting, had it gone ahead, would have been unconstitutional.”

Responding, soon-to-depart Monitoring Officer Laurence Harding wrote: “The reason for the cancellation is not related to the fact that there was to be concurrent meetings of the O&S committees but due to perceived difficulties in the procedure for such a meeting.”

Mr Harding – whose role as Monitoring Officer was subject to a vote of no confidence following his interference in the debate on Bryn Parry-Jones’ future held on February 14 2014 and who has had a prickly relationship with some councillors – denied there were any problems with the constitutional position.

Undeterred, Jacob Williams wrote to the Monitoring Officer stating that Mr Harding’s rationale lacked credibility. He said: “I think that just about sums up the total reluctance to hold hands up at County Hall.”

Cllr Williams continued: “It would have been better to have said nothing at all than to have tried to spin the meeting’s cancellation on the claim that it would have been ‘overly bureaucratic.’ To expect anybody – let alone members – to believe that, especially when they are fully aware of the background and prior reluctance to accept that the matter was handled wrongly just insults our intelligence.”

The last word on the matter was given by Cllr David Simpson: “Mr Harding’s advice which members received yesterday seems to imply that the constitution can be interpreted anyway he, or the head of legal services, likes.”

He continued: “The way forward is to admit that a mistake was made in calling for a joint meeting and to refer this matter to Older Persons O&S as soon as possible.”

Cllr Simpson concluded: “Many members and the public have been hoping for a new dawn in Pembrokeshire, unfortunately it seems that while some of the players have changed the culture remains the same.”

News

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

Published

4 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

4 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.