In his regular blog for Caerphilly Observer, Caerphilly Council leader Lindsay Whittle gives his take on recent news.
Street Lighting
The Labour Assembly candidate for Caerphilly really does take the biscuit over the issue of street lights being turned off between midnight and 5.30am.
Instead of welcoming the fact that there have been no road accidents, and, therefore, no one injured since lights were turned off on inter-urban roads, he is as usual very quick to criticise.
The Labour candidate and many Labour councillors, you’ll recall, were warning of the consequences by the council’s decision – and they have been proved totally wrong.
He now says the figures do not take account of the concern and worry that older people and those with mobility problems have about being out in the dark and being a victim of crime.
Well, I perfectly understand worries about people walking around in the dark but I’m not sure how many older people are out wandering one of the area’s by-passes or industrial estate roads between midnight and 5.30am. I’ll have an educated guess – none.
Sadly, he’s always happy to complain but never to welcome good news.
Apart from fewer accidents, I’m pleased that the decision is saving £150,000 a year in electricity costs for the local authority as well as reducing its carbon footprint by 898 tonnes – something I thought Labour were keen to see happen.
Indoor Market
Plaid’s leader Ieuan Wyn Jones was in Caerphilly on Monday to visit the indoor market with Ron Davies and myself.
I’m very pleased that the indoor market in Pentrebane Street has re-opened after more than a decade shut. I hope it proves a very successful venture for brothers David and Allan Prosser because it does give the town centre’s retail offering a welcome boost.
As part of its programme for the Assembly elections, Plaid will invest in a Regeneration Investment Fund with the money used to promote sustainable investment, creating growth and jobs in town centres like Caerphilly, Ystrad Mynach and Bargoed.
Also Plaid has plans to create a Welsh Growth Fund in partnership with the private sector will provide a £90 million fund to enable small businesses to grow.
Ieuan pointed to Labour’s lack of ideas and lack of ambition for Caerphilly and certainly that’s true. We hear little constructive from the Labour Assembly candidate – even when the council decides not to push council tax bills for families and individuals, a practice also followed by Labour-ruled authorities across England.
Lindsay Whittle
Plaid Cymru leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council and regional Assembly candidate for South Wales East
Is it just me, or is Plaid's campaign in Caerphilly just becoming increasingly bitter, negative and resentful? It's usually parties who know they're in trouble who resort to this – looks like Plaid's ship is sinking big-time!
Re-arranging the deckchairs on the Titanic?
Caerphilly Plaid are gaining a reputation for bully boy tactics and dirty tricks, the Labour Candidate is currently experiencing it.
Lets not forget at the last local byelection A Plaid Cymru Candidate deliberatly said things about another Candidate, that were known to be untrue, in fact that Plaid Councillor Defamed another Councillor, he was, of course, made to pay the penalty by a High Court Judge, according to this on line newspaper, or, so we hear, perhaps these comments in the election about Jeff Cuthbert may eventually find themselves before the same Judge,together with those who are making them.
Will these politicians never learn.?
Duw, Duw mun, anyone would think there is an election soon!
Nice to see things hotting up, I was dieing of boredom. I happen to agree with Lindsay regarding street lighting. An experiment that statistics show is working, saving money too, a good thing. The carbon footprint bit does not impress me though, dubious science to say the least. Carbon Dioxide is a minor greenhouse gas and mankind, especially Caerffili, is a minor producer.
Regarding the indoor market I am enjoying a wry chuckle. The reopening of the market was proposed some time ago by Independent Town Councillor Ed Talbot, a former trader in this building. He envisaged it as an opportunity for fledgling retailers and a potential source of income for the council. Ron Davies was supportive of this idea but the borough council said this was not possible due to the presence of asbestos which would cost £75,000 to remove.
Lo and behold the market is open because of a private initiative and the Plaid Cymru council are now falling over themselves to say how wonderful it is and how they closely associate themselves with it. Despite being opposed to Ed's idea as soon as he mentioned it.
Pure electioneering which is not supported by the facts.
The Wittle manual on fighting elections seems to be in need of serious revision. First he apologises for not increasing Council Tax because the Council aren't going to pay out for services so there is no need. Then using the same logic,he tells us that a decrease in street lighting is improving crime statistics because the old and vulnerable are not going out in the dark anymore, so do we do away with street lighting completely and therefore do away with crime?. He fought elections better on his own! What's your take on Ron Davies' misrepresentation of Labour's Policing Policy Lindsay? Do you think we could do away with the Police. That would solve a lot of problems wouldn't it?
It's rather difficult for Cuthbert to welcome this APPARENT reduction of accidents when it's tied in with a personal criticism of him. We should be reminded that these statistics are only over a period of 3 months, which hardly proves anything long term.
And how can Whittle prove that the reduction of accidents wasn't due to a reduction in footfall because the lights are off? He can't, because that's not been measured. So it might be jumping the gun to say that Labour was totally wrong. On this issue they are just more concerned with quality of life than money saved.
And as for the regeneration of Caerphilly town, silly Labour, they have been focusing on regenerating the Northern end of the Constituency first (they have never said they don’t intend to regenerate the southern end too) which is actually more deprived. Not that Plaid would care because they know that the Northern end of the constituency is where all the Labour voters are – although they do seem keen to take all the credit for the Bargoed regeneration project.
did i jest read that right did linsy jest have a crack at labour for being to consernd about the potenchel for life thretaning acsidents in carphilly? i whould much rather my repisentitive to the welsh asembly and on the local concil, air on the side of coution on matters such as this. not throw cation to the wind and jest hope and pray that everything go's well. this is not the kind of thinking caerphilly dersives from its electid members