LibDem Cowardice in Swansea

This article originally appeared in the South Wales Evening Post...

THE global financial meltdown and the crisis in the Eurozone have created a precarious situation in which whole countries are on the brink of budgetary collapse.



The knock-on effect of all this on the UK is that we have to keep our national debt under control and keep a tight hand on public spending. This is true locally as it is nationally.


The rejection by the leading councillors on Swansea Council of a few sensible and relatively modest proposed spending cuts means that other proposals to save the projected £500,000 savings will have to be found elsewhere.


I cannot believe that the council has rejected the proposed cut to the £100,000 trade union grant.


Union members already pay subscription fees, so why can't the union provide workplace representatives out of their bulging coffers instead of local taxpayers?


The proposals to turn off about one-in-three streetlights across Swansea has been assessed by professional officers as a sensible cost-cutting exercise, as well as a good energy saving measure, too.


Despite this advice, the Lib Dems have U-turned and have waved goodbye to a potential saving of £250,000.

Professional advisors at the civic centre have also objected to the U-turn by the politicians on the proposal to close some of the smaller rubbish and recycling centres for a few days each week.

This modest proposal would have saved £100,000.

The proposed car parking charge for car parks in Morriston and Gorseinon would have brought in £100,000 and would have been in line with charges already paid by shoppers in Sketty and Mumbles. The U-turn on these charges was also opposed by the professional officers at the council.

It is easy to reverse cuts and to give in to every objection when you bring forward your proposals to save money.

It is not easy to find another £500,000 from an already pressured budget. Where will these savings have to be found? From our schools, our children's services or our highways maintenance budgets?

What is really worrying is that Swansea Council's professional advisors have sought to so publicly distance themselves from the decisions of their political masters.


While the Lib Dems are running scared from the voters and prioritising the popular over the sensible, at least we can also see the recommendations and opinions of those who are struggling to keep our council's budget under control.