How council battled back from the brink
2018 marks five years since autonomy was restored to a crisis-hit council, a situation its leader is adamant should never be repeated.
In 2011, commissioners were sent in to run Anglesey Council after Welsh Government ministers finally ran out of patience.
After years of infighting, petty politics and corruption allegations since its establishment in 1996, a breakdown in relations between senior officers and councillors saw the Welsh Government step in.
The intervention, which was thought could end up with a forced merger with Gwynedd, came about following a damning audit report highlighing serious concerns over the running of the council.
It wasn’t until the 2013 elections – held 12 months after other Welsh authorities and a redrawn political map – that power was finally restored to councillors, who were also reduced in number from 40 to 30.
The fresh intake from this election included its present leader, one of only three women on the authority and also its youngest. Cllr Llinos Medi says she was inspired to stand partially because of its troubles, hoping to restore the council’s good name.
“I remember canvassing before the 2013 election and was approached by a voter who when asked by a Scottish gentleman where he came from, he replies, ‘Anglesey? Isn’t that the most corrupt council in the UK?”
“From the very get-go, I wanted people to be proud of where they come from. I remember growing up and reading on a weekly basis all of the negative headlines, it certainly played a part in me standing for the council.”
The Welsh Government’s intervention started in 2009, with a temporary managing director and recovery board being put in place to oversee its running. But after this failed, five commissioners were swept in to take control, stripping councillors of their powers.
Cllr Bryan Owen, the council leader between 2011 and 2013, served under the commissioners. Now leader of the opposition, he described the period under their cont r o l as troublesome for the perception of the council.
“It was a high profile period, and shone the spotlight firmly on the workings of the council,” he said. “There’s no doubt that it damaged the perception amongst the public but as someone who worked with the commissioners, they did allow quite a lot of leeway.
“After the initial few months, they were basically policing us with the members making the vast majority of decisions. By the last six months or so, we were basically free wheeling to the elections and we knew that power would be restored.”
In October 2012, then Local Government Minist ter Carl Sargeant, announced he would “set free” the authority following the elections. The island’s MP said at the time that members over the years had failed to grasp the damage done following years of public spats.
“The council let us down, now they have to rebuild our trust,” said Albert Owen in late 2012.
“They did not get it for so many years – I warned them for so many years but they did not listen.
“For too long Anglesey has had independents who are always changing groups and people cannot hold them accountable.
“What we need in future is clear manifestos and clear policies before the election. They can then be held accountable and if they have not delivered they will have to explain why.”
In some ways, Mr Owen got his wish in the subsequent election, which saw the number of independents slashed from 23 to 14.
Members elected under party political banners increased.
Despite this, the authority remained in the control of independents until last year’s poll, which is now run by Plaid Cymru with the support of a group of independents.
Former leader Owen, after losing his seat in the 2013 election, described the boundary changes and the introduction of multi-member wards as ‘gerrymandering.’
Having won back his seat last year, this time in the Bro Rhosyr ward, Cllr Owen maintains his viewpoint.
“The council is now led by Plaid Cymru, so I suppose they had their way in that regard.
“I don’t think these multi member wards work as well as the old system, especially if the two or three councillors covering the same ward don’t work with each other as well as they could.
“Thankfully I have an excellent relationship with my fellow member for Bro Aberffraw, but that isn’t always the case.
“The decision to slash the number of members from 40 to 30 was also a poor one in my view, especially with the executive now made up of nine members which is almost a third of all members.
“I don’t think that having so few members is beneficial to the scrutiny process.”
Cllr Medi, however, believes that greater co-operation has slowly brought about a change in fortune, progress she wants to see continue over the coming years.
The latest Wales Local Government Data Unit’s annual bulletin saw Anglesey rank as the seventh best performing council out of 22.
At a recent meeting, deputy leader Ieuan Williams attributed the imporvements to greater co-operation and fewer highly publicised spats among members.
He noted: “As members, perhaps for the first time in a long time, we have provided stable governance and worked together maturely.”
Cllr Medi concluded: “There is much work that still needs to be done, but it is encouraging to see progress having been made over the past four years.
“We never want to be in a situation where powers are stripped away again, but I think the last few years have been vital in proving to the Welsh Government that we are capable of governing as a council.”