Your local election guide
Labour are in the dominant position ahead of the May 4 elections, with 60 councillors – but contenders Plaid Cymru are fielding a 63-strong team of candidates in the battle for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. Thomas Deacon speaks to some of the leadership cont
LABOUR are in a dominant position ahead of the May 4 vote with 60 councillors but contenders Plaid Cymru are fielding a 63-strong team of candidates in the battle for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.
Andrew Morgan, leader of the Labourrun council – 60 sitting councillors, 75 candidates.
The Labour councillor has been leader of the authority since 2014, a councillor for 10 years before that and was on the cabinet from 2008.
A lot of the time, people stand for election with no idea what it will entail.
But as a council employee and trade unionist before that, he knew exactly what he was getting into.
In the past three years, he believes he’s made a lot of changes, from the council structure to the day-today priorities.
Coun Morgan, representing Mountain Ash West ward, said he wants to not only make the lives of those living there now better, but to improve the prospects for those growing up there.
His authority has invested £2m in leisure services. They have already improved 52 play areas and have agreed funding for another 34 in the next year, more than half of those in the authority.
During his term he faced criticism for charging for sports pitches, but says that now, a few years on, clubs can see investment in their facilities.
He said he never wanted to outsource leisure.
“We haven’t had to outsource it. Not just because I’m a former trade unionist or council worker, but if a company can make a profit when it’s outsourced to them, then there has to be something phenomenally wrong from the way we are running it.”
Coun Morgan also chairs the City Deal board, a position he’s held for 16 months.
He said: “Working on the City Deal for the last 16 months, it’s given me a fresh perspective and I have been able to bring that to the council.”
Roads are a crucial part of Coun Morgan’s plans. He says if they improve roads they have to improve buses or trains to reduce reliance on cars.
Pauline Jarman, leader of the Plaid Cymru group – nine sitting councillors, 63 candidates.
The Plaid Cymru group leader since 1996, Coun Jarman has had a long political career and previously worked in the familyrun butchers.
A candidate for the Mountain Ash East ward, Coun Jarman became a councillor after her two sons wrote to the Cynon Valley Leader to complain about the lack of facilities in the area.
The 70-year-old grandmother and soon to be great-grandmother was spotted by then Plaid Cymru councillors and later joined the party.
Coun Jarman said: “We’ve got a very good national and local manifesto. We’ve been listening to people over the last two years, and we’ve been building up the issues that people want action on – not politicians.
“The key to our manifesto illustrates that sometimes little things mean a lot.
“It isn’t always about the multi-million pounds you spend on whatever – it is about things that are in the community that need to be strengthened.
“In RCT the environment has been on everyone’s lips. Dog mess is a particularly problem.
“You won’t have
to be a political anorak to enjoy our local manifesto. There’s something in there for everyone.
“Making sure that our vulnerable children, elderly and disabled people get the level of service they deserve is key to some of our pledges, and in real terms protect the social service and education budget.
“Whatever else may suffer, social care and education won’t be among those areas that will be losers.
Known as “The Boss” to some, Coun Jarman said: “We’ve got a very good slate of candidates, we’ve got a good gender balance.
“We’ve got a mix of very young candidates through to more mature candidates like myself. Inexperienced and experienced, and that is first-class.
“If we did regain control I would be absolutely over the moon, because it has been a tough five years and I think that the people are ready for change.
“People are not very content about the level of council tax in RCT compared to other counties.”
Paul Wasley, previous leader of the Independents – four sitting councillors, 35 candidates.
Paul Wasley, who is a candidate in the Tonyrefail East ward, worked in the steel industry for much of his life and, despite admitting to not being politically minded for much of his life, he decided to become a councillor and was later elected in 2012.
Coun Wasley, 67, from Old Dinas, said: “We have got one main issue that we all agree on. We always put people before politics.
“That rings true on all of our policies. What we try and do is really scrutinise it [council policy] in the areas that affect people.
“I joined the council in 2012 and I realised that people were not being put before policies.
“The first time I was elected, the feeling I had was one of elation and one of trepidation.
“Tonyrefail is a very friendly place, the people here are salt of the earth.
“My former vocation was that I was in business, a successful business, and I employed a lot of people. I’ve worked hard throughout my life.”
Leader of most of the Independent group since 2012, Coun Wasley said: “I think to be honest with you I couldn’t say which way this election is going to go.
“People have an awful lot of mixed views going from Brexit to Westminster to Trump.
“People have had a guts-full of politicians, I’m getting this on a daily basis on the doorstep.
“I think that if we don’t do something really off the wall in certain areas, then we will face big problems.
“My main policy is to make Tonyrefail a better place to live, but I’m also mindful that the whole county of Rhondda Cynon Taff needs to become a better and richer place, so that we can all enjoy it.”