Labour in charge for far too long

AS the only Welsh Conservative councillor in the Bridgend County Borough, I have been quite shocked by the demise of the local Labour group over the past few months, culminating in the deselection of six of its councillors for having the audacity to defy the local politburo.

How undemocratic and unpleasant this process appears to have been. As a result, there is no doubt in my mind that the “old guard” of the Labour movement has had its day with feelings and opinions cascading down from Westminster to local constituencies, causing division.

Labour has been in charge of Bridgend, and the Assembly come to that, for far too long and it’s time for change. Grandad won’t “turn in his grave” if you vote for a party other than Labour. In fact even he probably realises it’s time for change.

Not only did Wales come bottom of all the UK nations in education performance in 2016 yet again but Bridgend, under Labour, has one of the highest teacher pupil ratios and one of the lowest spends per pupil in Wales. How long do you want this to go on?

They also now propose to turn off all the street lights in some areas of Bridgend to save money: in a perverse way this might work as we won’t be able to see the potholes they haven’t repaired.

Even worse is the enforcement of the new two black bags per fortnight waste collection scheme which is to be implemented in April with the threat of a £75 fixed penalty for those who flout the two bag restriction. This will be a nightmare, with people having to prove whose bag is whose if the fixed penalty is to be enforced: a nigh on impossibility. “They” must know this, so why threaten something which cannot/will not be followed through?

Surely it is not beyond the wit of man to provide an incentive to recycle with rewards such as those given elsewhere to pupils with 100% school attendance. The suggestion that the “bin police” need to derive their income solely from issuing these fixed penalties is not the case. The same contractors derive most of their income from the issue of litter/fly-tipping and dog fouling fixed penalty notices. It is all very well Labour councillors in Brackla picking up litter as a one-off but who will pick up all the black bags left in the streets after April when this Labourled council implements this unworkable scheme?

In May you will have a chance to change the political balance in Bridgend. Regardless of your or your family’s previous political affiliation, it’s not healthy for local democracy to be dominated by one political party for so long. I would like you to at least consider voting for your local Conservative candidate, a candidate who believes in a strong local government and one which is accountable to local people whilst providing high quality, efficient public services and value for money.

It is vital for the future of Bridgend that we have a new administration after May’s elections. Councillor Ken Watts Welsh Conservative Newton Ward