‘Incensed’ Tories rebel in vote over council spending
VALE of Glamorgan Council leader John Thomas has been told his backbenchers will no longer tolerate being ignored after a “devastating defeat” over his budget.
It is understood there is serious discontent among the council’s Conservative group over what insiders say are “a number of PR blunders” such as proposed car-parking charges, dog controls and the “closure” of Llancarfan Primary School.
It is also understood several Conservative councillors were “incensed at the perceived arrogance of doing a deal with Labour” to approve the budget rather than address concerns within the party, while some were concerned about the level of council tax increases in the budget.
Almost half of Conservative councillors – a total of 11 – abstained from voting in favour of the budget on Friday.
The budget, which included a 4.9% council tax rise, was passed after the Conservative leadership struck a deal with Labour.
Cllr Thomas has defended his administration’s record and said he was confident he can agree a way forward with most of the councillors who voted against him.
He said he sought a deal with Labour after meeting Conservative colleagues last Wednesday and realising he could not rely on the support of his whole party.
But a source within the Vale of Glamorgan Conservatives said: “This was a devastating defeat for the cabinet and it sends a strong message that the group will no longer tolerate being ignored on key policy decisions. How John Thomas reacts to the vote will dictate what happens next.
“Let’s be clear, the group wants significant change and they were furious that he went to Labour for a budget deal instead of sorting things out face-to-face within the group.”
The budget was passed at an extraordinary council meeting after the Conservative administration’s original proposals were voted down by four of its own councillors along with Labour and Plaid Cymru a week earlier.
But the four councillors who originally voted against the budget – Vincent Bailey, George Carroll, Janice Charles and former Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies – were swelled in their ranks with as many as 11 Conservatives abstaining on voting for the amended budget.
A statement on behalf of the four councillors said: “As councillors, our duties first and foremost are to our constituents – and we simply weren’t satisfied that council tax payers were getting value for money out of the proposed increase.
“We had concerns about a range of issues including council tax, car parking and the closure of Llancarfan School – and that’s why we took the difficult decision to oppose the budget, meaning that it did not pass.
“In the discussions that followed, further measures were agreed, including extra funding for the 95a/b bus services – while proposed on street car parking charges in the Vale were scrapped.
“We welcome these changes, which will bring huge benefits to our communities – but our concerns over other issues, including council tax levels, remained.
“We therefore decided to abstain when the revised proposals were brought before full council on Friday and were joined in doing so by a large number of colleagues.”