Plaid member quits over monument row

A PLAID councillor for Carmarthen has jumped ship over what he claims was a “lack of support” from the party over calls to involve the public in talks over the future of monuments and street names linked to slavery.

Councillor Alan Speake, who has represented the Carmarthen West electoral ward since 2004, has joined the Independent party on the county council.

Street names and monuments, including a memorial to soldier Sir Thomas Picton, are to be re-evaluated across Carmarthenshire.

However, Cllr Speake felt everyone in Carmarthenshire should have a say because council taxpayers had contributed to the upkeep of memorials and monuments for years.

His motion was not supported and the fact no other Plaid councillor supported his view was the last straw, he said.

Cllr Speake said: “I have decided to leave Plaid due to the lack of support from the party over an amendment I proposed at council which was to have a public consultation over the future of Picton Monument in Carmarthen and the re-evalution of street names.

“I had no support from my fellow councillors and I believed it was right to have everyone involved to get the public’s views on these issues.

“I have been contacted by several members of the public who are up in arms over the Picton statue.”

Last week, county councillors voted in favour of a motion which makes clear the authority’s abhorrence of racism, prejudice and discrimination - past and present.

The motion supports the Black Lives Matter message and pledges to work with BAME comunities to identify and eradicate racism.

A cross-party task and finish group will be set up to take the work forward, and efforts made to include colonialism, exploitation, discrimination and racism in Wales’s new school curriculum.