Labour’s happy to keep us in the dark

I’M amazed by Caerphilly County Council’s constant lack of action when it comes to the street-light scandal.

This Labour council has ignored the public on streetlights, with Labour councillors in scrutiny even trying to stop this motion being debated in council.

There have been more than 200 letters sent in by members of the public objecting to the lights switchoff, as well as thousands more signing a Plaid Cymru petition.

Labour’s blackout is negatively impacting the lives of people who live alone, the vulnerable, the elderly and shift workers.

In 2010, Labour councillors claimed that the then Plaid Cymru administration “were putting lives at risk” when we had a public consultation around switching off lights between major towns and on industrial estates.

There is a fundamental difference between switching off lights in the heart of communities versus a bypass or an industrial estate.

I’m sure Labour councillors will revert to their usual battle cry of “where would the money come from?” – the same Labour group that spent millions in taxpayers’ money to pay for a senior officers’ pay scandal, and the same Labour group that’s closing our leisure facilities.

The money can be found if there is a political will, but Labour is obviously determined to keep the taxpayers of the borough in the dark.

Labour should stop all further switch-offs before the damage is done and have a major rethink about switching the lights back on.

But as was the case with a recent council vote on the issue, Labour is quite happy keeping us in the dark – quite literally.

Rhys Mills

Councillor for Blackwood South Caerphilly