Reckless ‘can’t go to meetings’ asTory manifesto released
WELSH Secretary Alun Cairns has made it clear that former Ukip AM Mark Reckless cannot be allowed to attend meetings of the Conservative group at the National Assembly.
Mr Cairns was speaking after the launch of his party’s local government election manifesto at Dinas Powys, in his Vale of Glamorgan constituency.
Last week Tory Assembly group leader Andrew RT Davies said Mr Reckless – a regional AM who represents South Wales East – would be joining his group, despite not being a member of the Conservative Party.
This would make the Conservative group the second largest at the Senedd, restoring them to the position they held before last year’s election when they were overtaken by Plaid Cymru.
The situation has caused disquiet among senior Tories, many of whom regard Mr Reckless as having acted treacherously when as an MP he defected from the Conservatives to Ukip immediately before the Tory conference in 2014 in a move designed to cause the party maximum embarrassment.
This has led to speculation that Mr Davies’ days as Assembly group leader are numbered.
Mr Cairns told us: “The reality is that he’s an Independent AM and is committed to voting with the Welsh Conservative group. In view of the fact that he is an Independent AM I won’t be talking with him or including him as a member of the Conservative group, and he’s certainly not a member of the Conservative Party.
“I’m certainly not going to defend Mark Reckless in any way, shape or form.
“I think the reality is that he’s an Independent AM and there’s been a lot of misunderstanding around that.”
Asked whether he would be happy about Mr Reckless attending Conservative group meetings, Mr Cairns said: “He’s an Independent AM, so he can’t go to a Conservative group meeting.”
Mr Davies sought to brush aside questions about Mr Reckless.
“Asked whether he had discussed with Welsh Conservative chairman Jonathan Evans the status of Mr Reckless in relation to the group, he said: “We speak on a constant basis.
“You don’t go through the media when you speak to colleagues.”
In a press release put out to accompany the Welsh Conservatives’ council election manifesto, the first pledge mentioned is “Honour local armed forces heroes”.
Asked why that was the top pledge, Mr Davies said: “It’s a series of pledges that we’re making around council tax, around delivery of services, but through the next five years of local government we’ll be coming to the centenary of the end of the First World War.
“Our local councillors will be working with communities to make sure we provide services to veterans in the community already, but also we work to those commemorations for the fallen so that those who’ve given us our democracy aren’t forgotten.” Mr Davies said there was a “whole pile of other pledges” in the manifesto to provide accountability on council tax bills, which people felt were totally out of control because they’ve gone up by £1,000 since 1999.
People also wanted to see better public services delivered and sustained in their communities, and above all protection of the environment by dealing with fly-tipping.
Asked whether he disputed that council tax rises were a consequence of austerity funding cuts imposed by the Conservative government in Westminster, Mr Davies said: “I disagree with that. There have been various initiatives over the last five years emanating from Westminster which have allowed money to come to the Welsh Labour Government which could have allowed council tax to be frozen.
“But the Welsh Labour government along with Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats have chosen not to do that.
“As I said, Band D properties have seen council tax rise by nearly £1,000 since 1999. Rises like that are unsustainable.
“So if you want good control of local finances and quality local services delivered, then you need to have a Welsh Conservative representing you after May 4.”
In response to a Labour assertion that the single Welsh council controlled by the Conservatives had seen council tax rise by 25% more than the Welsh average, Mr Davies said: “Well, that’s because the funding formula that Welsh Labour have in Wales is a population-based formula that disproportionately affects rural authorities.
“Monmouthshire is an example of a very well-run local authority under the leadership of Peter Fox which has been recognised across the political divide, especially in the context of the City Deal in South East Wales where Peter has played a leading role along with councillors from other local authorities.”