Pauline Jarman, Plaid Cymru’s leader on Rhondda Cynon Taf council, has condemned a decision to give a top scrutiny role to a former Independent councillor who defected to Labour.
Councillor Jarman said that Councillor Roger Turner of Brynna was being rewarded with the chair of the council’s powerful Overview and Scrutiny Committee for his defection.
It was previously tradition that an Independent member should hold the role and Councillor Turner chaired the committee as an Independent.
Councillor Jarman said: “This key scrutiny role has previously been occupied by an Independent member but Labour had no intention of continuing with the convention of giving the Independent group the chair of the committee.
“It was dishonourable for the ruling Labour group to break with this convention and following Councillor Turner’s election as chair, the Plaid group will boycott this committee because there is no trust or respect for these new arrangements.
“Only last September the council wrote to Assembly Members objecting to proposed changes involving the chairs of scrutiny committee, arguing that it would exclude minority party members from chairing committees. Well, that’s exactly what they have done now for political expedience – Councillor Turner is being rewarded for his defection.”
Next year new regulations from the Welsh Government will ensure that scrutiny chairs are allocated according to the political balance of the Council. This year there are no regulations in force to stop minority Groups from chairing Committees.
