In response to Tuesday’s budget vote County Council Deputy Leader Councillor Kevin Madge said: “Plaid Cymru are taking up the mantle of the Conservatives. They would certainly come in for a lot of praise from Eric Pickles, the Tory Local Government Minister who has frozen council tax increases throughout England. Plaid Cymru’s finance guru David Jenkins proposed an alternative budget that just doesn’t stack up. Their strategy would inevitably lead to either deep cuts in services, which would hit the weakest, or huge council tax hikes. They have abandoned any social conscience they may have had.
Adding insult to injury, the Plaid Cymru group, led by their finance spokesperson Councillor David Jenkins, also voted unanimously to oppose the Council’s ambitious £52 million capital programme. Had they succeeded, it would have meant that plans to build new schools throughout the county would have been scrapped, the council’s ambitious plans to regenerate the town centre of Ammanford would have been wrecked and hundreds of new jobs in the proposed Cross Hands East strategic employment site would have been lost.”
Steve Lloyd Janes, Labour Group Secretary added: “Their decision to oppose the council’s capital programme was nothing short of reckless. If they’d had their way, hundreds of jobs in the building trade would have been lost, and the biggest tragedy would have been the loss of apprenticeships. The redevelopment of the Llanelli Eastern Gateway would have been jeopardised and the future prosperity of the town would have been put at risk. Thank goodness that the Labour and Independent members were the in numbers to support the capital programme.”
