Powys CC - the best authority in Wales?

Yes, Powys County Council could become the best local authority in Wales, if and only if, its 73 members had the courage to abolish the three Shire Committees.

The existing three Shire Committees: Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Brecknockshire are an anachronism which is preventing further modernisation of the authority and their continued existence panders to the abject failure of certain long-standing members of the council to accept the reality of the local government changes of 1973 and 1996. As long as these Shire Committees are allowed to continue in existence, there is absolutely no incentive for members of the council to adopt a Powys-wide mindset, and they will continue to make decisions which favour their shire over the rest of the county.

Make no bones about it, it is the conservative-inclined “Independent” members who are most keen to protect their power base and they are the ones who are least willing to accept the fact that, whilst the Shires have an honourable place in the history of Mid Wales, that is all they now are – history. The pernicious influence of the Shires permeates the council’s decision-making and none more so when the council faces difficult decisions. Then you will see councillors revert to type and cling, limpet-like, to the notion of loyalty to the Shire.

I can’t remember who said that “… patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”, but whoever it was could well have been describing most of Powys’ county councillors and their misplaced adherence to the Shire structure.