Back To The Parish Pump

Residents of Llandrindod are nothing if not perverse. In the space of a week Cllr Gary Price, who you may remember stormed out of the town council in a hissy fit a year ago, and who then forced an expensive by-election to get himself re-elected, now finds himself both Mayor of Llandrindod and on the Board of Powys County Council. These two posts, together with his full-time job as a postman, should keep him busy over the next year or so, but will they keep him out of mischief?

Cllr Price, who once claimed to be the only truly Independent County Councillor on Powys County Council, has not only thrown his lot in with the Shire Independents, formerly the Mongomeryshire Independents, he was extremely active during the recent general election campaign supporting the Conservatives. Perhaps being elected Mayor was a reward for his valiant efforts? Or is he simply paving the way to join the Conservative Group on Powys County Council? But even this doesn't explain why Cllr Price publicly endorsed the Christian Party's Martin Wiltshire in the recent by-election for Llandrindod Town Council. He clearly doesn’t quite get what it means to be an Independent, or perhaps he is simply very confused.

One of the unsuppressible correspondents to our local press, (I referred to him recently as an "inveterate correspondent" , but this resulted in personal abuse), last week bemoaned the poor showing of his friend Jeff Green in the general election. Jeff managed just 222 votes for the Welsh Christian Party in Brecon and Radnorshire, however it was this correspondent's reasoning in last week’s Mid Wales Journal that fascinated me:

"Pity Jeff Green of the Christian Party didn’t do a little better. Christians have been around for centuries; how beneficial it would have been to see a member of this party as our MP.

We were all christened, and in days gone by, were married in Christian churches, later also these Christian churches were used to say ‘goodbye’ to this life – we are all equal then…" Yes, quite, but is that an even remotely valid reason why people should vote for the Welsh Christian Party?

In today’s Brecon & Radnor Express there is another letter from this same correspondent, paying tribute to Gordon Brown and then this:

"Whilst writing this letter I watched the BBC news and saw the result of bribery and corruption. I never used to think that politicians had any principles – now I know it to be a fact of life. One leans to the left or right and I will give you two guesses which of the parties I favour."

No, not all of us necessarily lean to the left or to the right, that’s the old politics. These days we seek to create effective governments and make things happen, and this involves ditching old-fashioned labels like New Labour and Modern Conservatives, no-one is fooled by these attempted re-brandings. What matters now is who is prepared to work with whom for benefit of all. If you are not prepared to work with others, you are simply not in the game.