In his regular blog for Caerphilly Observer, Caerphilly Council leader Lindsay Whittle gives his take on recent news.
Proposed boundary changes
The proposals by the Electoral Reform Society which would see a new Caerphilly and Pontypridd constituency created are, frankly, crazy.
It would see towns and villages like Ystrad Mynach, Llanbradach, Hengoed, the Aber Valley and wards in Caerphilly linked with St Fagans and Creigiau, affluent areas of Cardiff.
Lumping areas together in this way is daft. There is certainly no affinity or physical link between the communities. The Electoral Reform Society and their researchers and location specialists CACI, clearly hadn’t considered the fact that links in the valleys go north-south, not east-west because there are mountains in between.
This sort of proposal might work well in the flat lands of East Anglia but certainly not in the valleys of Wales. It seems change for changes sake.
And the daft ideas don’t stop there. Blackwood becomes part of an Ebbw Vale & Blackwood constituency under the plans while next-door Pontllanfraith ends up in Cwmbran and Pontypool. Again, the same argument applies as with St Fagans.
I’m sure politicians from other parties will have similar concerns that this has been just thrown together with little thought. If there is to be reform of Parliamentary boundaries then the Electoral Reform Society really needs to go back to the drawing board and use a bit of common sense.
Gren Jones
I was a great fan of the cartoonist Gren Jones. His work always made me chuckle and certainly his daily cartoons have been sorely missed since he passed away.
The contours of the Valleys, where Gren hailed from, were reflected in much of his finest cartoon strips.
So I’m delighted that Caerphilly Council has created a walking route around Hengoed, where Gren was born, taking in the famous viaduct.
Gren Way will include artworks showing popular Gren characters and I was delighted to be present at the launch of the initiative. This is a really fitting tribute to a great Welsh talent.
Lindsay Whittle,
Plaid Cymru leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council