CERYS FURLONG: LABOUR'S YEAR IN POWER

Labour Councillor Cerys Furlong 

Well it’s nearly three years since that pesky community & Labour activist Keith Jones asked me to write a guest post for his then ‘Cardiff East’ blog. Three years on and he reminds me I am no longer representative of the ‘new generation of Labour Councillors’ but perhaps in the eyes of my worst detractors, part of the establishment- that is Cardiff’s Labour Council. Well either way, this is a welcome opportunity to reflect on the past twelve months, personally and politically.

In my last post, I was one of 13 Labour Councillors elected to Cardiff Council. The UK had just returned a less than convincing victory for David Cameron leading to alliance known now as ‘The Coalition’. At that time, I was more concerned (on a day to day basis at least) with the coalition ruling Cardiff Council- The Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru, Berman and McEvoy. As Chair, and Press spokesperson of the then small opposition Labour Group, there was plenty to do. 

"As Chair, and Press spokesperson of the then small opposition Labour Group, there was plenty to do."

As we got into 2011 it became clear to me that the local elections of May 2012 were going to be quite different from my first experience of standing for Council in 2008, when I was returned as one of only two new Labour Councillors (the other being Heather Joyce). This time there were young people (as well as middle aged and older), women, a more diverse representation of religions, ethnicity and social class groups- and they were enthusiastic self- motivated campaigners.

So May 3^rd 2012 happened. I still owe one mate £20 for not thinking Labour would take more than 35 seats. I did not anticipate returning 46 Labour Councillors with a clear mandate for change in Cardiff. However, waking up (or rather being nudged after a short nap) to go and celebrate with our Leader Cllr Heather Joyce & First Minister Carwyn Jones, brought home the reality. We were going to do this. 

As a sitting Councillor, who had spent four years being frustrated at the lack of action on so many important issues, that was both incredibly exciting, and daunting. I had also started a new job only weeks earlier, and was unsure how my group being in control of the Council would impact on my work as a Councillor. There was also the matter of moving from being a group of 14, to 46.

"It’s absolutely fair to say it has not been plain sailing."

So what happened? Ha! Well, there have been differing accounts. It’s absolutely fair to say it has not been plain sailing. However, I never expected it to be. Under previous administrations it almost felt like there was no direction, no vision, no passion. There were clearly issues that individual politicians felt strongly about, championed, and deserve credit for. However, I always felt that it was local government mediocrity. Happy to continue as long as no one got too unhappy, criticised too much, or asked difficult questions. One thing is for sure, you can’t accuse this Labour Council of seeking to court the media for populist appeal?! I should know, I was part of the first story to make headlines; that surrounding the Lord Mayor. 

"In my four months as Chair of the Council, I went to some amazing events, mixed with business leaders, community groups, guides & scouts, people from a range of faith groups and from communities across Cardiff."

This issue is straightforward to me: The idea to separate the important roles of Lord Mayor and Chair of the Council is sound. So much so, that this is included in forthcoming legislation from Welsh Government to take effect across Wales. However, the process by which we went about this was in hindsight not the smartest political move. It became clear that the proposed changes could not be in-acted as quickly as suggested, and this caused understandable concern to some groups of residents. After a few months, I felt that it would be better to stand down, although the process to separate the role continues. Despite that start, I think we achieved some important things. In my four months as Chair of the Council, I went to some amazing events, mixed with business leaders, community groups, guides & scouts, people from a range of faith groups and from communities across Cardiff. I was humbled by the number of people who told me how refreshing it was to have a younger (and dare I say female) councillor representing the Council in this way, and I will treasure the letters and cards I received from them. That is not in any way to denigrate the fantastic Lord Mayors past and present, but simply to say that that role (like any other in the council) should be representative of the Councillors within the Council, and the people it serves. 

Cllr Cerys Furlong as Chair of Council raising money for Llamau

So what next? Not content with our first few sensationalist headlines, we ploughed straight into a Senior Management restructure. While I could understand some of the furore (indeed my own reservations are on record) this did not seem to me to be a strange move. In any place that I have worked, where there is a change in leadership direction, there likely follows a restructure of staff & resources to deliver this. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that in my view- it does not suggest that people were not doing a good job, it simply states: This is what we want to achieve; these are the roles we thing necessary to deliver that vision, and we want the best people possible to do that for Cardiff.

"I believe we are starting to see scrutiny begin to have an impact on policy in the Council in a way that rarely happened in the previous four years." 

Amongst the other changes I have observed over the last twelve months include a rejuvenation of the scrutiny process- It’s been fantastic to see motivated chairs and members, some as first time Councillors, taking on their roles with real energy. I believe we are starting to see scrutiny begin to have an impact on policy in the Council in a way that rarely happened in the previous four years. There is more to do here, and the Constitution Committee (which I chair) will be looking at the role of scrutiny, and how it plays a role in shaping policy and direction, as well as its traditional reflective scrutinising role, over the next twelve months. It’s only through working with Scrutiny Chairs and Councillors of all political parties that we will make these positive changes.

One of the key issues of policy I am pleased to see develop under this Council is the Local Development Plan (LDP). As a newly elected Councillor five years ago, I was shocked and depressed to see how this incredibly important process was being used for short term political gain. I argued then that we needed a more mature approach to planning the development of our city and I’m glad to see some of the issues I championed coming to the fore, and that despite having to make some unpopular decisions, Cllr Ralph Cook is leading that process effectively.  

"The pledge to freeze Council tax, made before the election, remained."

So fast forward to the budget. This was never going to be easy, we knew that before the elections. The pledge to freeze Council tax, made before the election, remained. Although in the context of the budget of over £500m, raising, freezing or lowering Council tax has little impact on the overall bottom line- and in that respect at least, I was content that tax payers in Cardiff might appreciate the relative stability in their household bills. I was also extremely pleased that we were able to deliver a Living Wage to Council employees- some of the lowest paid workers in our city. That said, there were some extremely difficult and painful decisions to make- not the sought that any politician comes into local government to make. However, that is the thing about local government, the buck stops with us. Most legislation passed in Westminster or Cardiff Bay requires local government to either directly, or indirectly deliver services. So in the real context of reducing budgets for Councils, and an extremely challenging economic situation, Councils have to make tough decisions. There is no shirking the legal responsibility to deliver a balanced budget. 

So that’s a very broad brush look at a year in Council. There are many other issues I could bore for Britain on, not least the work of the Constitution Committee in trying to reform how Council works. This is not sexy stuff, but a further example of this Council getting to grips with issues that had been simply ignored for too long. Outside of County Hall, ward work continues. This year it’s going to be fantastic to see the opening of a new building for Ysgol Treganna after years of campaigning by parents, pupils, teachers and residents. I’m also pleased to see investment going into Fitzalan High School- a school that has demonstrated it is possible to quietly but surely go about improving results and outcomes for children, year on year. 

And despite the frustrations, and the pantomime that is sometimes Full Council, it is good to see that we are slowly becoming more representative of the people we serve as Councillors. Granted progress is slow on some fronts (we have only 1% more women councillors now than in 2008) but the Council now has more representation from minority ethnic groups, younger Councillors, and more Councillors who also work. These I believe, are good things.

As for me?  I stand by what I said last time on Keith’s blog that; the reality of being a Councillor is that you do your best for four years (or in this case five) and then it’s up to the important people, the electorate, to decide if that best is good enough. You can’t say fairer than that. 

Councillor Cerys Furlong is a Labour Councillor serving the Canton ward and was first elected in 2008. In 2012 she served as Chair of Council and is currently the Chair of the Constitution Committee.

Councillor Furlong: @cerysfurlong