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Western Telegraph
7 hours ago
- General
- Western Telegraph
Deputy leader no-confidence call slammed as 'waste of money'
At an extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council on June 2, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy called for no confidence in Councillor Paul Miller to remain as Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member. Cllr Murphy had made the call, which was ultimately unsuccessful, partly due to comments made by Cllr Miller at an April meeting of the council's Cabinet in which he moved an amendment with regards to Welsh Education Strategic Plan (WESP) to request officers collect data from parents of children electing a Welsh medium education. A bone of contention for Cllr Murphy was when Cllr Miller commented with regards to parental choice for Welsh medium school Ysgol Caer Elen: '…all of them that I know who send their children to Caer Ellen honestly couldn't give a toss whether it was Welsh or English'. 'Comments such as this in 2025 are unacceptable and serve to create a perception of bias when it comes to the delivery of Welsh medium education, something that generations have striven for, namely equality and fairness,' Cllr Murphy has previously said. 'For a Deputy Leader of Council to make such comments and then refuse to retract when he has had ample opportunity to do so makes his position untenable both as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member. The matter was reported to the Welsh Language Commissioner and was called in to the May Schools O&S Scrutiny Committee, ultimately returning to a May 21 meeting of the Cabinet, hearing a proposal by Cllr Miller to now collect data on all languages and additional information, before the special extraordinary meeting of June 2. Responding at the special meeting, Cllr Miller repeated previously made comments, saying there had never been an intention to collect the information through a formal schools process. He reiterated the 'couldn't give a toss' comment was one made by a mother in his ward which he had repeated, apologising if he had caused upset. He added: 'I believe Cllr Murphy should be deeply ashamed of his actions, he is trying to create division in the county of Pembrokeshire where no division exists,' adding: 'To suggest that either I personally or the administration is anti-Welsh is simply not true.' He was not the only one to take umbrage at Cllr Murphy's call, with Conservative Group Leader Cllr Di Clements saying: 'This is nothing more than petty political point scoring which we want no part of,' and council leader Cllr Jon Harvey saying it was 'creating division where none exists and political opportunism at its worst.' The no confidence call in Cllr Miller was defeated by 28 votes to 16, with 11 abstentions. There are 11 Conservative Group members in the council. Commenting after the meeting, Plaid Cymru county councillor for Tenby, Cllr Michael Williams who said he 'in no way condoned Cllr Miller's comments,' described the meeting as 'a complete waste of time and money'. He added: 'Cllr Murphy seems to think Local Government is a game and submitted absolutely no arguments to support his motion.' He went on to describe it as 'a pathetic waste of time,' saying: 'I hope lessons will be learnt, but I doubt they will. It amounted to an abuse of a democratic forum for personal promotion.' Cllr Murphy said he still felt he had made the right call, saying Cllr Miller 'never once showed contrition for his comments'. He added: 'The fact Cabinet have now been compelled to amend their position through the call-in and Welsh Language Commissioner's intervention shows the value of these challenges as otherwise Cllr Miller would be requesting data from less than 20 per cent of Neyland parents for wishing to send their children to Caer Elen over the 80 per cent sending their children to Haverfordwest High or Milford Haven which would suggest clear bias against Welsh medium education. 'As Leader of Independent Group I have no regrets in requesting a call in and then an EGM and if such behaviour is repeated by Cabinet members it won't be the last time such a meeting is requested under the constitution. Neither did we canvass support from any other political group.' He finished: 'The fact the Conservative Group, through abstaining, threw Cllr Miller a lifeline will not be lost on Pembrokeshire voters who will draw their own conclusions on such a decision where the Conservatives have effectively supported Labour and the administration on this issue.'
Western Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Council deputy survives vote over ‘unacceptable' comments
At an extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council today, June 2, Independent Group leader Cllr Huw Murphy called for a vote of no confidence in Councillor Paul Miller to remain as Deputy Leader & Cabinet Member. Expanding on his reasons for the call, Cllr Murphy – in his submission - said: 'Councillor Miller on April 28 at a Cabinet meeting moved an amendment with regards to Welsh Education Strategic Plan (WESP) to request officers collect data from parents of children electing a Welsh medium education when the Schools Admission Code does not provide for the collection of such data. 'At this meeting Cllr Miller commented with regards to parental choice for Ysgol Caer Elen: '…all of them that I know who send their children to Caer Ellen honestly couldn't give a toss whether it was Welsh or English'. 'Comments such as this in 2025 are unacceptable and serve to create a perception of bias when it comes to the delivery of Welsh medium education, something that generations have striven for, namely equality and fairness. 'For a Deputy Leader of Council to make such comments and then refuse to retract when he has had ample opportunity to do so makes his position untenable both as Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member. The matter was reported to the Welsh Language Commissioner and was called in to the May Schools O&S Scrutiny Committee, ultimately returning to a May 21 meeting of the Cabinet, members agreeing to now collect data on all languages and additional information. 'Throughout the recent debate on WESP, Cllr Miller has ignored the views and advice of the Schools O&S Committee, Senior Officers, the Welsh Language Commissioner and even Mr Mark Drakeford his own Minister for the Welsh Language,' Cllr Murphy added. Responding at the special meeting, Cllr Miller repeated previously made comments, saying there had never been an intention to collect the information through a formal schools process. He reiterated the 'couldn't give a toss' comment was one made by a mother in his ward which he had repeated, apologising if he had caused upset. He added: 'I believe Cllr Murphy should be deeply ashamed of his actions, he is trying to create division in the county of Pembrokeshire where no division exists,' adding: 'To suggest that either I personally or the administration is anti-Welsh is simply not true.' Conservative Group Leader Cllr Di Clements said she was 'not really sure why we are all here,' adding: 'The deputy leader showed poor judgement in his use of inappropriate language to put forward a recommendation to evidence base decisions on why and where parents choose to send their children to school, it was rightly highlighted and called in.' 'The recommendation was changed to reflect those concerns and all present cabinet members agreed. The subject should now be closed.' She went on to say: 'This is nothing more than petty political point scoring which we want no part of,' adding the costs of the special meeting was some £2,000 for cash-strapped Pembrokeshire. Fellow Conservative Cllr Aled Thomas, the Conservative group business manager and County Council Welsh Language Champion said that 'today's meeting has done nothing but drive a wedge between Welsh and English speakers in the county.' He said Cllr Murphy has only spoken Welsh in the chamber for 26 seconds in the previous two years, adding: 'If the IPG leader was serious about promoting the Welsh language - he would practice what he preaches year-round and not just when it's politically convenient.' Another who criticising the notice was Cllr Jordan Ryan, saying it was 'a disgrace' and members should be working for the people of Pembrokeshire rather than taking part in a 'political game'. Council leader Cllr Jon Harvey said the call was 'creating division where none exists and political opportunism at its worst.' He said the amended form of Cllr Miller's proposal just sought a deeper understanding of parental choice, adding: 'This notice of motion and the reasoning behind it to my mind raises some bigger issues here; are members now not allowed to ask questions or express a view for fear of a vote of no confidence?' He said the 'anti-Welsh' claim was 'nothing more than opportunism designed to create division where none exists'. Former leader Cllr David Simpson, who had brought Cllr Miller into his Cabinet as deputy leader, described the call as 'political mischief,' saying previous independent peer reviews of the administration had described Cllr Miller as 'an inspirational member of the team,' Cllr Simpson asking: 'How many of you can say you were inspirational?' Another former leader Cllr John T Davies called on members to come together to eradicate the historic so-called 'landsker line' language barrier in the county, working towards bilingualism, saying there was a need for Cllr Miller to apologise for any offence and move on. Yet another former leader, Cllr Jamie Adams said there was a need for 'contrition and conciliation,' and for Cllr Miller to 'hold his hands up' and admit he'd 'got this wrong'. 'Perhaps Cllr Murphy's been attacked for having the tenacity for having this called in; I think there's an impression it was always going to happen to you, Paul [Miller], because there's an impression you know better than everyone else.' The no confidence call in Cllr Miller was defeated by 28 votes to 16, with 11 abstentions.
5 days ago
- Politics
Pembrokeshire council deputy chief ‘unacceptable' words row
A SPECIAL Pembrokeshire council meeting which includes a motion of no confidence in its deputy leader is to take place next week. The notice of a motion of no confidence call, by Cllr Huw Murphy, leader of the Independent Group, has been backed by fellow members. It is centrally due to concerns by Cllr Murphy about Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller's comments made during an April Cabinet debate on The Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), which led to a successful 'call-in' on that Cabinet decision by Cllr Murphy. In a heated discussion at a scrutiny committee prior to the matter going back to a special May Cabinet meeting, Cllr Murphy claimed Cllr Miller's comments showed 'a bias against the provision of Welsh Language education'. WESP is a ten-year plan, mandatory for all local authorities in Wales, that outlines how Welsh medium education will be developed within the authority. The WESP aims to increase the proportion of school year groups taught through the medium of Welsh and focuses on Year 1 learners. The plans also aim to contribute to the Welsh Government's goal of having 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, as part of the 'Cymraeg 2050' initiative. Pembrokeshire County Council's schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee met on May 14 to consider the 'call-in', specifically an amendment by Cllr Miller to its previous recommendation to note a report. The scrutiny committee voted for Cabinet to consider removing an amendment: 'That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how demand for Welsh language can be better captured. 'In particular this work should focus on disaggregating demand for Welsh Medium Education from other school choice considerations such as perceptions of learning outcomes, facility quality etc,' replacing it with: 'That the progress being made against the objectives set out in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, and Welsh Government's feedback to the Council's 2023/24 Annual Report, be noted.' Cllr Murphy's lengthy 'call-in' said: 'Some comments made by Cabinet appeared to display a degree of bias against the provision of Welsh Language education.' He quoted Cllr Miller from that meeting, in relation to Welsh medium Ysgol Caer Ellen: '…basically we've opened Caer Ellen and loads of people went there and therefore by definition they must want a Welsh Language education. 'I'm not sure how true that is, might be partly true, might be completely true but also it might not be. I know quite a few parents in that particular area obviously given my constituency in Neyland West and all of them that I know who send their children to Caer Ellen honestly couldn't give a toss whether it was Welsh or English, they're looking for a good school and so what they've got is a good school in Caer Ellen, great facilities, and so they're sending their kids there.' Cllr Murphy went on to say: 'Councillor Miller then continues and commented 'honestly the fact its Welsh medium has got nothing to do with anything so how do we differentiate those looking for a good school' and re-asserts this point where it appears that Cllr Miller by his comments does not think parents select Caer Ellen on the basis of providing Welsh education, rather that it's a 'good school' and requests data be collected to ascertain from parents why they choose Welsh Language education.' Cllr Murphy also raised concerns that some members of the Cabinet 'had little idea of the workings' of Fforwm Cymraeg, a committee which examines in greater detail the provision of Welsh language education in Pembrokeshire, and any data collection 'would be a clear indication that some Cabinet members do not believe parental choice in electing Welsh Language education'. At the May 14 meeting, Cllr Murphy said he had reported the matter to the Welsh Language Commissioner, who had shared his concerns, and was 'aghast what Pembrokeshire County Council recommended.' Cllr Miller responded saying there was no evidence members displayed a limited knowledge of WESP, and allegations that his comments displayed a degree of bias were 'entirely without merit,' standing by his words. 'It must be the case it is at least possible some parents are choosing Welsh medium schools other than because of the medium of Welsh. It's currently unknown; surely it's right the council seeks to understand the impact of other forces.' He said Cllr Murphy was 'trying to make something out of nothing,' in 'a naked attempt to create outrage, trying to paint some in this council as anti-Welsh,' adding: 'Cllr Murphy should be deeply ashamed of his actions over the last week in trying to create artificial division in the county of Pembrokeshire.' Cllr Murphy's call succeeded by seven votes to five, with the matter going to a May 21 extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council's Cabinet. That May 21 meeting led to the council issuing a statement: 'Following Cabinet in April it became clear that there were some concerns about the council potentially capturing information on the school choices made only by those parents choosing a Welsh Medium Education. 'To allay those concerns, the Cabinet today determined to explore collecting the information on the school choices made by all parents, resolving as follows: That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how the demand for school places can be better captured. 'In particular this work should focus on understanding the weight parents give to the different choice considerations, including: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc. 'As the council continues to consider proposals to modernise the school estate we believe it's important we have the best possible information available to ensure we make informed decisions in the best interests of pupils and parents.' Following the lodging of a no-confidence call, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman has now said: 'Following a formal request submitted to the Presiding Member, an Extraordinary Meeting of Council will take place on Monday ,June 2, at 1pm. 'The purpose of the meeting will be to consider a Notice of Motion of no confidence in the Deputy Leader of Council. 'The agenda will be published in due course.'
6 days ago
- Politics
Parents rally to save ‘heart of the community' from closure
A SPECIAL Pembrokeshire council meeting which includes a motion of no confidence in its deputy leader is to take place next week. The notice of a motion of no confidence call, by Cllr Huw Murphy, leader of the Independent Group, has been backed by fellow members. It is centrally due to concerns by Cllr Murphy about Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller's comments made during an April Cabinet debate on The Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), which led to a successful 'call-in' on that Cabinet decision by Cllr Murphy. In a heated discussion at a scrutiny committee prior to the matter going back to a special May Cabinet meeting, Cllr Murphy claimed Cllr Miller's comments showed 'a bias against the provision of Welsh Language education'. WESP is a ten-year plan, mandatory for all local authorities in Wales, that outlines how Welsh medium education will be developed within the authority. The WESP aims to increase the proportion of school year groups taught through the medium of Welsh and focuses on Year 1 learners. The plans also aim to contribute to the Welsh Government's goal of having 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, as part of the 'Cymraeg 2050' initiative. Pembrokeshire County Council's schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee met on May 14 to consider the 'call-in', specifically an amendment by Cllr Miller to its previous recommendation to note a report. The scrutiny committee voted for Cabinet to consider removing an amendment: 'That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how demand for Welsh language can be better captured. 'In particular this work should focus on disaggregating demand for Welsh Medium Education from other school choice considerations such as perceptions of learning outcomes, facility quality etc,' replacing it with: 'That the progress being made against the objectives set out in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, and Welsh Government's feedback to the Council's 2023/24 Annual Report, be noted.' Cllr Murphy's lengthy 'call-in' said: 'Some comments made by Cabinet appeared to display a degree of bias against the provision of Welsh Language education.' He quoted Cllr Miller from that meeting, in relation to Welsh medium Ysgol Caer Ellen: '…basically we've opened Caer Ellen and loads of people went there and therefore by definition they must want a Welsh Language education. 'I'm not sure how true that is, might be partly true, might be completely true but also it might not be. I know quite a few parents in that particular area obviously given my constituency in Neyland West and all of them that I know who send their children to Caer Ellen honestly couldn't give a toss whether it was Welsh or English, they're looking for a good school and so what they've got is a good school in Caer Ellen, great facilities, and so they're sending their kids there.' Cllr Murphy went on to say: 'Councillor Miller then continues and commented 'honestly the fact its Welsh medium has got nothing to do with anything so how do we differentiate those looking for a good school' and re-asserts this point where it appears that Cllr Miller by his comments does not think parents select Caer Ellen on the basis of providing Welsh education, rather that it's a 'good school' and requests data be collected to ascertain from parents why they choose Welsh Language education.' Cllr Murphy also raised concerns that some members of the Cabinet 'had little idea of the workings' of Fforwm Cymraeg, a committee which examines in greater detail the provision of Welsh language education in Pembrokeshire, and any data collection 'would be a clear indication that some Cabinet members do not believe parental choice in electing Welsh Language education'. At the May 14 meeting, Cllr Murphy said he had reported the matter to the Welsh Language Commissioner, who had shared his concerns, and was 'aghast what Pembrokeshire County Council recommended.' Cllr Miller responded saying there was no evidence members displayed a limited knowledge of WESP, and allegations that his comments displayed a degree of bias were 'entirely without merit,' standing by his words. 'It must be the case it is at least possible some parents are choosing Welsh medium schools other than because of the medium of Welsh. It's currently unknown; surely it's right the council seeks to understand the impact of other forces.' He said Cllr Murphy was 'trying to make something out of nothing,' in 'a naked attempt to create outrage, trying to paint some in this council as anti-Welsh,' adding: 'Cllr Murphy should be deeply ashamed of his actions over the last week in trying to create artificial division in the county of Pembrokeshire.' Cllr Murphy's call succeeded by seven votes to five, with the matter going to a May 21 extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council's Cabinet. That May 21 meeting led to the council issuing a statement: 'Following Cabinet in April it became clear that there were some concerns about the council potentially capturing information on the school choices made only by those parents choosing a Welsh Medium Education. 'To allay those concerns, the Cabinet today determined to explore collecting the information on the school choices made by all parents, resolving as follows: That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how the demand for school places can be better captured. 'In particular this work should focus on understanding the weight parents give to the different choice considerations, including: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc. 'As the council continues to consider proposals to modernise the school estate we believe it's important we have the best possible information available to ensure we make informed decisions in the best interests of pupils and parents.' Following the lodging of a no-confidence call, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman has now said: 'Following a formal request submitted to the Presiding Member, an Extraordinary Meeting of Council will take place on Monday ,June 2, at 1pm. 'The purpose of the meeting will be to consider a Notice of Motion of no confidence in the Deputy Leader of Council. 'The agenda will be published in due course.'
6 days ago
- Politics
Welsh-speaking communities to get targeted support to strengthen Cymraeg
A SPECIAL Pembrokeshire council meeting which includes a motion of no confidence in its deputy leader is to take place next week. The notice of a motion of no confidence call, by Cllr Huw Murphy, leader of the Independent Group, has been backed by fellow members. It is centrally due to concerns by Cllr Murphy about Deputy Leader Cllr Paul Miller's comments made during an April Cabinet debate on The Welsh in Education Strategic Plan (WESP), which led to a successful 'call-in' on that Cabinet decision by Cllr Murphy. In a heated discussion at a scrutiny committee prior to the matter going back to a special May Cabinet meeting, Cllr Murphy claimed Cllr Miller's comments showed 'a bias against the provision of Welsh Language education'. WESP is a ten-year plan, mandatory for all local authorities in Wales, that outlines how Welsh medium education will be developed within the authority. The WESP aims to increase the proportion of school year groups taught through the medium of Welsh and focuses on Year 1 learners. The plans also aim to contribute to the Welsh Government's goal of having 1 million Welsh speakers by 2050, as part of the 'Cymraeg 2050' initiative. Pembrokeshire County Council's schools and learning overview and scrutiny committee met on May 14 to consider the 'call-in', specifically an amendment by Cllr Miller to its previous recommendation to note a report. The scrutiny committee voted for Cabinet to consider removing an amendment: 'That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how demand for Welsh language can be better captured. 'In particular this work should focus on disaggregating demand for Welsh Medium Education from other school choice considerations such as perceptions of learning outcomes, facility quality etc,' replacing it with: 'That the progress being made against the objectives set out in the Welsh in Education Strategic Plan, and Welsh Government's feedback to the Council's 2023/24 Annual Report, be noted.' Cllr Murphy's lengthy 'call-in' said: 'Some comments made by Cabinet appeared to display a degree of bias against the provision of Welsh Language education.' He quoted Cllr Miller from that meeting, in relation to Welsh medium Ysgol Caer Ellen: '…basically we've opened Caer Ellen and loads of people went there and therefore by definition they must want a Welsh Language education. 'I'm not sure how true that is, might be partly true, might be completely true but also it might not be. I know quite a few parents in that particular area obviously given my constituency in Neyland West and all of them that I know who send their children to Caer Ellen honestly couldn't give a toss whether it was Welsh or English, they're looking for a good school and so what they've got is a good school in Caer Ellen, great facilities, and so they're sending their kids there.' Cllr Murphy went on to say: 'Councillor Miller then continues and commented 'honestly the fact its Welsh medium has got nothing to do with anything so how do we differentiate those looking for a good school' and re-asserts this point where it appears that Cllr Miller by his comments does not think parents select Caer Ellen on the basis of providing Welsh education, rather that it's a 'good school' and requests data be collected to ascertain from parents why they choose Welsh Language education.' Cllr Murphy also raised concerns that some members of the Cabinet 'had little idea of the workings' of Fforwm Cymraeg, a committee which examines in greater detail the provision of Welsh language education in Pembrokeshire, and any data collection 'would be a clear indication that some Cabinet members do not believe parental choice in electing Welsh Language education'. At the May 14 meeting, Cllr Murphy said he had reported the matter to the Welsh Language Commissioner, who had shared his concerns, and was 'aghast what Pembrokeshire County Council recommended.' Cllr Miller responded saying there was no evidence members displayed a limited knowledge of WESP, and allegations that his comments displayed a degree of bias were 'entirely without merit,' standing by his words. 'It must be the case it is at least possible some parents are choosing Welsh medium schools other than because of the medium of Welsh. It's currently unknown; surely it's right the council seeks to understand the impact of other forces.' He said Cllr Murphy was 'trying to make something out of nothing,' in 'a naked attempt to create outrage, trying to paint some in this council as anti-Welsh,' adding: 'Cllr Murphy should be deeply ashamed of his actions over the last week in trying to create artificial division in the county of Pembrokeshire.' Cllr Murphy's call succeeded by seven votes to five, with the matter going to a May 21 extraordinary meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council's Cabinet. That May 21 meeting led to the council issuing a statement: 'Following Cabinet in April it became clear that there were some concerns about the council potentially capturing information on the school choices made only by those parents choosing a Welsh Medium Education. 'To allay those concerns, the Cabinet today determined to explore collecting the information on the school choices made by all parents, resolving as follows: That the Director of Education be tasked with exploring how the demand for school places can be better captured. 'In particular this work should focus on understanding the weight parents give to the different choice considerations, including: language preference; learning outcomes; quality of facilities; transport provision; ALN provision, etc. 'As the council continues to consider proposals to modernise the school estate we believe it's important we have the best possible information available to ensure we make informed decisions in the best interests of pupils and parents.' Following the lodging of a no-confidence call, a Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman has now said: 'Following a formal request submitted to the Presiding Member, an Extraordinary Meeting of Council will take place on Monday ,June 2, at 1pm. 'The purpose of the meeting will be to consider a Notice of Motion of no confidence in the Deputy Leader of Council. 'The agenda will be published in due course.'
