To put it another way, there are only five council areas in Wales where residents pay less than we do. That won’t change after this year’s decision.
Of course, I understand that “Vale residents braced to pay less in council tax than most people in Wales” doesn’t cut the mustard as a headline.
Having taken a close interest in local government for 60 years (and serving as a councillor myself for 16 years from 1973), it seems to me that our current leaders have the toughest gig ever.
The damage done to public services through the years of ‘austerity’ is still causing deep pain, and while the Welsh Government and UK Government have started to restore funding levels it’s not yet anywhere near what is needed to meet the massive demands of social care and education never mind the many other services that we all expect the council to maintain at pre-austerity levels.
The international political frenzy in the age of Trump gives us plenty of cause for despair, but the local scene – living in a town where citizens do come together to get things done, and our councils are committed to ‘placemaking’ as well as maintaining services – is the bright place in a mad world.
Yours sincerely,
Alun Michael.
