Independent Councillor Crosses The Floor To Plaid

INDEPENDENT COUNCILLOR CROSSES THE FLOOR TO PLAID

An Independent Councillor for Llangadog last week crossed the floor to join the Plaid Cymru Group within Carmarthenshire Council, with Plaid just one Councillor away now from forming a Plaid-majority administration.

After last year’s Council elections, Plaid Cymru having missed out narrowly in forming the first majority administration in Carmarthenshire, entered into a coalition with Independent Councillors.

It now appears that this relationship may not survive the first year of this Council term.

Councillor Andrew James, who has represented the ward of Llangadog, was first elected in 2012 and stood in both elections as an independent.

Councillor Rob James, Labour’s Deputy Leader, responded to the news stating, ‘We have known for sometime that the Plaid leadership having been frantically attempting to persuade Independent Councillors to cross to floor, so that they may go it alone.

‘Llangadog has a long history in electing Councillors who claim that they’ll be an independent voice for their area in County Hall, yet Cllr James’ actions since the election has demonstrated that he is unable to stand up for Llangadog. Carmarthenshire Council continue to ignore the wishes of residents and businesses living in the north of our County, by failing to provide adequate recycling facilities since the closure of the AWS recycling site in Llangadog.

‘Considering that Plaid have failed to win a council seat in Llangadog despite standing in every election since 2004, Cllr James should consider standing down and trigger a by-election, enabling the residents to decide if they want to be represented at the county level by Plaid Cymru.’