The Welsh council where democracy goes to die

Rhys Mills

If you're wondering how democracy starts slipping through the cracks like loose change down the back of your sofa, look no further than Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Labour’s been running the show there for a while, but it seems they’ve developed a serious case of selective deafness, especially when it comes to the people they’re supposed to be serving.

The latest farce involves Llancaiach Fawr Manor and Blackwood Miners’ Institute - two cherished local landmarks that the Council proposed cutting or changing.

So, in a move that could only be described as “tokenistic at best,” they launched public consultations. Cue residents, community groups, and even their own scrutiny committee flooding in with feedback.

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Ignored

And the feedback? “Find a way to save them.” The message couldn’t have been clearer if it was written in 20 foot letters across the Sirhowy Valley - That is, if they weren’t building that incinerator there.

So, naturally, the Labour Cabinet did what any reasonable council would do - They completely ignored it.

That’s right, public consultation? Ignored. Scrutiny committee? Ignored. It’s like they asked for everyone’s opinion and then chucked it into the recycling bin with last month’s pizza flyers.

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Discarded

They might as well have put out an automated message saying, “Thank you for your feedback, it will be discarded shortly.”

This is exactly the sort of behaviour that turns people into disengaged, eye rolling cynics.

If you can’t even trust your local council to listen to the people it represents, then what’s the point?

It’s a masterclass in how to make people stop caring about democracy altogether.

But there’s a darker side to this kind of idiocy. This is exactly how you create the perfect conditions for a certain type of populist to crawl out from under their rock.

You know the sort, the professional complainers who never actually have to do anything but shout from the side lines.

Imagine a bloke in a shiny suit that doesn’t quite fit, hunched over a smartphone, ranting about “the will of the people” on his latest Facebook Live.

Opportunistic

These characters thrive on the gap between what politicians promise and what they actually do, like opportunistic weeds growing in the cracks of a crumbling pavement.

They love this kind of chaos. Why? Because they’ve never had to make an actual decision in their lives.

Their whole career revolves around throwing tomatoes from the cheap seats and stirring up as much outrage as possible.

It’s all about the optics - getting their names in the paper, posting angry videos about potholes on social media, and acting like they alone have the magic solution.

Spoiler: they don’t. They wouldn’t know policy from a packet of crisps. But they don’t have to. They just need to shout “betrayal!” loud enough for it to echo through social media, and suddenly, people are paying attention.

And thanks to the Labour Party’s knack for bungling their own consultation process (see the one they ignored on leisure provision), the door is wide open for these populist wind machines.

You can practically hear them sharpening their pitchforks now. All they have to do is point to the Council’s ineptitude and say, “Look! They’re not listening to you!”

With their decisions on Llancaiach Fawr Manor and Blackwood Miners’ Institute, Caerphilly Council has handed a gift wrapped present to them on a silver platter.

Voice

Ignoring the public’s voice in decisions about community heritage isn’t just short sighted, it’s the perfect way to lose the trust of the very people you rely on for votes.

And when you lose that trust, you create a vacuum, one that populists are all too eager to fill with their superficial and sometimes dangerous rhetoric.

The Labour Party in Caerphilly needs to take a good, hard look at what they’re doing here.

Ignoring consultations and expert advice is more than just bad optics, it’s a guaranteed way to let political apathy fester. And once that apathy takes root, bad faith actors can swoop in.

There’s a more sinister populist at the door this time, not just the local plucky lot we’re used to. These come armed with private money and a charismatic national leader who’s really good at persuading members of the public to vote against their own interests.

We must all leave our politics at the door and fight these cuts with everything we have.

I care about my community, and I’m not giving up on it, even if the Labour Party has.

Rhys Mills is a Plaid Cymru councillor and Mayor of Blackwood