Plaid Cymru won’t vote for proposed new Mayor – “You can’t reward bad behaviour”

The leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham Council has branded the ruling administration “a rogue council” ahead of a vote tomorrow on new civic roles.

As we reported yesterday nominations for Wrexham’s new mayor and deputy set to be debated by councillors tomorrow, with a recommendation from the Constitution Working Group that “Councillor Paul Rogers be nominated for the office of Mayor” and “Councillor Beryl Blackmore be nominated for the office of Deputy Mayor”.

As we have previously reported opposition groups pulled out of the group amid claims the administration ‘reran process three times’ to get their own way following the two nominations emerging this year. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cllr Marc Jones, who leads the Plaid Cymru group on Wrexham Council, said the move to make Paul Rogers the Mayor “will bring the council into disrepute”.

Cllr Rogers is currently serving a three month suspension after what the Ombudsman statement last month referred to as ‘incident which occurred on a bus’, with the Local Standards Committee finding Cllr Rogers had breached the Code of Conduct. The suspension started on the 16th of February and will end on Tuesday, 16th May.

Cllr Marc Jones said, “It’s quite astounding that the ruling coalition is ignoring warnings that this move will bring the authority into disrepute. Reaction to the news has been almost universally hostile and this is fast becoming a rogue council where the proper processes are being ignored and the political leadership is playing fast and loose with the constitution.

“The process of selecting the deputy mayor was dubious to say the least, what’s gone on at the licensing committee has made it to Private Eye’s Rotten Boroughs column and now this. People will question whether this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Cllr Jones said his group would be requesting a recorded vote, “…so that the people of Wrexham could see how their councillors voted”.

He added: “The Plaid Cymru group will not be supporting a person who is suspended as a councillor to be the next mayor of the borough. I hope other councillors will realise that you can’t reward bad behaviour.”

(Top pic, Cllr Marc Jones)