Labour accused of hypocrisy for running campaign against own library closures plan

Martin Shipton

Welsh Labour has been accused of “staggering hypocrisy” after its Caerphilly Senedd by-election campaign van displayed a message saying “Save Our Libraries” – even though it’s the local Labour-run council that put them at risk.

Labour candidate Richard Tunnicliffe is urging residents to sign a petition he started to keep the threatened libraries in Caerphilly county borough open.

In September a judge granted an interim injunction, forcing the council to halt its plan to shut 10 libraries as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

The injunction will remain in force until a judicial review challenge of the original closure decision is heard by the High Court.

The granting of the injunction was not welcomed by Caerphilly council’s cabinet member for education, Cllr Carol Andrews, who has responsibility for libraries. She said: “It’s disappointing that the original decision has been overturned but we must respect the legal process. We are still committed to progressing our ambitious libraries strategy, which will help deliver a resilient and sustainable library service for the future.”

The council claims it must plug a multimillion-pound budget gap over the next two and a half years, and believes remodelling its library service could save around £500,000 annually.

It plans to continue offering normal library programmes at a smaller number of so-called hubs, where visitors can also access other council and third-sector services.

But critics say smaller communities will be the worst hit by the planned closures, and argue the at-risk libraries are important places for education, socialising and wellbeing.

Community groups

Council proposals to use Community Asset Transfers and pass libraries on to interested community groups may offer a lifeline for some sites, but have also drawn criticism.

The 10 libraries set to close are in Aberbargoed, Abercarn, Abertridwr, Bedwas, Deri, Llanbradach, Machen, Nelson, Oakdale and Pengam, not all of which are in the Caerphilly constituency.

Referring to Mr Tunnicliffe’s petition and the “Save Our Libraries” sign on the side of the campaign van, a Plaid Cymru source said: “People in Caerphilly will see through this cynical attempt to rewrite history when it is the local Labour council that is forcing through the closure of libraries across the county borough.

“It is staggering hypocrisy. The Caerphilly by-election is a chance to begin a reset of politics in Wales.

“A Plaid Cymru win for our excellent local candidate Lindsay Whittle will be the first step towards the change of government that Wales so desperately needs, Plaid Cymru offers new leadership for Caerphilly and new leadership for Wales next year.

“People want to feel hope once again – that is what Plaid Cymru offers, not Labour’s stagnation. Only a vote for Plaid Cymru on October 23 will set our nation on a path towards better government.”

‘Under strain’

A Welsh Labour spokesperson responded: “We know councils are under strain after over a decade of underfunding from the UK Tory Government. That’s why our Welsh Labour Government put an extra £261m in the local government settlement this year, following the record devolution settlement in June’s UK Labour government spending review.

“Richard Tunnicliffe knows the importance of these library services – they are about more than just books, they are community hubs. Now Caerphilly borough has over £20m of extra funding through the Pride in Place scheme, we’re calling for some of that money to be used to help Caerphilly County Borough Council avoid closing the libraries.

“While Plaid carp from the sidelines, Welsh Labour is looking for solutions to the issues facing the residents of Caerphilly county.”