Labour and Plaid clash over launch of anti-poverty scheme
Martin Shipton
A Labour town councillor has accused a Plaid Cymru-controlled council of letting down impoverished residents by failing to launch an agreed “multibank” project in time for Christmas.
Plaid Cymru said the delay was unavoidable, and said it was “scandalous” that the Labour councillor was trying to weaponise poverty.
Llanelli Labour town councillor Shaun Greaney said that with the help of Swansea’s Cwtch Mawr Multibank, he had distributed 6,000 essential household items – free ‘Christmas “gifts” – to Llanelli people in need, thanks to the scheme, which was inspired by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
But he claimed that Carmarthenshire County Council had been unacceptably slow in rolling the scheme out across the whole of the county.
Cllr Greaney said: ‘Too many families in our town are facing hardship this Christmas. The wonderful Cwtch Mawr Multibank in Swansea very kindly approached me to help support such families.’
Household items ranging from shoes to detergents, nappies to washing up liquid have been delivered to charities in Llanelli for distribution to those in need to help cut household bills at ‘the most expensive time of year’, he said.
‘I know what it’s like to be in poverty. I’ve had to use a foodbank and I’m delighted the help was there when needed. Unfortunately even in the fifth richest country in the world, Great Britain, the legacy of 14 years of Conservative austerity and Brexit has fuelled a chilling whirlwind of hardship that may be worse than the Thatcher years,
‘It’s sad but this will take time to repair. As a Labour-led town council we have sought to bring the Cwtch Mawr Multibank, which has brought dignity to families in need with over a million items distributed within two years – to Llanelli.
“I feel we have been thwarted in this endeavour by the Plaid-led county council, despite a successful motion brought by my Labour county council colleague Martyn Palfreman.
“A million items distributed in Swansea, with the support of the Labour council, is an incredible feat. Labour in Carmarthenshire want to see that level of assistance on offer throughout the county without delay, yet despite taking this incredible concept to the county nine months ago, our dream has still to be born.
“I don’t believe it’s rocket science to make it happen. People are in need. The goods are available. The county council must get its act together. Plaid are showing that they can’t even run a multibank, let alone Carmarthenshire, and on this showing, certainly not the whole of Wales,’ said Cllr Greaney.
‘Scandalous’
Plaid Cymru councillor Alun Lenny, Carmarthenshire County Council’s cabinet member for resources, said: “It’s quite scandalous that Shaun Greaney should use the help being given to those who live in poverty as a political weapon. His remarks about Plaid fly in the face of the spirit and activity of the cross-party Tackling Poverty Advisory Panel on the county council, which has a Tackling Poverty Plan embedded in its corporate strategy. No party has a monopoly when it comes to providing help for the thousands of individuals and families who live in poverty in Carmarthenshire, and no government can absolve itself of responsibility for them.
“The county council is currently in active discussion with the Multibank to clarify details about its future operation in the county. It’s essential that the venture is placed on a firm footing. Assurance must also be sought that it wouldn’t impact on the fantastic work already being done by existing charities and bodies in Carmarthenshire who provide those who live in poverty with food, furniture and clothing.
“It’s also worth pointing out that as a result of advice given by staff at the county council’s Hwbs, during an 18 month period, an extra £7.5m was obtained in benefits by over 5,700 residents who needed and deserved help. And, of course, there’s the annual Christmas Toybox appeal, run by the county council, which distributed over 9,000 gifts to more than 1,500 needy families last year – thanks to the generosity of the county’s residents.”
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The best anti-poverty scheme we could have is independence. Ymlaen, Gymru annwyl!
It would be naïve in the extreme to suggest that all that is required to end poverty in Cymru is independence. It’s more likely that independence would mean more poverty in the short to medium term. We can pay our way. just about according to some experts, but our economy has been aggressively wound down over the past century and nothing like enough done to create the prosperity needed to truly eeradicate poverty in the way that the Nordic countries have done – and even there relative poverty remains, and would remain in a free and soverign Cymru too. I… Read more »
Only in this country is poverty seen as a weapon, against everyone else to blame.
Putin is profiting from the mineral wealth in Ukraine despite heroic sacrifice by the natives, Trump is now threatening to do the same to Greenland but should face some tough eskimo firing harpoon guns.
Hopefully they realise we have no mineral wealth for them, otherwise our only form of defence would be millions of dole cheques made into paper planes.
There is still a lot of mineral wealth in them thar hills… Trouble is that it only becomes viable when the world price of those commodities is very high.
I’ll ignore your use of a racist term, as I suspect it’s said in ignorance, not malice – Inuit live in Greenland, and indeed all over the far north of the North American continent. Mr Trump has also done a rather abusive and one sided deal with Ukraine over mined minerals, so he’s no better than his pal Vladimir.