Plaid Cymru duo defect to Labour
Liam Randall, local democracy reporter
Two Plaid Cymru councillors have defected to Labour over concerns about their former party’s handling of sexual harassment claims.
Cllr Emma Holland, who represents Gwersyllt North, and Cllr Kate Wilkinson, the elected member for Offa, have both joined the Labour group on Wrexham Council.
The move comes just over a year after a damning report was published which found a culture of sexual harassment, bullying and misogyny within Plaid Cymru.
Sexual harassment
According to Welsh Labour, the two ex-Plaid Cymru members feel that not enough has changed in regard to how cases of sexual harassment are dealt with.
Their decision increases the number of Labour councillors on the local authority from 14 to 16, while the amount of Plaid politicians has dropped from nine to seven.
Plaid has been asked to respond to their claims.
Dana Davies, leader of Wrexham’s Labour opposition group, said: “We are pleased to welcome Councillors Emma Holland (Gwersyllt North) and Kate Wilkinson (Offa) into the Labour group at Wrexham County Borough Council.
“Both are dedicated public servants who are deeply committed to their residents and communities.
“With our shared values, I am confident that each will be a valuable contributor to the collective efforts of Team Labour.”
Smear
A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “A concern was raised with Plaid Cymru’s group leader on Wrexham Council eighteen months ago and was dealt with at that time. No further allegations were made to either the council group or to Plaid Cymru centrally.
“We wish Cllr Holland and Cllr Wilkinson well with their decision, but we are disappointed that they should choose to allow their new party to smear their former colleagues for political gain.
“Welsh Labour has chosen to try to distract from its own problems with a fact-free smear. We challenge them to publish the defamatory allegation in full and face the consequences.
“As both were elected as Plaid Cymru councillors we feel it’s only right that they stand down and stand again as Labour councillors.”
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Interestingly they have waited until after the Vaughan Gething fiasco before they change allegiance.
Katie Wilkinson’s Facebook profile shows her celebrating with Plaid Cymru on July 4th, general election day.
She wasn’t angry with Plaid then, or could it be that Labour have spun it?!
This is a shame. The Plaid Wrexham branch is generally highly regarded. They’ll be missed, I would imagine.
From the frying pan into the fire!