Senior councillor reports himself to Public Services Ombudsman

A former independent councillor has reported himself to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales after it emerged he was a member of a political party.

Former council leader Cllr Goronwy Edwards quit the cabinet last week as his membership of the unnamed party was not declared on his register of interests.

Now Cllr Edwards, the former cabinet member for infrastructure, transport, and facilities, has issued a statement admitting he made an “error of judgement”. He was previously in the Conwy First Independent Group.

‘Error of judgement’

The Caerhun councillor said: “As reported, I have stepped down from my role as cabinet member on Conwy County Borough Council.

“I made an error of judgement in not disclosing my membership of a political party, of which I’m no longer a member.

“I’ve spoken with the monitoring officer and referred myself to the Ombudsman. I’ll now await the outcome of that process.”

He added: “It’s been a privilege to work alongside my cabinet colleagues and officers, and although I’m also no longer part of Conwy First Independent Group, I’m still a committed member of Conwy County Borough Council, and I’ll continue to work hard to represent the residents of Caerhun ward and the wider Conwy community.”

Earlier this week, Aberconwy MS Janet Finch-Saunders called Cllr Edwards’ position on the council “untenable”.

A Conwy County Council spokeswoman said this week: “Any decisions on whether to investigate a councillor for breach of the Members’ Code of Conduct is a matter for Public Services Ombudsman for Wales.”