Wales’ top councillor is standing down

Martin Shipton

A council apprentice who rose to become the most powerful councillor in Wales has announced that he will be stepping down as leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council and as leader of the Welsh Local Government Association.

Cllr Andrew Morgan, who has led RCT for 12 years and the WLGA since 2019, said: “While I would not change any of the opportunities I have had over this period, improving services and delivering visible investment across the county borough, I decided at the last council election in 2022 that it would be my final election and it was time to seek new challenges.

“As I am not seeking re-election in 2027 and to allow my party colleagues the opportunity to select a new leader to lead the council into the future, I will therefore step down in the coming months as council leader.”

First elected to represent Mountain Ash in 2004, he said: “The one thing I am most grateful for during my time as a councillor is our staff. I want to place on record my thanks to everyone who has and continues to work for Rhondda Cynon Taf.

“As someone whose career started as a local government apprentice, I recognise the importance of local employment opportunities that the council provides. We are the biggest employer locally, and that is why I, during my time as leader, have invested in creating almost 400 apprenticeships and over 150 graduate positions, to ensure we nurture and grow our local talent.

“It is only through the efforts and dedication of our staff that my colleagues and I have been able to deal with the unprecedented challenges we have faced during my period as a leader, from the decade of public sector austerity, the Covid pandemic and the impact of severe weather in recent years.

“Against these challenges we have continued to transform and improve frontline service delivery and transform the county borough through the largest capital investment programme in Wales, from £1bn in new 21st Century schools to new residential care facilities to meet the needs of the next generation of older people.”

Asked what his philosophy had been as leader, Cllr Morgan said: “I’m really mindful about public money. We’ve got thousands of staff that have to make decisions every day. And certainly we don’t always get everything right, including myself. But I’ve always tried to push that it’s public money. With managers I say, try and spend the money as if it was your money.

“And I’m always trying to get the maximum kind of impact. So when we’re spending money, it’s not just about getting a project done. How do you get local employment? How do you get local training? Or where’s the spin off so that that the pound gets spent a number of times in the local economy. “The other thing is that I’m massively involved in my community in terms of helping to run two community centres.

“I love community stuff. By being grounded, people are quick enough to tell you if they’re unhappy or feeling things like the rise in the cost of living. Having conversations like that are important, because it’s easy to lose contact with the community and what people are going through. If you’re not going through it yourself, you can be a bit detached. And I hope that the one thing I’ve always done is to understand that sort of stuff.”

‘Choices’

Cllr Morgan said it was important to have conversations with residents about the choices around council tax: “If you cut council tax by 20%, I’d have to lay off 500 people. It’s a real balance. I think it’s important to be more honest and open with people. Some will challenge and some will say, politicians are all the bloody same. But in most cases, just treating people fairly and not taking people for mugs is the important thing.”

As a leader, he has also been open to cross-party cooperation. In contrast to previous times when there was a lot of confrontation between Labour and Plaid Cymru councillors, Cllr Morgan has made it clear that if there are causes for concern brought to him about the delivery of public services by opposition councillors, he will look into them.

He said: “We can get better things done when we work together. That doesn’t mean we’re always going to agree, but at least if we all know the problem, we share what’s going on and we have a conversation and it comes back to that kind of understanding: are we missing anything? You know, taking different people’s views in my view. I don’t do, as I call it, the nasty politics. I had a really good conversation with [Plaid Cymru leader] Rhun ap Iorwerth, helping him on the budget negotiations about local government.

“And I met with Jane Dodds, the Lib Dem. She is really supportive of local government.”

Reform UK

He acknowledged that with the rise of Reform UK, there was a different dynamic in politics: “I think in the short term, it is a real concern. I would describe it as the rise of a kind of populist politics. And I think that the real issue is having genuine debate. When you dig into the policies and scratch the surface, various political parties and individuals will come under scrutiny around do they actually have a policy to deliver what they say, and how will they deliver what they say, and how will they afford what they’re saying. Just having soundbites for the cameras and having these kinds of populist lines is a real concern because what you will end up with is people finding out very quickly that they’re not getting what they think. And you could end up with a real destabilising period.”

In March Cllr Morgan will turn 50. He said he has a few irons in the fire, including public sector roles for which he is currently being assessed.

He said: “I actually think that we’ve got to keep modernising public services. I think public services are a force for good. I see so much good stuff being done.

“People knock the health service, they knock other agencies, including the police. There’s a lot more to do in lots of areas. But actually I do get to see some of the good and the way that it changes people’s lives for the better. And I really thrive on that.

“That’s what’s kept me going, despite the pain and sometimes the grief of having to make difficult budget decisions, getting public abuse or threats and various things.

“None of that’s nice, but when you get somebody writing a simple thank you letter because you’ve taken time to look at their problem and address it, helping them or supporting them, makes it worthwhile.”