The former leader of the council and now leader of the community independent group has stressed the importance of consultation and listening to the people of Merthyr Tydfil. Councillor Kevin O’Neill is the leader of the recently set up community independents group and has set out what their priorities are going in to the council elections on May 5 this year.
Having served in the police previously, Cllr O’Neill became an independent councillor and leader of the authority in 2017 at the last elections. He was suspended for seven months in 2020 and when he returned he became a cabinet member in the independent administration.
But following concerns over the independent administration’s approach towards engagement and consultation with the communities especially around the location of a new 3-16 Catholic school and a cabinet reshuffle, he and a few fellow councillors decided to set up a new group called the community independents. He said the aim is to get as many independent councillors elected as possible so they have an overall majority.
Looking back on the last five years
He said during his three and a half years as a leader they sometimes had to rely on others. During his years as leader he said: “All things considered we did really well.”
But he said it came down to the lowest common denominator and sometimes that lowest common denominator may be one individual who was not the right individual to make those decisions. He said: “There’s been some division. There’s been some, I think, not squabbling. Whoever described it as squabbling doesn’t understand politics.”
“There’ll always be a difference of opinion. That’s the thing with an independent group but we’ll come together, I’m sure we will, after the election. We’ll brush ourselves off, see what we’ve got and then move onward.”
The road ahead and improving finances
On the road ahead for the council, Cllr O’Neill said: “We were going in a positive direction before the assurance board came in. We inherited a mess. We inherited a projected £36m overspend. We leave with a £1.5m surplus., £4.5m before the main hit of Covid.
“We still have money to come in, we still have millions of pounds to come in hence our push for no rise in council tax. That wasn’t posturing that was good science." He said wherever they are as far as finances go, they were on that journey because they took reserves to the lowest agreed level by the regulations.
He said: “We were considered reckless, we were considered inept. No, that was the start of a journey and nothing has changed all the way through.” Cllr O’Neill said one of the community independents’ main manifesto pledges is to be “good councillors, visible, accessible, competent and trusted.”
He said people still come to him in their thousands and that they want to be financially sound adding that he comes from a background in the police service where he always delivered his budgets. He said there’s been a change at the senior level which they were highly influential in and the worked with assurance board at first before he was suspended and lost a year and he said that knocked them off kilter a bit.
He said that the direction was the same but it could have been much quicker and stronger.
What makes a good councillor?
In terms of his fellow councillors and potential new councillors, Cllr O’Neill said despite the difference of direction sometimes at the top end, he’s got no issues with anybody. He said the current councillors are a “good group of people” and they are losing some good people who are not standing.
He said: “The big thing for me is a work ethic. Work hard, be honest to people. I’m out in the streets with people all the time talking to people. That’s what I enjoy.
“You know when you hear people say ‘oh I love campaigning’? What a load of tosh. Campaigning should be every week." He said they’ve looked to recruit and find people of the same like and they’ve virtually got candidates now in every ward who worked hard during Covid and were embedded in communities.
He said: “That’s what we’re looking for. Community activists.”
Listening to the people
Cllr O’Neill said one of the big issues for them is planning adding that the council has an outstanding officer in Judith Jones. He said: “We’ve got big housing estates looking to be built, we’ve got huge work to be done in relation to the Cyfarthfa Project, in relation to the possible ski project, in relation to the town centre, all these things going on and people need to be consulted with.”
He said consultation is key and it’s the process adding “it’s not the people’s fault. If we’re not getting the results back from consultation then you need to get out there and speak to the people.” Cllr O’Neill said it’s been a hard five years but he’s hoping that the next five will be better when people will approach things in a more professional and dignified way.
He said: “Some of this stuff on Facebook and some of the personal things that have been done to me. It’s not necessary. It really really isn’t. That doesn’t impress. That doesn’t encourage anybody whatever colour rosette to get involved in local government. Local government at its best is fantastic. At its worst it’s horrendous.”
On the pandemic, he said that crisis management is his game and that every came up to the metal there. He said everybody got involved and they were on the world stage as the first place to do mass testing.
Issues around housing
He said there is a lot going on in Merthyr Tydfil but they’ve got some issues. “We’ve been badly affected by the legislation in relation to housing where we have to house those who present as homeless.
“We haven’t got the facilities we’ve had to take over facilities on the high street. That’s caused problems in relation to anti-social behaviour. “We’ve invested millions of pounds in the high street. New shops, new developments, businesses, restaurants, everything.
“So this all has to gel together.” He said they have to focus on working with partners in security, community safety and policing.
“We must create a safe environment for our communities in the town centre and beyond.” He said there’s a three pronged approach in the town centre with the regeneration, reviewing what they’re doing on housing and dealing with crime and anti-social behaviour.
What motivates him to keep working
On what keeps him going and passionate about local government, Cllr O’Neill said it’s driving through change. He mentioned the work with the Friends of Thomastown Park on the oldest park in Merthyr which he said has a fantastic history and after five years they’ve got a group together, they’ve got a chair and they’ve got some money.
He said they’ve improved the tennis courts but there is lots more to do. He also said you get some satisfaction from seeing congestion improving with roads getting safer and better.
Cllr O’Neill said he’s also been involved in work in Dowlais in relation to the A465 dualling in supporting jobs and companies. He said community engagement is key and mentioned the money they’ve helped to get for the Twyn hub each year and the Engine House project in Dowlais with funding from Merthyr Motor Auctions.
Cllr O’Neill said he’s an ordinary guy who teaches martial arts twice a week, goes out and helps people and if he can help people with issues around policing he will. He said: “It’s about being professional.”
He said he wants people from the community who aren’t coming into politics for their own but for the right reasons. Cllr O’Neill said it’s important to be honest with people as “they’ve been told too many lies in the past, too many pipedreams. They need to have the truth.”
He said education is important not just in terms of buildings but getting the right structures, accountability and governance and the right performance framework. On planning he said you need to be honest with people by saying if you’ve got any prejudicial interests and you can’t be pre-determined.
He said they also need to look at the situation with the leisure trust and a different approach to retail in the town. Cllr O’Neill said it’s about making their community better for those living here now, the underprivileged, the elderly, the young, the unemployed but also making it better for the future.
“We’re blessed by our geographical position and our wonderful environment but also by our people.”
The other candidates in the Town ward are Andrew Barry (independent), Martin Eaglestone (Labour), Leighton Evans (Plaid Cymru), Ian Gwynne (Plaid Cymru), Julia Jenkins (Independent), Dai Jones (Labour), Rose Maycock (Labour), Kelly McCarthy (Labour), Shaun O'Malley (Plaid Cymru), Vivian Pugh (Plaid Cymru) and John Thomas (independent).
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