A town council has been left divided over whether it should spend public money on Jubilee celebration plans or not. Following a town council meeting vote, it was decided that the Denbighshire market town of Ruthin would go ahead with its plans to contribute money for Platinum Jubilee celebration this year.
The plan is to plant rose trees at a local care home and schools to mark the occasion. This comes as the UK is set to celebrate 70 years of the Queen's reign, which will take place between June 2-5 this year.
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But not everyone is happy with this decision. Councillor Ethan Jones has argued that the money could be spent elsewhere. He said: "I got some feedback from some residents about the decision, I voiced their views - which are also my views and they are: is this the best use of public funding amid a cost of living crisis?
"People have to choose between heating or eating, we've all heard about the story about Elsie having to ride the bus to keep herself warm - issues like these are not isolated to Ruthin or Wales, it's UK-wide. One of the key feedback I received was that Jubilee is a symbolism that glorifies privilege and wealth on the one hand, and reminds people that they are living in poverty on the other."
Councillor Jones said that he was happy that the decision had been debated in a "democratic" way. He added: "I'm all for investing in green spaces and helping the environment, by planting trees and bushes for example, I have no issues with that. At the end of the day, it was the result of a democratic voting by the council.
"Personally, I'm glad that if we are marking it, it will be low-key. But I still argue that it's not the best use of public money by spending it on the Jubilee. The response that I have received on this matter has been good - overwhelming at times, a lot told me that they were happy that their issues had finally been voiced by the council."
On the other hand however, the previous mayor of the town, Geraint Woolford, believes that money should be spent on the celebrations. He said: "It's such a major event nationally. The Queen has given fantastic service for the last 70 years - we should be celebrating such a great achievement.
"We've had them in the past - the golden jubilee, the silver jubilee, there were always events on. Some have said there has been issues with the royal family recently, we all know that, but that doesn't stop the fact that the Queen has been a good servant for all these years. She's our sovereign, she deserves this celebration."
When asked about Councillor Ethan Jones' point about how the money could be used elsewhere amid the cost of living crisis, the former mayor said: "The town council is not taking any money away from helping out the community in order to fund this event. I don't think that argument holds much water.
"They have their budgets for lots of other events through out the year. Personally, I feel like more should be done for this royal event. I've heard some will hold street parties, but it would be lovely to see more events happening in my home town.
"For the last two years, we have been stuck in lockdown and it would be nice to do something to bring the people of Ruthin back together. A lot of businesses have been struggling too, if we had an event at the town square, people would come and spend, and then it would bring a real boost to the local economy."
