Its not what you know....

The anger felt by Swansea citizens over the £84,000 taxpayers cash that David Phillips his wife Sybil Crouch enjoy is being vented quite regularly in the local media. Today this is in the form of a letter, which also points out that this £84,000 is on top of what they already earn. Having this income is one thing but with it you also need influence beyond the chamber. This would probably explain the fact that Councillor Crouch's name appears the most on the list of outside bodies the council sends representatives to. In the list, Councillor Crouch is confirmed as a decision maker on the Community Cohesion Fund Grants Panel. One of the aims of the fund is to ensure "People from different backgrounds have similar life opportunities"

The Cabinet Member who doesn't pay Council Tax

Labour Swansea University student
Councillor Mitchell Theaker, aged 21,
Who gives a hoot about student fees
when Swansea residents are giving you
£31,900 to guzzle from your trough?

A letter from Peter Birch about the 3 Labour students being elected onto the council highlights the nose for money that Swansea's youngest cabinet member has.
In March he went for a £17,000 job in the Student Union, promising a 'revolution'. Fellow students rejected him quite comprehensively leaving a hole in his pocket.
Councillor Mitchell Theaker has bagged £31,900 a year now by becoming a cabinet member for "opportunities and young people".
His fellow Labour student councillors, Pearleen Sangha and John Bayliss each earn £13,000 a year as back benchers.
Even though the taxpayer is footing a bill for £58,000 to pay their wages, none of the 3 pay a penny back in council tax as students are exempt.
This could cause friction with their seasoned anti student Labour council colleague Councillor Nick Bradley who made his views quite clear in a recent letter.
Many Swansea families on £31,900 would love exemption from their tax. We hope that Councillor Theaker will bear this in mind and make voluntary payments to put Labour's anti poverty strategy into practice.

Going AWOL with your cash.

One of Swansea's new cabinet members Councillor Nick Bradley is a now a very busy man. He already has a demanding job at the university which means he spends a lot of time abroad. We thought we'd ask him how he was going to manage the two roles...

Value For Money

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FROM:

• Milking Swansea

TO:

• nicholas.bradley@swansea.gov.uk

Message flagged

Sunday, 27 May 2012, 16:30

Dear Councillor Bradley

Congratulations on becoming a cabinet member. We were wondering if you were going to reduce the amount of international travel that your job at the university demands so that you can justify taking the allowance the taxpayers of Swansea are giving you.

Milking Swansea

And here's the reply.......

Out of Office AutoReply: Value For Money

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FROM:

• Bradley, Nicholas (Councillor)

TO:

• Milking Swansea

Message flagged

Sunday, 27 May 2012, 16:30

I am currently out of the office on annual lave until June 11th. I will answer e-mails upon my return.
Kind Regards
Cllr Nick Bradley
Cabinet Member for Regeneration

You are paying Nick Bradley £780 of his cabinet allowance, while he has gone AWOL for  a fortnight

So there you have it. Some serious explaining to do from Councillor Bradley then when he gets home. Last week at the council meeting he was given an extra £18,725 a year to take on the role. Having immediately gone AWOL until 11th June means that we are paying £780 for an absent cabinet member. Councillor Bradley represents the ward of Townhill. Hardly appropriate behaviour Councillor!

Council AGM Act 3: Labour leader leaves early to put his snout straight in the trough at an overnight hotel

Having given the wife a 32 grand job and interfered with another party's democracy Councillor Phillips left the council meeting early. He was off to the WLGA meeting in Llandrindod Wells. As you can see from the link, the meeting was on the following day (25th May). It has been normal practice for Swansea councillors to drive up in the morning to attend this. Llandrindod is about 90 mins drive from Swansea.
I'm afraid that when the Freedom of Information request comes back, Councillor Phillips will be personally guilty of one of his first trough crimes. What difference could the cost hotel bill have made to a needy family's quality of life. Perhaps Councillor Phillips ought to reflect on this in his new role as cabinet member for poverty. Shame on you.

Council AGM Act 2: Labour bang their bullying fists on the table

Councillor Richard Lewis - Won an election only to be
 bullied by Swansea Labour because they didn't like him

The Lib Dem opposition were granted a couple of committee chairs. They then held internal democratic elections to put their nominations forward. Councillor Richard Lewis was successful in one election. A few minutes before the council meeting started, the Labour leader said that he didn't want Richard Lewis as chair and the Lib Dems had to choose someone else. So much for respecting the democratic will of others then. What a bully.

Council AGM Act 1: Labour Council leader appoints wife to senior position

Agrippina and Nero alias
Sybil Crouch and David Phillips

Confirmed in the Council AGM of 24th May. Labour Leader Councillor David Phillips appoints  his wife Councillor Sybil Crouch. Councillor Phillips salary is £52,700. Councillor Crouch's salary is £31,900. This represents a taxpayer contribution of £84,600. The move is well documented in the Evening Post .
What makes this move ironic is that Councillor Phillips has proclaimed himself the Cabinet Member for Anti Poverty and made his wife the cabinet member for Sustainability. For those into classics, the similarity between this couple and Agrippina and Nero is striking.

Getting Your Cash Early

Today there was an extra council meeting that lasted 5 minutes to vote in the Lord Mayor and the Deputy. An extra item was slipped onto the agenda by Swansea Labour to give two of their councillors extra cash. The election of Leader and his appointment of the deputy leader is a function for the council AGM on the 24th. However, Swansea Labour insisted that the election was held 9 days earlier.

Christine Richards - The cup overfloweth by £405 for 5 minutes work

This means that David Phillips gets £567 straight into his trough, and Councillor Christine Richards gets £405. In other words Swansea Labour have binned nearly a grand into their pockets as a result of a 5 minute meeting. Barely a week in and they are at your cash already.

The Big Kick Off

Swansea Labour kicked off the new council season with an all expenses paid trip to the Swans v Liverpool game. The council box was opened at the tax payers expense. The Freedom of Information request will reveal the bill and also the guest list.