When petards get hoisted

A letter appears in today’s Evening Post from 15 Swansea social workers who deny whistle-blowing at an earlier meeting with Labour officials that vulnerable children had been forced to spend the night in motorway cafes.

The claims which hit the headlines drew absolute denials from council sources that are now apparently backed up by the signatories who state that nothing of the sort was ever said. They add that they are “not aware of any such incident taking place”. The letter is accompanied by a report of how this week’s council meeting heard demands for the allegations to be withdrawn.

Such an unequivocal denial by the staff involved is seen as a political and personal blow for Labour leader David Phillips who, having had the Lib Dem-led regime on the ropes for some time over its poor stewardship of a key service area, now finds himself and his party of the back foot whilst also refusing to back-peddle on claims of what was actually said.

Equally, Edwina Hart will be less than thrilled to see this latest development. She and her staff expect further questions by press & political opponents over her judgement in getting involved at all. The timing of such queries arising as Assembly cabinet posts are up for apportionment is hardly opportune.

Meanwhile, Swansea’s Lib Dems have gleefully seized upon the opportunity to divert attention from the glaring fact that children’s services has spiralled down into special measures on their watch. Their press releases are certain to repeat earlier demands for a full apology - accompanied by vague assurances of improvements. Other administration figures baited in the past by Phillips for lapses in integrity are said to be returning the favour with relish.

This unhappy outcome for the city’s Labour group was to be expected given that their only perceptible tactic since losing office has been to lay a succession of complicated & well-signalled ambushes for the council’s ruling cabal; sprung in the naive hope that the politically detached local media will somehow join in - thus prompting the controlling coalition to break up out of sheer despair. Some hope.

It was bound to backfire at some time and, as it happens, the Beans on Toast editorial carries a clear condemnation stating “It sounds to us very much as though this claim was made rashly in order to score political points and with no concern for improving the care of children in the city”. Not exactly the most insightful of comments but one that has its consequences nonetheless.

One of these is that the episode will be rightly portrayed in future coverage - not to mention government circles - as supporting evidence that service improvements are too often hampered by cross-party spoiling actions. Another might be to start questions as to whether a party which acts so recklessly should be entrusted with supervising the scrutiny process.

It is a setback for Phillips but, for some observers, it could also be a prompt for Labour in Swansea to perhaps think again on how they can act more like an opposition with their own ideas, comments and alternatives rather than an reactionary administration-in-exile, led (no matter how ably) by a one-man-band. Hopes on that front however are not said to be high.

Note: Due to the inexplicable policy of the Beans on Toast to put anything other than actual news coverage on its website – compared to their sister regional publications in the Northcliffe group - we are unable to provide a link to the story mentioned.