A copy of Labour's latest leaflet 'Swansea West Welsh Labour Rose' drops through the letterbox. It is dripping with the sort of propaganda all too prevalent in today's politics.First up is an article demanding that residents stop the 'Liberal Democrat Council' building on the St. Helen's Recreation ground. The basis for this accusation is the Swansea Bay Strategy, currently out to consultation. Alas, not only has no such proposal been made by the Council, but its leadership has hinted that they will not accept this particular idea.
Why though is there no mention of the role played by Labour Minister and local AM, Andrew Davies in all of this. The Swansea Bay Strategy was jointly commissioned with the Labour Assembly Government and was launched by Mr. Davies. Surely, his association with the idea of developing the rec is as strong as the Councils. Like them he does not like the idea but that does not stop his party drawing its own conclusions.
Putting aside the deliberate error on the back page of the leaflet in which Social Services Cabinet Member, Wendy Fitzgerald, is described as a Liberal Democrat, Labour's prescription for mending social services is full of holes. Their spokesperson, Andrew Connell thinks that recruiting agency staff to cover unfilled vacancies is a waste of taxpayers' money.
This is not a view taken by Labour Councillors on Swansea Council, who recognise that there is a nationwide shortage of Social Workers and that in the short term it is better to cover vacancies rather than put more children at risk by not doing so. It is also not a view taken by other Labour-run Councils who have taken exactly the same course of action as Swansea.
It is true that allocating money 'directly to improving Social Services, giving assistance to children and families where it is most needed' sounds good but what does it actually mean and how precisely does it help the most vulnerable in our society? Once more Labour seem to be floundering in the dark.
The most audacious piece however comes at the end with Ian Ross accusing Liberal Democrats of allowing 'our school buildings to fall into horrendous conditions. As a result of the Lib Dems incompetence,' he says, 'our schools now have a £150 millions backlog of repairs.' Really? You can tell that nobody ever checks this stuff.
Let us be clear, Labour are now alleging that when they lost power in 2004 all of our school buildings were in an immaculate condition but that over the last three and a half years the Liberal Democrat administration has allowed them to collapse into near-ruin. That is quite a rate of deterioration. Do they really believe that voters will buy this nonsense.
The fact is that as with the Leisure Centre, the Central Libary, County Hall itself, Swansea Council housing and the Guildhall, there has been a dearth of investment in schools over decades of Labour rule. One hundred and fifty million pounds worth of repairs do not materialise overnight. The blame for this under-investment lies squarely in Labour's lap and it has been left to the present administration to put things right.
