Newport set for £7m of cuts despite protests

9:56am Wednesday 27th February 2013 in News

CITY COSTS: Councillors approve cutting £7 million CITY COSTS: Councillors approve cutting £7 million

CUTS of £7 million and a council tax rise of 3.5 per cent were approved by Newport council last night following a heated debate.

Matthew Evans, leader of the Conservatives, was accused of being a “breakfast stealer” after his party proposed to rein in cuts by reducing funds for breakfast clubs and cutting school funding.

Tories argued that parents should be giving children breakfast themselves, but the motion failed and the budget for 2013/14 was passed.

The move by councillors means that a number of cutbacks for the next financial year will go ahead, while council tax will increase by 3.5 per cent.

They include axing Newport’s subsidy to Gwent Music Support Service, shutting Stow Hill library, cuts to the Outdoor Education Service and shutting Underwood Leisure Centre.

Labour members reflected on cuts coming down from the UK government. Council leader Bob Bright said he had never been involved in such a painful and difficult process, while deputy leader Ray Truman said councillors weren’t enjoying having to make savings.

However, Cllr Evans, Tory leader, proposed to make smaller cuts to the music service and the outdoor education service, save Stow Hill library, Underwood Leisure Centre and temporary art exhibitions.

Instead, he proposed that a planned investment of £171,000 for schools’ breakfast clubs was scrapped, and an increase to the schools budget was reduced by 0.3 per cent, saving £270,000.

He said: “It would appear that this administration has managed to attract more protests and petitions over the past four months than we managed in four years.

That’s no mean achievement.”

But the proposals attracted derision from the Labour benches. Cabinet member for human resources Mark Whitcutt referenced the jibe calling Margaret Thatcher a milk snatcher when he said: “Now we have a former leader breakfast stealer”.

Comments(45)

Independentvoter says...
11:18am Wed 27 Feb 13

This childish bickering between labour and the tories is getting absolutely pathetic !

Sort this mess out that you have both created !

These councillors are paid to help our communities and what do we get in return ?

Petty party politics " well your government done this and your govenment done that "

We are not really interested what thatcher did in the 80's. You should be fighting to help poverty stricken families. They want to stop the funding to feed a hungry child.

I guess they have never been without a meal before. I wonder sometimes if they are on another planet.

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Leigh. says...
11:18am Wed 27 Feb 13

TIME THE COUNCIL STEPPED DOWN. NEWPORT IS DEAD AND THEY HAVE KILLED A ONCE GOOD TOWN.. NEWPORT CITY IS TURNING INTO MERTHYR....

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paddyparry says...
11:23am Wed 27 Feb 13

This really does show how narrow minded Newport council are. Try to be inovative in thinking and not just slash and burn everything. You represent the voters and should listen to them.

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HurricaneShane says...
11:35am Wed 27 Feb 13

Once again we, the people, are forced into a situation we needn't be in because of poorly thought out decisions on behalf of Newport Council. Aren't the council supposed to, y'know, have the interests of the people in mind when making these decisions?. It seems to me that there is no love for Newport in the councils eyes and they are now preparing the final stages of the death of the populace. A great shame.

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Owain Vaughan says...
12:06pm Wed 27 Feb 13

What a bunch of drama queens! Do you ever look at what's happening in the wider economy? The ongoing recession is no fault of the council. The world didn't end on December 21st and it is not going to end now.

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HurricaneShane says...
1:16pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Owain, the NCC are still at fault for wasting cash on pointless footbridges and statues....

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Newport Spark says...
1:32pm Wed 27 Feb 13

3.5%? Can someone please explain where our money is going. Last time I walked through Newport I thought Mad Max 4 was being filmed. Imagine if we actually had a city fit for the 21st century what the council tax would be. Suppose we should be grateful.

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fedupjon says...
1:36pm Wed 27 Feb 13

You only have to look at the other Councils in the greater Gwent to realise Newport are not the only ones facing cuts, although they appear to be more public.
The reality is that insufficient monies are being allocated by the welsh Assembly to cover all the needs, so some painful cuts are having to be made.
I understand there are further service cuts to be announced that will also be unacceptable to the masses.
It may have been helpful if Wales hadnt wasted so much money on the Ryder Cup and Olympic Games because neither have actually proved beneficial to the people of Newport. Just think what could be done with the £22 million spent on upgrading the station.

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KarmaSuitsYa says...
2:04pm Wed 27 Feb 13

As far as I'm concerned Councils have no moral authority to demand any more of our money. I already pay a sizable chunk of my income to central government, (income tax, national insurance, VAT, car tax, excise duties, etc...), and they waste it on a great many things I object to most strongly. I absolutely, positively refuse to throw any more of my hard earned cash, (under threats of violence), at inept freeloaders with a proven track record of not being able to find their own backsides when they're on fire.

But hey, Newport Council - keep up the good work. It seems, like so many other Councils, none of you can open your mouth, lift up a pen or tap a key on your keyboards without hammering another nail in your own coffins. I sense the day is fast approaching when I can sing 'Ding dong the witch is dead' as I dance, with joy in my heart, around the merrily burning remains of your thoroughly detestable institutions.

I shall look forward to that day with great anticipation.

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portforever says...
2:10pm Wed 27 Feb 13

times are tough everywhere so all our leaders are doing is cutting the cloth in these harsh times. the ryder cup was money well spent,as we now have 6 blue lights under the coldra roundabout. if thats not money well spent then i dont know what is.,

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blackandamber says...
3:08pm Wed 27 Feb 13

I will ask again, when are we going to see a cut in the number of councillors.

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Mr Angry says...
3:39pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Why dont all you keyboard whinge merchants, run for Council yourself and then you decide what service to cut, whos jobs should go etc.

See how easy it is then

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pinpong says...
3:52pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Well said Mr Angry. These are the biggest bunch of whingers i have ever come across. I was following the tweets from the meeting and it seems that the torys had some good ideas but they were shouted down and rejected by labour.I wish people on here would debate the article and not turn it into a slanging match about the city centre and the number of councillors

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KarmaSuitsYa says...
3:58pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Mr Angry wrote:
Why dont all you keyboard whinge merchants, run for Council yourself and then you decide what service to cut, whos jobs should go etc.

See how easy it is then
Far as I'm concerned it's not just the people but the institution that needs to take a long walk off a short pier.

See how easy it is then? I suspect my 3 yr old could do it better - with one arm tied behind her back and blindfolded.

In all seriousness, we need to just get rid. Stop this pathetic tendency we have to insist others run our lives, and instead investigate viable ways we can take back the reins ourselves.

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33daverave says...
4:00pm Wed 27 Feb 13

These breakfast clubs are sometimes the only decent food some kids get.I wouldn't call Matthew Evans a breakfast stealer, more along the lines of scumbag.

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KarmaSuitsYa says...
4:12pm Wed 27 Feb 13

33daverave wrote:
These breakfast clubs are sometimes the only decent food some kids get.I wouldn't call Matthew Evans a breakfast stealer, more along the lines of scumbag.
I'm all for a healthy diet for kids, but isn't it bad enough that most of us can't spend time educating our own kids, and instead have to send them to some godawful institution? Do we have to rely on the state to feed them healthy food too?

For shame!

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Votefornoneoftheabove says...
4:25pm Wed 27 Feb 13

In 2017 remember Vote For...... NONE OF THE ABOVE!

They say what you want to hear when they want your vote... then do what they want when they get elected.

The citizens of Newport don't have to vote Labour in 2017 because it a historical and cultural thing do what you feel is right not what your parents and grand parents have done.

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HurricaneShane says...
4:27pm Wed 27 Feb 13

If Newport city center doesn't have an a footfall percentage of more than 3% by the end of the year then Debenhams will be moving onto the old Spytty Mega Bowl site. Also, the museum, library and gallery are also being closed.

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33daverave says...
4:36pm Wed 27 Feb 13

KarmaSuitsYa wrote:
33daverave wrote:
These breakfast clubs are sometimes the only decent food some kids get.I wouldn't call Matthew Evans a breakfast stealer, more along the lines of scumbag.
I'm all for a healthy diet for kids, but isn't it bad enough that most of us can't spend time educating our own kids, and instead have to send them to some godawful institution? Do we have to rely on the state to feed them healthy food too?

For shame!
Unfortunately yes.Some kids do depend on the state while their parents give them a bag of crisps for tea and a can of pop.

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blackandamber says...
4:37pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Mr Angry wrote:
Why dont all you keyboard whinge merchants, run for Council yourself and then you decide what service to cut, whos jobs should go etc.

See how easy it is then
Exactly how many people getting paid from the public purse are you happy with Mr Angry 1.The European DISUnion
2.The Westminster government
3 The WAG
4. Newport City Council
All these are taking our money. Now instead of cutting services why not take a few piggies out of the trough for starters.

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KarmaSuitsYa says...
4:55pm Wed 27 Feb 13

blackandamber wrote:
Mr Angry wrote:
Why dont all you keyboard whinge merchants, run for Council yourself and then you decide what service to cut, whos jobs should go etc.

See how easy it is then
Exactly how many people getting paid from the public purse are you happy with Mr Angry 1.The European DISUnion
2.The Westminster government
3 The WAG
4. Newport City Council
All these are taking our money. Now instead of cutting services why not take a few piggies out of the trough for starters.
Not entirely correct strictly speaking. You are, in fact, 'giving' your money to the Council - they aren't 'taking' it.

Not happy with it? Stop giving it.

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Dave on his Soapbox says...
6:15pm Wed 27 Feb 13

.....the council seem to have cut the budget for pothole repairs already.....
St Julians Road is terrible.....and some reported in Mill Street which are likely to cause an accident....are still yet to be patched......
while they might have insurance to cover claims....yet again they are more concerned about building a shopping mall than providing basic services they're supposed to and which we pay for through our council and road tax.

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antliz says...
6:25pm Wed 27 Feb 13

I'm Lizzie and I'm 11 years old . I think that deciding to make 100% cut is ridiculous and it is sad for all the young children who would like to be successful musician's when there older !!! The fact that they might be making 100% cut to do free breakfast club's in every school across Newport is strange, because cant a parent just put a piece of bread in the toaster for their child each morning ??? Teaching music is a very important job because it's inspiring young children to try different things.Music is just as important as things like sports because it give's children a chance to gain confident's in different things. I'm a musician and i play the violin in Torfaen senior strings and everyone enjoy's it and we learn something every week .I really hope music centre and lesson's carry on for all children in Gwent who want to learn music !!!

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blackandamber says...
6:54pm Wed 27 Feb 13

KarmaSuitsYa wrote:
blackandamber wrote:
Mr Angry wrote:
Why dont all you keyboard whinge merchants, run for Council yourself and then you decide what service to cut, whos jobs should go etc.

See how easy it is then
Exactly how many people getting paid from the public purse are you happy with Mr Angry 1.The European DISUnion
2.The Westminster government
3 The WAG
4. Newport City Council
All these are taking our money. Now instead of cutting services why not take a few piggies out of the trough for starters.
Not entirely correct strictly speaking. You are, in fact, 'giving' your money to the Council - they aren't 'taking' it.

Not happy with it? Stop giving it.
Very difficult 20% direct taxation, 20% VAT, 11% nat ins, and now another 3.5% on a council tax bill which is practically four figures already.

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fedupjon says...
7:45pm Wed 27 Feb 13

You can argue all night about the merits of local councillors but like MP's there are some good and some bad.

The real issue here is that the cost of running services are rising faster than the funding provided.

Last night the Argus ran an article on education services and whether or not there was a hidden agenda to transfer powers elsewhere. There is a definite shortfall in funding for education regardless of the views of WAG. But at the same time WAG doesnt have enough money to properly fund education.

If WAG wanted to be proactive it can look to reverse the reorganisation from 1996 which only significantly increased the cost of all services in local government.

If it chooses to do nothing, standards will continue to fall.

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KarmaSuitsYa says...
7:45pm Wed 27 Feb 13

You miss my point - you see, central government (they would say) wisely remove the burden of choice from you when collecting your taxes. It's taken from your employers, or the people you buy stuff from, (so they have to inflate their prices to you in order to compensate). Councils on the other hand (for some reason) don't do it this way. They like to send you a bill, like a service provider, which they then feel you have to pay. Nevermind that you have not entered into a contract with them for anything. Try going round to your local councillors house, and cutting his lawns, or cleaning his windows, then demanding payment for services they never asked for. How long do you think it would take for the police to turn up? (well, it's a councillor, so probably a lot quicker than if you weren't one).

My point is that you don't have to pay for such awful service - and you don't have to. Just refuse.

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hiwsnpt says...
7:57pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Working for a large children's charity I feel sad that all the lessons learnt over the past years are being lost. Sure we could expect parents to give children breakfast but the reality is some children don't and the amount of families for whatever reason failing to afford or feed their kids is rising as is the shocking rise in food bank use. This is the real world where parenting and prevention services have been cut back so much we are now paying the cost. Kids do not learn when hungry and schools know that by providing food young people behave and learn better. The reality is food at school is the only proper ( barely) food they have in a day. The benefits of breakfast club were learnt years ago. As the economy fails both nationally and locally most services we value will be cut or lost. For me breakfast club is a worthy place to draw a line in the sand ....maybe out Condem leaders should take a few less expenses as I'm sure they don't really need that glass of wine with dinner!

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Limestonecowboy says...
8:19pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Breakfast Club? Should parents not be able to afford to feed their children this basic of meals then we are in a great deal of trouble.

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47alan47 says...
8:34pm Wed 27 Feb 13

KarmaSuitsYa wrote:
Mr Angry wrote:
Why dont all you keyboard whinge merchants, run for Council yourself and then you decide what service to cut, whos jobs should go etc.

See how easy it is then
Far as I'm concerned it's not just the people but the institution that needs to take a long walk off a short pier.

See how easy it is then? I suspect my 3 yr old could do it better - with one arm tied behind her back and blindfolded.

In all seriousness, we need to just get rid. Stop this pathetic tendency we have to insist others run our lives, and instead investigate viable ways we can take back the reins ourselves.
This is a great point, if you work hard you don't need to rely on the council or the government and should be able to afford to pay your taxes.

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Llanmartinangel says...
10:24pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Limestonecowboy wrote:
Breakfast Club? Should parents not be able to afford to feed their children this basic of meals then we are in a great deal of trouble.
Haven't you worked it out? Feeding kids is someone else's responsibility now as well as everything else. I wonder what they spend the child benefit on? I wonder how many of these rubbish parents are on Social Services radar?

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Floppy backed says...
10:45pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Llanmartinangel wrote:
Limestonecowboy wrote:
Breakfast Club? Should parents not be able to afford to feed their children this basic of meals then we are in a great deal of trouble.
Haven't you worked it out? Feeding kids is someone else's responsibility now as well as everything else. I wonder what they spend the child benefit on? I wonder how many of these rubbish parents are on Social Services radar?
Yes, but unfortunately, the social system in this country over the last 30 odd yrs has allowed for weak parenting and its inherent to family culture. I do agree that it is parents responsibility to feed them - they don't and it has been proved that children focus better in school on a full belly hence, less disruption to the class and better learning. Sadly I do feel this is needed for the children through no fault of their own are not fed properly and worry that this will have a knock on effect on the school class. This country is full of rubbish parents who cant do the mere basics of bringing up children so perhaps we should be withdrawing child benefit at 3 children and not offering easy housing with all the wonderful benefits they receive.

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Floppy backed says...
10:49pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Perhaps if WAG drop buying Cardiff airport and concentrate on funding education instead of these stupid half witted ideas then we could find funds.

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Llanmartinangel says...
11:05pm Wed 27 Feb 13

Floppy backed wrote:
Llanmartinangel wrote:
Limestonecowboy wrote:
Breakfast Club? Should parents not be able to afford to feed their children this basic of meals then we are in a great deal of trouble.
Haven't you worked it out? Feeding kids is someone else's responsibility now as well as everything else. I wonder what they spend the child benefit on? I wonder how many of these rubbish parents are on Social Services radar?
Yes, but unfortunately, the social system in this country over the last 30 odd yrs has allowed for weak parenting and its inherent to family culture. I do agree that it is parents responsibility to feed them - they don't and it has been proved that children focus better in school on a full belly hence, less disruption to the class and better learning. Sadly I do feel this is needed for the children through no fault of their own are not fed properly and worry that this will have a knock on effect on the school class. This country is full of rubbish parents who cant do the mere basics of bringing up children so perhaps we should be withdrawing child benefit at 3 children and not offering easy housing with all the wonderful benefits they receive.
There's merit in that. I wasn't intending to punish the hungry kids but we are on a one way street taking away responsibility from these feckless morons who have kids they don't know how to bring up by the day. It's destroying the rest of society so its counter-productive long term.

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sweetiepie says...
12:29am Thu 28 Feb 13

Since when were Breakfast Clubs funded ? Or, better question, why are they funded? If my daughter's school offered a Breakfast Club at a cost I would happily pay it - if she wanted to go. Before anyone says anything, my children DO eat breakfast at home - but if there was an option for them to enjoy some time before school with their friends whilst raising funds for the school I'm all for it!

Put it this way - charge say £1 a week - a loaf of bread costs 50p (the supermarkets own make) - any money left over at the end of the week is put into the school /PTA funds - the PTA could even support this!!

Why is it always the things that involve the children that are cut? The music that Lizzie mentioned above - I couldn't agree with more! I played an instrument when in school and loved it, just wished I had carried on in adulthood.

Expenses need to be cut! A council worker told that if they drove further than 70 miles in their own car for work, they had to get a hire vehicle. What???
MPs being allowed to claim rent for second homes - seriously??

The whole country is a joke!

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blythespirits says...
10:36am Thu 28 Feb 13

What Matthew Evans said is correct and makes good sense. It should not be the responsibility of schools to provide breakfast for children. It is the responsibility of parents to ensure they feed their children. Even the poorest of families can afford a few pence for some bread, egg or bowl of cereal. In cases of genuine hardship or If children are being neglected at home then social services should be made to intervene, not schools.

What will happen here is that some parents will jump on the bandwagon, delegate their responsibilities and take advantage of freebies from the state.

So what if Mrs Thatcher abolished free school milk. Is there any hard evidence that children’s health has suffered in the last 33 years because of it? Are today’s children suffering from weak bones and teeth, I don’t think so. If children have health issues today it is because of lack of exercise and uncontrolled intake of junk food, sweets and fizzy drinks.

Closing leisure centres and selling off playing fields is doing far more harm to children’s health than the abolition of free school milk.

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Independentvoter says...
5:40pm Thu 28 Feb 13

Taking food from the mouths of the poorest families in Newport will not win you votes guys.

Especially when some Councillors have enjoyed Free Civic Lunches for decades.

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scraptheWAG says...
8:35am Sat 2 Mar 13

Newport Spark wrote:
3.5%? Can someone please explain where our money is going. Last time I walked through Newport I thought Mad Max 4 was being filmed. Imagine if we actually had a city fit for the 21st century what the council tax would be. Suppose we should be grateful.
where is your money going well take a look at the taxpayers alliance web site there are about 5 or 6 employees collecting over 100 k a year there is actually and dont laugh a REGENERATION officer on 100k a year for a town like you say looks like mad max.

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scraptheWAG says...
9:01am Sat 2 Mar 13

Alot of the trouble lies with Labours huge welfare state with a band of single mums etc having kids just to get their free flat or house and seeing the children as a unhappy inconvenience.

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Ranger12 says...
9:53am Sat 2 Mar 13

As usual Matthew Evans should be praised as been the one sensible voice in a chamber of labour fools. People need to take responsibility for their actions in starting a family and feed their children.
Labour love to grow the nanny state if they can get more people to rely on hand outs they can create more jobs for their cronies and drive the city to bankruptcy.
You only have to drive around Newport to see what decades of labour ideas has created no shops no hope no idea!

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welshmen says...
12:10pm Sat 2 Mar 13

To look on the positive side and i think we need to do that with all this triple dip talk and cuts to the poor and ask why Newport City Council can't open a Community Bank, a chap by the name of David Fishwick ( Bank of Dave) is into his second year of trading, he reportedly made after expenses £20K which he gave to various charities, for a modest one man band not bad, imagine the Council with all it's experts and cash barbers and enough room to open a couple of banks that could work, apparently savers deposit there money Which is insured against loss,(FSA law) savers get about 5-6 % on there money, borrowers are charged 9-14 %, the council could use profits to keep needy services open or at least part funded...Program was on TV the other night....

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scraptheWAG says...
8:08pm Sat 2 Mar 13

Newport is finished it is now FULL of labour voting Jeremy kyle benefit claiming vulnerable people wandering around the town in their black shell suits and staffies

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scraptheWAG says...
8:40am Sun 3 Mar 13

I have looked on the ncc website council tax band d in 1997 was £389 (newport was a average town back then) looking at a online inflation calculator its says this should now be £571 so how the **** is it now £1019 (newport is literally a slum) where the hell is all this money going !!!!!!

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Cymru Am Beth says...
11:01am Sun 3 Mar 13

Votefornoneoftheabov
e wrote:
In 2017 remember Vote For...... NONE OF THE ABOVE!

They say what you want to hear when they want your vote... then do what they want when they get elected.

The citizens of Newport don't have to vote Labour in 2017 because it a historical and cultural thing do what you feel is right not what your parents and grand parents have done.
Agree entirely.
However, if you put a sheep up for election as a Labour Candidate it would still command a sizeable majority.
Most of the voters wouldn't notice, they would mechanically put there cross against Labour because that is who they have always voted for.

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blythespirits says...
3:53pm Mon 4 Mar 13

Newport is a disgrace. It has one of the highest levels of crime, drug abuse, empty shops and benefit dependancy in GB. No wonder C4 come here to make cringeworthy fly on the wall documentaries. It has become the laughing stock of the nation. The council should hang their heads in shame not put up the council tax.

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dailoco says...
6:54pm Mon 4 Mar 13

With all the comments made about the local Councilors all of you remember one thing they are only in it for he money and nothing else IT IS JUST A JOB !!!!!!!!

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