No mergers here

THE leader of Caerphilly council has raised “serious concerns” about the plan to cut the number of local authorities in Wales from 22 to eight.
Councillor Keith Reynolds reiterated the authority’s vow to “stand alone” after the Welsh Government announced plans for local government reforms.
Public Services Minister Leighton Andrews put forward the case for merging Caerphilly with Newport, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Monmouth. This will happen if Labour wins an overall control of the Welsh Assembly next year.
This back-to-the-future plan shows a huge lack of vision by Leighton Andrews, who, coming from the private sector, appears to be completely out of touch with the workings of local authorities.
Devolution should go further than Cardiff Bay. It should be about local accountability and delivering good quality services to residents locally, but we appear to be faced with a government that thinks the answer to everything is to centralise.
Many of us remember the infighting within the Labour party when Islwyn and Rhymney Valley merged. The only way to stop these reforms is to vote Plaid Cymru and kick out this Labour government in Cardiff Bay.
Wales can’t afford a subservient Labour government who makes the right noises in public while carrying out Tory cuts. Wales can’t afford having a Tory government in Cardiff Bay willingly carrying out cuts to public spending.