I attended County Hall for the first time this week, where on Tuesday I had an induction course which was interesting, but did feel like information overload.
On Friday, I had training on Code of conduct. The speaker made a very good job of making a boring subject very interesting. The session lasted all morning, but if I had to sum it up, it would be “How to stay out of jail”.
The Code of conduct is excellent, and its quite right that if councillors break this code, they should be disqualified from their position. It does however concern me – for example, will I genuinely forget to declare a conflict of interest? – but it is correct, and I would hope that the consequences for not heeding the code would make all councillors take it seriously.
I should also mention the other new Newtown councillors, of which there are five:
Newtown East – Richard John White (Liberal Democrat)
Newtown Llanllwchaiarn North – Francis Torrens (Welsh Conservative)
Newtown South – Robert Mills (Independant)
Newtown Llanllwchaiarn West – Peter Harris (Welsh Conservative)
Newtown Central – Russell George (me) (Welsh Conservative)
I know Peter Harris and Frank (Francis Torrens) and both are good friends. I have got to know them even better this week as we have shared a car from Newtown to Llandod a few times. I probably got to know Frank the best, simply because he doesn’t stop talking - from the point of getting in the car untill we arrive at our destination!
I had heard a great deal about Bob Mills during my own campaigning, people I spoke to either really disliked him or really liked him. I met him properly this week. Bob had invited me to a meeting to save Garth Owen post office, so I was able to form my own opinion of him. I found Bob to be very hospitable, passionate about standing up for his ward and very good at arranging and chairing the meeting he organised.
Bob also called me this week on a planning issue on my ward and was a big help. From what I now of Bob, he’s a good councillior and I think he will be a good friend and ally. I also met Richard White this week.
