Mariam Kamish, secretary Caerphilly Trades Council (personal capacity)
As Labour leader of Caerphilly Council, Sean Morgan cut 600 jobs last September. Meals on Wheels and Blackwood Miners Institute only escaped Labour’s axe after massive protests organised by trade union Unison. Under his leadership, the council did manage to close the very popular Llancaiach Fawr manor house – an act of historic vandalism. And then they came for three leisure centres and ten local libraries. We’re still fighting the council on those.
But that’s not Sean Morgan’s concern. Because on 11 September, he resigned as council leader after – in the space of just three days – we’d staged an occupation of Abertridwr Library and the High Court in London had awarded costs against the council and ordered him to re-open all ten libraries.
This was the man who walked into a Caerphilly meeting of Your Party, a formation representing the huge desire for a new mass party fighting in the interests of the working class and against austerity. He tried to make a speech. The chair closed him down fast.
The fight to save the libraries has become a lightning rod for discontent across Caerphilly. It is the number one issue on the doors in the current by-election to the Senedd (Welsh parliament). To try to cut across voter fury, the Labour candidate has, ludicrously, launched his own petition against the Labour council’s library closure plans!
When will a council U-turn be announced then? And when will it be extended to all of the other services cut?
Stiff disagreement has arisen among local activists about whether or not Sean Morgan should be allowed to join Your Party. Certainly, very few of the trade unionists and other campaigners who’ve fought his closures and job cuts would be willing to build a party alongside him.
Currently sitting as an independent councillor, how will he demonstrate he’s changed? A starting point would be to move an emergency motion at the council to reverse the cuts which, until weeks ago, he led.
Class struggle booted out a butcher of council jobs and services. Workers won’t be willing to offer him refuge in what we hope to build as a new workers’ party.
