Sunday, January 26, 2014

Resignation as Councillor from Pontyclun Community Council


January 24th 2014

Dear Margaret and Catherine

Resignation as a councillor from the Pontyclun Community Council

I understand that I should write to you on this matter as Chair Margaret. However, just in case this is not correct, I have also included Catherine as Clerk.

I wish to submit my resignation as a councillor of the Pontyclun Community Council from the date of this email.

I'm submitting this as a consequence of my resignation as a member of the Labour Party. I have joined a new socialist party called Left Unity. If you are interested in why I have made this decision you can access my Labour Party resignation letter here. As it has the intention of Left Unity to stand candidates in elections it is incompatible with the rules of the Labour Party to continue with my membership. I was elected to the PCC as a Labour candidate and, as I do not think it is an acceptable practice in terms of democracy and accountability to the electorate to switch to being a Left Unity councillor, I have consequently decided to resign.

I have very much enjoyed being a councillor over what is almost two years. I think ensuring that there is proper accountability and openness in the work of the PCC has been a major achievement, together with making two excellent appointments with Catherine as Clerk and Karen as Administrator. It is my intention to complete the work of identifying the assets of the PCC as a volunteer, if that is acceptable to the Council. Given the interesting outcome of the last PCC elections I thought that our collective decision to develop a strategy and have working groups in which members of the public could participate as equals was a most constructive way forward, it is a great shame that it been difficult to translate this intention into
practice.

I wish you all well and I'm sure that in the future we will continue to endeavour to act, in our varying ways, in the interests of the people of Pontyclun, either through working together or crossing swords as the situation requires.

Yours sincerely
Len Arthur

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