Part of 2. Questions to the Cabinet Secretary for Local Government and Public Services – in the Senedd at 3:00 pm on 17 January 2018.
I'm not sure that it helps the local democratic debate that Siân Gwenllian was championing earlier in this session for Ministers to be passing observations and comments on the decisions of local authorities. I believe in local government. I believe in local decision making. I believe in local democracy. And that means that local democratically accountable political leaders should have the right to take decisions that I may disagree with, that other Members here may disagree with, that Members who live in that area may disagree with, but it is their right to take those decisions and they then must argue their case to the local electorate, who will hold them to account for those decisions.