Political bias? (From Barry And District News)

Political bias?

IT is with growing disbelief that I witness the descent of the Barry and District news into a politically biased morass.

The latest in a line of examples highlighting the Barry and District's metamorphosis into a Labour party publicity flyer, is last week's banner headline screaming 'Vale council rate increase set at 5.5 per cent.'

Your front page report then carries prominent quotes from Labour councillor Andrew Dobbins and Vale Labour spokesman Mark Wilson, decrying the level of this increase as deplorable and "a further blow to hard-pressed Vale taxpayers."

Could this really be a quote by the same Labour councillor Andrew Dobbins who I watched speak so eloquently at a recent full Vale council meeting called to discuss the sending of a censure motion to the Welsh Assembly protesting at the council rebanding exercise, which meant that 48 per cent of Vale Ratepayers ended up paying £100s of pounds per year extra to National Government whilst English ratepayers remained unscathed?

Perhaps in the interest of impartiality you would allow me to relay the content of Councillor Dobbins' publicly recorded comments at that time.

Councillor Dobbins, in opposing the censure motion, spoke at length of how he felt that the recent house rebanding exercise in the Vale which resulted in massively increased annual bills for 48 per cent of local householders, was wholly justified as we currently pay amongst the smallest council tax bills in Britain, he was then followed by at least four of his fellow Labour councillors who expressed exactly the same sentiments.

And yet just a short time later the Barry and District News sees fit to splash councillor Dobbins hypocritical criticism of an unwelcome yet unavoidable annual increase in the Vale budget for this year, which although unpalatable, is dwarfed in comparison by the hundreds of pounds extra myself and other Vale ratepayers have been forced to find due to his party's latest levy on our finances.

Kevin Mahoney

Bendrick Rd

Barry

(lett by email)

(BLOB) Editor says: The Barry and District News takes no stance either for or against any political party or their members. We report on issues that affect our readers, as any changes to Council Tax rates do. Last week's report did indeed contain views expressed by Labour members Cllr Dobbins and Cllr Wilson. It also contained comments from the Conservative leader, Cllr James, and a response from Plaid Cymru's Cllr Franks. We did not take a political stance on this issue, and we refute any allegation to the contrary. Our readers are entitled to their own political views, and in that spirit we are happy to print this letter, and respond to the criticism contained within it.