The familiar sound of a Council magazine hitting the doorstep is an expensive and depressing one.
For years they have served to be nothing more that party political drivel, espousing claims of success in attempts to hit meagre targets or attacking those who locally or nationally are making attempts to cut the nation’s deficit. These publications never provide a critical view of the Party in power and offer a mere skimming over of the facts when a problem arises.
In the past we have learnt that these quarterly, or the for the particularly unlucky monthly, have cost Welsh taxpayers in excess of £800,000. Of course there are many examples of this waste in England - as an example Waltham Forest Council which spent £500,000 per annum alone on a fortnightly newspaper.
Most local authorities in Wales thankfully have come to terms with the fact that this egotistical method of self-preservation is both unpopular and costly and now it is the turn of Swansea Council. Swansea need to make savings next year of £81m and one of their proposals is to cease the production of their ‘Swansea Leader’ newspaper and replace it with a digital version.
When compared to other cost saving measures that Swansea could introduce such as a sale of resources or the sharing of resources with neighboring authorities admittedly the cost of the ‘Swansea Leader’ may appear minima,l however it is a saving that could be enacted with immediate effect.
Swansea taxpayers should now make their voices heard above self-indulgent politicians It’s time these publications were scrapped to save taxpayers’ cash and invest the money into front line services.