AN INDEPENDENT councillor has been appointed to the Labour-run council cabinet in Merthyr Tydfil.
At full council on Wednesday, April 2, it was revealed that Councillor Declan Sammon of the Dowlais and Pant Community Independents had accepted the role of cabinet member for transformation, governance, and social partnership.
He joins councillors Brent Carter, David Jones, Gareth Lewis, Louise Minett-Vokes, and Anna Williams-Price (Labour) as well as independent councillor Jamie Scriven in the cabinet.
He said every lead administration should be given the chance to do things their way, to make the changes they believe need to be made, and to steer the local authority in the direction they believe will have the most benefit for residents.
He said he’d been briefed on some of the administration’s vision for Merthyr Tydfil and said because he liked what he saw he accepted the role and that he would do his very best and do what residents want which is for councillors to work together to help improve the lives of everyone living in Merthyr Tydfil.
Cllr Sammon said everything he had done over the last eight years had been for residents and that would never change and they now had two years to work together as elected members to continue making positive changes for everyone.
The Labour leader of the council Brent Carter said to drive the challenge of transformation effectively an additional cabinet member was needed.
He said the public has been calling for a more unified council since 2022 and since his appointment as leader he said he had championed this cause, adding: “We must work together in relative harmony for the betterment of Merthyr Tydfil.
“Our constituents deserve the best outcomes and the highest-quality service. Cross-party collaboration will be key to achieving this.”
He said that Cllr Sammon is fully aware of the scale of the challenge ahead but he had no doubt that he would embrace it wholeheartedly.
He said: “Dowlais and Pant are extremely fortunate to have such an honest, hardworking, and reliable councillor.”
Cllr Carter said: “Community engagement, passion and determination define Declan and his contribution will add real value to the cabinet.”
