The editorial comment in last week's Free Press was not particularly appreciative of the government's decision to through out the Conwy-Denbighshire merger. It said that both Conwy & Denbighshire pinned their hopes in a voluntarily merger to mitigate cutbacks. The positive position was in "marked contrast" to that between Flintshire & Wrexham and for that matter between Gwynedd & Anglesey.
The old hostility had little to do with whether or not Denbighshire was a good or bad authority and everything to do with a falling out and personal clash between the council's then chief executive Miller and the newspaper's editor.
And I sense that we are on the verge of animosity between the two once again. This probably does little for local democracy and it certainly doesn't reflect Denbighshire's position as the best Welsh authority. It's interesting, though, that some recent editorials have taken a much more balanced view than its own front pages.
"For Mr Andrews [the minister] to treat the councils that have co-operated in this way is both shoddy and disrespectful"The paper contended that, with cuts afoot, existing councils may find it difficult to function. Mergers therefore makes sense. But the editorial did say that,
"But, until recently, most of [the councils] functioned well"Doesn't the Free Press recall its own front pages during the Ian Miller years (especially 2005 to 2009) when the newspaper showed nothing but contempt for the county council and its management? Then again, journos only ever seem to stay five minutes each at local newspapers, unlike in days of yore when they might spend an entire career at one paper.
The old hostility had little to do with whether or not Denbighshire was a good or bad authority and everything to do with a falling out and personal clash between the council's then chief executive Miller and the newspaper's editor.