Pembrokeshire Council’s leader has said that he will continue to serve the community in the ‘best way possible’ after narrowly surviving a vote of ‘no confidence’ at an Extraordinary Meeting this morning, promising more ‘investment, ambition and delivery’ for the county.

“I am obviously delighted that the chamber has rejected the vote of no confidence by Cllr Jamie Adams,” PCC leader Cllr David Simpson told the Observer following the meeting today (May 18) - where the ‘no-confidence’ vote was 29 for, and 31 against.

“It has been my honour to serve the people of Pembrokeshire and I will do so again for the next 12 months. As an Administration we have worked hard to make Pembrokeshire a better place and I will do my best to carry on doing so,” he added.

The Extraordinary Meeting of the Local Authority on Thursday, May 18, considered a Notice of Motion of no confidence in the Leader, which was submitted by Cllr Jamie Adams on behalf of the Independent Group.

Newport and Dinas Independent Group member Cllr Huw Murphy was nominated as Cllr Simpson’s replacement if the no-confidence was carried.

Lampeter Velfrey county councillor Cllr Simpson became leader in May, 2017, after leaving the-then ruling IPPG group after losing confidence in the way cabinet was being run by Cllr Adams, the leader at the time.

During discussions this morning, Cllr Simpson addressed his fellow county councillors stating: “I stand before you today, as I have since May 2017, a truly Independent Member.

“It is an honour to be the Leader of Pembrokeshire County Council and the fact that I am not affiliated to any party or group, but have relied upon the honesty and integrity of fellow Members to keep me in this position, has made it an even greater honour.

“My aim has always been for us to work in harmony, to make Pembrokeshire an even better place for us to live. I’m sure many of you have the same aim, which is why you as I, became Councillors, to serve your community in the best way possible,” he continued.

Cllr Simpson said, that when first tasked with selecting a Cabinet in 2017, he used a ‘democratic approach’ and invited all Members to put themselves forward, if they thought that they had something valid to offer.

“I chose Members on merit and capability to suit the various portfolios, the Members whom in my opinion would do an excellent job for Pembrokeshire,” explained Cllr Simpson.

“I believe this to be a fair and democratic way of selecting the right people. My Cabinet members are all totally committed and work extremely hard. They all have a sound knowledge and understanding of their portfolios and I commend them for the work that they do.”

He said that when he first became Leader, there were many changes that needed to be made, some of them ‘not so popular’.

“We all know that we cannot please all of the people, all of the time and there will and should be healthy debate in the chamber. However, the ultimate goal should always be to make our County a place that we are proud to live in, knowing that as Members, we have made the right decisions for all of our futures,” he remarked.

“Together as a Council we have achieved many positive things - a wonderful new school in Haverfordwest; choices in Post 16 education; an education service on the up as recently confirmed by Estyn.

“We will rebuild Manorbier School and we will press ahead with the new schools for Milford Haven. The children of Pembrokeshire are our future and we want to make this a place that they choose to live in or return to, once their education is completed, with jobs and houses being available to them.

“We want more investment, more ambition and more delivery. We have attracted renewable energy investment and soon in collaboration with other partners and cross party support, a Freeport will come to Milford Haven.

“New homes are being built and we have a comprehensive building programme and are creating a housing strategy for the county.

“Against a lot of opposition, we transformed our Waste Management System to become the best recycling Authority in Wales and possibly the whole of the UK.

“With Welsh and UK Government support, we are regenerating our town centres.”

He admitted that the Council had gone over budget in Haverforwest, but had no idea there were almost 300 skeletons buried on the site! Cllr Simpson also stated that no-one could have predicted a pandemic was coming or a war in Ukraine.

“We cannot plan for these eventualities, we can only deal with them in the best way possible when they arise,” he continued.

“During the pandemic we rebuilt links with communities and community groups. We became a Council for Pembrokeshire people and not a remote administration.

“We set up Facebook live sessions and listened to people. We learnt that we could do better and that the best ideas sometimes came from those people closest to the action and not always from those sat behind desks in County Hall.

Everyone contributed, elected members, senior officers, junior members of staff and Unions. We owe them all our thanks for responding so admirably during the crisis.”

Finally, Cllr Simpson brought up what he called the ‘Elephant in the Room’ - the Council Tax.

“In 2017 we had the lowest Council tax in Wales - and we STILL have the lowest Council tax in Wales.

“The Audit Wales report in February of this year, found that: the Council has retained a stable financial position, including, through achieving planned savings and additional Welsh Government funding, to maintain balanced budgets and has increased its useable reserves. But the Council will need to develop a sustainable financial plan to address the substantial emerging cost pressures.

“Yes we’ve had to make difficult decisions every year, but they have been decisions made collectively by us as a Council. To maintain a balanced budget against extraordinary inflation and maintain a high level of discretionary services is no mean feat, but we’ve managed it by working together with integrity.

“We live in a democratic society and it is so important that we all have a chance to express our opinions and make our own choices.

“What’s more important, is that we don’t lose sight of the goal, which of course is our home...Pembrokeshire.

“The decisions made during my six years as Leader, have been - your decisions, our decisions, not my decisions. You have been given the information, heard the options and therefore have been able to make informed choices.

“Democratic choices as we live in a democratic society,” he added.