South Wales Evening Post - Editorial - 2 August 2008
This week's full council meeting was the first opportunity for the CapGemini £8 million IT bill to be discussed by all 72 members of the authority.
There are precious few other issues that are more in need of a full, frank and public debate.
Instead, what did we get?
The ruling Lib Dem-led coalition defeating a motion to make the debate open to the press and public by three measly votes, and the opposition Labour and Conservative parties staging a dramatic walkout.
This was a grand gesture against the coalition's insistence on holding the meeting behind closed doors, but in practice it meant there was no-one left in the council chamber to present the opposition's case in the ensuing debate.
So where do we go from here? Well firstly we need more from council leader Chris Holley than a tit-for-tat statement criticising the opposition walk-out.
He is right that this issue is more important than party politics - it is about negotiation over a potential bill for £8 million of taxpayers' money.
Even if this is successfully negotiated down, what the city needs, and quickly, is a public assurance that this issue will be debated in public fully as soon as possible - and with all 72 councillors present to have their say.
