Complaints have been received that there is not enough Kremlinology on this site.
I had thought that sort of juvenile tittle-tattle could be left to that other website, but if there is a demand for it here I will have to oblige.
After all, the customer is always right.
So let me bring you news of what could turn out to be a bloody battle for the right to wear the big chain in 2016-17.
As the mathematicians among you will have worked out, I am referring to the election of vice-chairman for 2015-16 which is due to take place in May.
Until recently, the front runner was thought to be Cllr Pearl Llewellyn running under the slogan “Pearl’s the Girl”.
Not only has Pearl been heard expressing her desire to join the rubber chicken circuit, but conspiracy theorists have reasoned that the way she surrendered the chairmanship of the licensing committee (SRA £9,000) without a fight, meant that the IPPG leadership had offered her some other bauble to engineer a quiet exit.
For once, I fancy the conspirators are on the money, literally.
However, there have been other important developments since then which may derail this plan – the most interesting of which is that Cllr Ken Rowlands has been booted out of the Cabinet.
Reports reached me that the Voice of Johnston was furious and was running round county hall in the days following his demotion telling anyone who would listen that Jamie Adams had stabbed him in the back.
However in a recent interview in the Pembrokeshire Herald, Ken is quoted as saying that he had reached a mutual agreement with the Leader that he should step down voluntarily, and even hinted that he might some day return.
Now every effect has a cause and these same conspiracy theorists are now putting it about that Ken’s change of tune is the result of the conductor promising him a seat in the first violins.
Unfortunately, even the arithmetic wizardry usually deployed by the likes of Cllr Jamie Adams and Huw George, can’t get round the fact that two into one won’t go.
Over the years Old Grumpy has detected a pattern whereby those sacked from positions carrying an SRA are handed the chain as a consolation prize.
Recent examples are Cllrs Anne Hughes (Cabinet) Bill Roberts (Cabinet) Peter Morgan (Cabinet) Arwyn Williams (Scrutiny Committee Chair) and Tom Richards (Chair of Planning).
The present vice-chairman Cllr Wynne Evans is an even more interesting case because I understand that he was most dischuffed that his obvious talents had been overlooked when the sweeties were handed out after the 2012 election.
My moles tell me the deal was that he was made vice-chairman of planning with a promise that he would inherit the top job (and the £9,000 SRA) halfway through the term.
Of course, that would have meant demotion for Cllr Myles Pepper – an awkward situation that was avoided by anointing Cllr Evans as Tom Richards’ successor.
The advantage of this exit strategy is that, because the chairmanship of the council is time-limited, underperformers can be pushed gently off the cliff without any of the bad feelings that a sacking entails.
Word is that Ken’s campaign is already well underway with several members reporting that, with almost four months to go, he has been on the phone canvassing support.
Strangely, neither Grumpette nor I have yet to get the call.
The sting in the tail for the Leader is that he only has a 31-29 majority and if either of the two candidates takes umbrage because of his failure to lend his support he will be even more of a lame duck.
And as Pearl the Girl is the more likely to jump ship – she’s threatened/promised to do so on more than one occasion – she is the one best placed get the nod.
However, it may not be as simple as that because I also hear that a third candidate from the opposition benches is being mentioned as a possible runner.
And with the help of a few votes prised away from the IPPG, they could sneak up on the rails.
I am predicting a photo finish.
I am not at liberty to reveal the identity of the person being touted as the opposition’s choice to sally forth and do battle with these two IPPG Goliaths, but it may be helpful if I tell you it is neither a Tory, nor a former Cabinet member.
News on changes to the political architecture is a bit thin on the ground.
The Pembrokeshire Alliance seems to have run out of steam – all that blue sky thinking seems to have heralded a false dawn.
Experts in the field suggest two reasons for this loss of momentum since it was launched trailing a cloud of platitudes early last year.
Most popular explanation is that Bob Kilmister’s dalliance with the Leader last autumn dealt the infant party’s reputation for transparency and straight dealing a mortal blow.
Another, more mundane theory is that it hasn’t been able to gain the critical mass required to make it a serious player in the SRA stakes.
The arithmetic is complicated, but just one more member would entitle it to the scrutiny chairmanship (SRA £9,000) currently held by the Tories.
Four more and it would qualify for the £9,000 SRA that goes to the Leader of the largest opposition group.
And five more would give them a second National Park seat (£4,000 approx) to go with the one it already holds.
You might think that, with such a juicily baited hook, a successful fishing trip in the IPPG pond would be a formality, but that overlooks the fact that one, or more, of the PA’s present members may have their eye on the potential prize(s).
Mind you, one PA member told me that, as a matter of principle, they were determined not to play the SRA card.
Very honourable, but I’m afraid it’s the only game in town.
Meanwhile all has gone quiet with the new party/group centred on Cllr Brian “Time Lord” Hall (miffed at not being given a Cabinet seat following the 2012 election) and David “Roofspace” Pugh (miffed at being summarily dismissed from the Cabinet last October).
The latter is an interesting case because while most dismissals are characterised as the trapdoor opening beneath the victim’s feet, poor old Pugh defied gravity by being ejected via the ceiling hatch at Coronation School.
It has been reliably reported (well, that other website) that, as recently as December’s planning meeting, Cllr Hall was confidently predicting that Jamie Adams wouldn’t be Leader come the next meeting of council.
Seasoned Kremlin-watchers took this as a subtle hint that, by then, Brian would have enticed enough members away from the IPPG to deprive Jamie Adams of his majority.
Nothing has happened so far, though as the next regular council meeting isn’t until 5 March there is still time for Brian and Co. to spring a surprise.
And finally, Cllr Stephen Joseph’s Pembrokeshire First group that didn’t even get out of the starting stalls.
Readers will remember that this rather unpromising nag made its first appearance in the parade ring last August following a meeting at Cllr Joseph’s house attended by Cllrs Lyn Jenkins, Alison Lee and Mark Edwards.
However when the author of that other website got wind of what was going on and revealed details of this meeting, the plotters disappeared into the undergrowth leaving Cllr Joseph with no real alternative but to sit among the Uglies – as former deputy Leader Cllr Rob Lewis likes to call those of us unaffiliated to any group.
It turned out to be a smart move by Cllr Lee who found herself headhunted by the Leader to fill the post left vacant by the resignation of the Cabinet member for housing, Cllr David Simpson.
So, in less than three years, Cllr Joseph has gone from Plaid, to IPPG, to unaffiliated.
Nobody can accuse him of unthinking loyalty.
And he’s enjoyed the bonus of seeing the inside of the chamber from every angle.
Not that Cllr Joseph needs to be too concerned, after all Winston Churchill changed sides more than once before his rendezvous with destiny.
Perhaps the upcoming cross-border raid by Ceredigion will provide him with the opportunity to shine.