Conservative Claire wins in Tish

WELSH Conservative candidate won the county council by-election in the St Ishmael’s ward on Tuesday, April 16.

Ms George succeeds the late Reg Owens in representing Pembrokeshire’s geographically largest ward.

The campaign was keenly contested, with Richard Jenkins hoovering up votes in the village of St Ishmael’s but losing out elsewhere.

A well-organised Conservative campaign built on an endorsement from the late Councillor Owens’s widow and Ms George’s stronger- than- expected showing in the 2022 Council election for the same ward. work

Newly-elected councillor Claire George said: “I am truly humbled and grateful for the trust residents of the St Ishmael’s ward have placed in me to serve as County Councillor.

“This by-election was a tough one for me. My father passed away just a week after nominations were announced, and his funeral took place just before polling day.

“However, I have taken some comfort in knowing that he would have wanted me to continue campaigning and championing local issues.

“Cllr Reg Owens was a fantastic local champion for all of the villages in the St Ishmael’s ward, and I look forward to building on all the positive work he achieved.”

Cllr Di Clements, leader of the Welsh Conservative group, said: “Claire will make a fantastic addition to our group, and indeed the wider council.

“Her passion for enriching people’s lives and championing local issues is infectious. I’m looking forward to working with her to make a better Pembrokeshire for everyone.

The result means there will be adjustments in the allocation of committee seats on the local authority. The IPG now has one fewer seat than before Cllr Owens’s death, and the Conservative numbers have increased from ten to eleven. The outcome of a longdelayed Ombudsman probe into Cllr Andrew Edwards, currently suspended from the Conservative group, will determine whether that number increases to twelve.

Moreover, the larger Conservative group might want to flex its muscles at the Council’s AGM in May, especially over the local authority’s leadership and future direction.

The campaign was not without controversy, with complaints about signs being removed from where candidates placed them.

In one case, signs placed on Council property were removed by Council officers and found not noncompliant with election rules requiring that publicity bear the imprint of the candidate’s election agent.

At the time of writing, it is unclear whether complaints about the campaign, particularly an unpleasant incident at the count, will go further.