THE Conservatives have completed a hat-trick of by-election victories over Reform though Nigel Farage’s party has gained another community councillor in Torfaen.
Conservative candidate Lisa Dymock triumphed in the by-election to Portskewett Community Council, which is the third consecutive week the Tories have defeated Reform candidates in elections to the volunteer councils in Monmouthshire.
Cllr Dymock, who already represents the Portskewett ward on Monmouthshire County Council, was congratulated on her victory in the village’s Leechpool ward by the party’s leader in the Senedd, Darren Millar and the UK party’s deputy chairman Matt Vickers MP.
The Welsh Tory chief posted on social media platform X: “Another cracking by-election result for the @Conservatives here in Wales!” while shadow cabinet member Mr Vickers posted congratulations and: “Smashing result from the @WelshConserv team!”
They shared a post from the party’s account that showed the Conservatives had taken 83.9 per cent of the vote compared to just 16.1 per cent for Reform in the contest that featured only two candidates.
In total, there were 52 votes cast for Cllr Dymock who was listed as a ‘Local Conservative’ on the ballot paper, while Reform’s Thomas Kenneth Crawley received 10 votes. The total electorate is only 181 and the 62 votes cast amounted to a 34 per cent turnout. The result was announced less than 10 minutes after the polls closed.
Despite Reform’s failure to win any of the Monmouthshire community council seats it contested in July the party still has a chance of making a breakthrough at the Goytre ward by-election to Goetre Community Council on Thursday, August 7 which will also feature a Conservative and two unaffiliated candidates.
The Leechpool ward was previously held by the Conservatives, the only political party represented on the ten member council.
Torfaen result
In neighbouring Torfaen, Reform took a seat previously held by Labour, on Pontypool Community Council.
Though community councils aren’t run on party lines, Reform will see candidate Sarah Lang’s victory in the Trevethin ward as significant. It forms part of the Trevethin and Penygarn ward the party won from Labour in a by-election to Torfaen Borough Council in February, the first time a Reform candidate had won an election standing for the party in Wales.
Reform’s Ms Lang received 263 votes to defeat Labour candidate Chris Peploe, who had 131 votes, in the community council by-election.
Reform now has two members on Pontypool Community Council, after Stephen Senior who was elected as a Conservative in February, defected to the party. Labour remains the largest party on the council with 16 members while the Conservatives have three councillors.
At next year’s Senedd elections, Monmouthshire and Torfaen will be combined to form one constituency, electing six Senedd Members, using a proportional voting system and though the recent by-elections are only a small sample the results may suggest Reform’s core support is in Torfaen rather than Monmouthshire.
The candidates standing in the Goytre ward by-election to Goetre Community Council are Andrew Michael Butler (Local Conservatives); Neil James Parry; Martin John Stevens (Reform UK) and Maureen Catherine Willcox.
Anyone aged 16 or over is entitled to vote in council elections and there is no need to show voter ID or bring a polling card to the polling stations which will be open from 7am to 10pm.
Results
Portskewett Community Council, Leechpool Ward
- Thomas Kenneth Crawley (Reform UK) 10
- Lisa Claire Dymock (Local Conservatives) 52 Elected
Spoilt papers: 0
Turnout: 34 per cent
Pontypool Community Council, Trevethin Ward
- Sarah Lang (Reform UK) 263 Elected
- Chris Peploe (Welsh Labour) 131
Spoilt papers: 0
Turnout: 15.5 per cent