Pembrokeshire has increased the number of women councillors but they are still in the minority.
There are now 13 female councillors – up from seven – and there are also some younger faces joining the authority.
Jordan Ryan, Labour councillor for Fishguard North East, has been a town councillor for nine years and was mayor in 2018-20.
He was delighted to win the county council seat after a good campaign with a “clean fight on the issues.” He said the regeneration for Fishguard was a key issue, as well as traffic issues and congestion in Lower Town.
He intends to be an “active county councillor, present in the community and responsive to issues while looking to avoid drawn out conflict about issues, just to get them sorted with cooperation different parties and officers.”
Pictured with Jordan is Nicola Gwynn who won in Goodwick. She said it had been a “very close competition” with just 15 votes in it. Nicola also highlighted the need for regeneration and increasing “opportunities for young people.”
Taking over from Plaid’s Jonathan Preston in a newly realigned area, St Florence and St Mary Out is Rhys Jordan, for the Conservative party.
He said he was pleased with the result and said he encountered “your typical local issues – roads, potholes, bins, poor services” while out on the campaign trail. He said it was a “positive campaign” and he did not suffer any abuse, adding “it’s been good to get out and chat to people.”
Key to his campaign was improving facilities at Tenby leisure centre swimming pool, one of his “big pledges” he said, adding it had been long campaigned for but never come to fruition and is something he will be lobbying for. “A lot of people in my ward are passionate about the pool,” he said.
Independent Melanie Phillips was surprised to take the Pembroke St Michael seat from Aden Brinn and Tenby mayor Sam Skyrme-Blackhall was excited to get started at County Hall, beating Plaid Cymru’s Paul Rapi who had moved constituencies, having previously represented Carew.
Sam said she had been out campaigning and meeting people over a “long five weeks” and it was important to listen to what people had to say.
She said one of the main issues in the area was housing and the “housing crisis in Tenby” with people losing their “forever homes” to rentals like AirBnB and the like. Backing the building of new council houses is important to Sam, as well as tackling issues such as parking.
Conservative party members Aaron Carey and Jonathan Grimes will take on the new multi-member ward Pembroke Monkton and St Mary South, with Aaron returning to County Hall for a second term.
There is also a brother and sister now on the council as Haverfordwest Castle Tom Tudor retained his seat for Labour and his sister Bethan Price won in St Davids as an independent.
The new councillors and the ward’s they represent are as follows:
Amroth and Saundersfoot, Alec Cormack, Lib Dem; Boncath and Clydau, Iwan Ward, independent; Bro Gwaun, Delme Harries, independent; Burton, Danny Young, Conservative; Carew and Jeffreyston, Vanessa Thomas, independent; Crymych and Mynachlog-ddu, Shon Midway Rees, independent; Fishguard North East, Jordan Ryan, Labour; Goodwick, Nicola Gwynn, Labour; Haverfordwest Garth, Anji Tinley, independent; Haverfordwest Prendergast, Andrew Edwards, Conservative; Johnston, Aled Thomas, Conservative; Kilgetty and Begelly, Alistair Cameron, Lib Dem; Maenclochog, Simon Wright, independent; Milford Central, Terry Davies, independent; Milford North, Alan Dennison, independent; Narberth Urban, Marc Tierney, Labour; Newport and Dinas, Huw Murphy, independent; Pembroke Dock Bufferland, Michele Wiggins, no party; Pembroke Dock Bush, Maureen Bowen, Labour; Pembroke Monkton and St Mary South, Jonathan Grimes, Conservative; Pembroke St Michael, Mel Phillips, no party; Saundersfoot South, Chris Williams, independent; St Davids, Bethan Price, no party; St Florence and St Mary Out Liberty, Rhys Jordan, Conservative; Tenby South, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall, independent.
