In 2017, the voters in Powys elected 30 independent councillors, though that was down on previous elections. The Conservatives had 19 seats and the Liberal Democrats 13.
Today us Lib Dems have 24 seats, not enough to control the council but negotiations on how the council will be run are getting underway.
The final standing in Powys is:
Lib Dems – 24
Independents – 17
Conservative – 14
Labour – 9
Plaid Cymru – 3
Green Party – 1I suspect there will be lots of phonecalls between councillors over the weekend.
— Elgan Hearn Local Democracy Reporter (@ElganHearnLDR) May 6, 2022
This is a major advance for the Lib Dems in the Welsh Marches. We have 14 councillors elected as Lib Dems in Shropshire, including seven in the south west, which is next door to Powys.
Congratulations to Cllr Glyn Preston who has been elected to represent Llanidloes. At 22 Glyn may be the youngest councillor on Powys Council since reorganisation in 1995! pic.twitter.com/VklfjfGzR1
— Welsh Liberal Democrats (@WelshLibDems) May 6, 2022
Congratulations to Cllr Jackie Charlton, who has been elected to Llangattock and Llangynidr Ward, beating the current independent Powys County Council Leader! pic.twitter.com/bmVIZuEzKR
— Welsh Liberal Democrats (@WelshLibDems) May 6, 2022
Politics in Powys are complex. The independents are divided. There is hope that the Lib Dems will lead the administration but a structure must be negotiated. Deals are possible. But the whisper in the corridors is that this may take some time.
While we wait for negotiations to begin and conclude, we must congratulate the campaigners and candidates that delivered in Powys. The Powys Lib Dems have a strong team and put a lot of effort into Helen Morgan’s election in North Shropshire. That was reciprocated with the Shropshire Lib Dems marching across the Marches to support their colleagues in Powys in recent weeks (there were no elections in Shropshire this year).
Well done everyone. This is just one of many successes by Lib Dems across the country. We will be bringing you more news and comment in the coming days.
Powys Result #LE2022:
LDM: 24 (+10)
IND: 17 (-9)
CON: 14 (-4)
LAB: 9 (+1)
PLC: 3 (+1)
GRN: 1 (+1)NOC – No Change. pic.twitter.com/my7DMJMrEj
— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) May 7, 2022
* Andy Boddington is a Lib Dem councillor in Shropshire. He blogs at andybodders.co.uk.
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2 Comments
As one of the newly elected Powys councillors, a big thank you is due to the Shropshire team, including of course Helen Morgan MP who found time to come and campaign for us twice. Also thanks to Shropshire Councillor Heather Kidd, who managed the campaign for Danny Bebb, who won Churchstoke, a ward almost completely surrounded by England.
Our success in Powys marks a seismic change in the local political culture, where for most people, independents, some elected, too many unopposed, have been the norm forever. Most people in Powys now have councillors who have a political programme, some vision that extends beyond their immediate neighbourhood to the whole of our huge and diverse county and will seek to form an administration which can deliver on that vision. That is, for Powys, a huge and welcome change.
Having been down in the dumps for the last 5 weeks with Covid and subsequent complications, the results here in Montgomeryshire really cheered me up yesterday (although somewhat deflated by the map on Election Maps UK twitter feed earlier today which showed our gain and hold in Welshpool to be 1 Labour and 1 Independent! ).
Congratulations to all concerned.