By-elections in our part of the world are a rare event. The last constituency by-election for Monmouth was in 1991.

Constituency by-elections are set to become even rarer because of the changes the Labour Welsh Government has made to the Senedd electoral system. From the next Senedd election in 2026, you can only vote for a political party, not an individual and if someone ceases to be an MS mid-term there won’t be a by-election for voters to choose a new representative. Instead the next person on a party list will automatically take that seat. It’s an incredibly undemocratic system, which needs to be changed at the first opportunity. The public should elect individual Senedd Members rather than voting for a party.

On the county council there have only been two by-elections in the past decade, both caused by sitting councillors passing away mid-term. The most recent was in 2022 following the sad death of my colleague Bob Greenland, the councillor for Devauden and was won by my new colleague Cllr Rachel Buckler.

A county council by-election will be held in Monmouth Town ward on 24th October, following the decision of Cllr Catherine Fookes to resign from the council following her election as Monmouthshire’s new Member of Parliament. I welcome her decision to step down. It was never realistic that she would be able to devote sufficient time to both roles. Residents in Town ward will now have the opportunity to elect a new county councillor to represent them on the local authority.

There are four candidates – Liberal Democrat, Labour, Green and my colleague the Conservative candidate Martin Newell. Martin, or Tojo as he’s affectionately known locally, is a Monmouth man through and through. He grew up on the Kings Fee estate and has lived and worked in and around Monmouth all his life. He’s passionate about improving the town, supporting local businesses and increasing footfall.

Martin hasn’t been involved in politics before but felt compelled to get involved out of frustration with the way the town was being neglected by the local council. Martin was elected to the town council back in June and is keen to work with the town council, the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses and community groups to make Monmouth an even better place to live and work. If you live in Town ward, please quiz your candidates as they knock your door and be sure to cast your vote.