The list of candidates standing for County Council published last night showed that five Conservative candidates have been elected unopposed. Newly elected Cllr Graham Jones joined Cllrs Aled Davies, Russell George, Peter Harris and Peter Lewis, all of whom faced no opposition candidates in their wards.
The result follows a recent history of success for the Conservatives in Montgomeryshire. In 2008 six Councillors were elected in Montgomeryshire, up from zero. 2009 saw the Conservatives top the poll in the European elections. These victories were followed by the astounding success of the 2010 election when Glyn Davies was elected Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire and the Assembly elections a year later when Russell George became Montgomeryshire's first ever Conservative AM.
Ian Harrison, Chair of the Montgomeryshire Conservative Association, was delighted with the result: "The Conservatives have been growing more and more relevant to the people of Montgomeryshire. We are against wind farms, against Counctil Tax rises and against the despicable 40% increase which Lib Dem and Powys Independent Councillors voted for. We believe that business rates should be scrapped for small businesses and that Council Tax should be frozen. Our job now is to get out and make sure that message is getting to everybody across Montgomeryshire."
Montgomeryshire Conservatives are fielding 20 candidates in this year's election, which is their largest ever showing.