Married couple removed from council due to non attendance

Twm Owen Local Democracy Reporter

A married couple have lost their positions as councillors after failing to attend any meetings for six months.

Jules and Bob Rogers were both elected as Labour councillors for the Abersychan and Cwmavon ward on Pontypool Community Council.

The authority has been forced to declare two vacancies as the couple have failed to turn up for any meetings for at least six months.

Mr Rogers, who also stood for Labour as a Torfaen Borough Council candidate at the 2022 local government elections in the Abersychan ward but missed out on winning one of the three seats, is a former editor of the Pontypool Free Press and also worked as a steelworker.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has been unable to contact Mr and Mrs Rogers while the Torfaen Labour Party has failed to respond to a request for a comment.

Residents of Abersychan and Cwmavon now have the chance to request a by-election to fill the vacancies caused by the couple’s failure to fulfil their duty to attend council meetings.

At least 10 electors from the ward will have to request a by-election by the deadline of 5pm on Thursday, August 25. If the threshold is met Stephen Vickers, the chief executive of Torfaen Borough Council who is also the returning officer for the area, will have to set a date for a by-election within 60 days.

If the required 10 requests for a by-election are not received the community council will fill the vacancy by co option. This co-option will take place as soon as is practicable after the deadline to request an election has passed.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.