Plaid Cymru see off challenge of Reform in Wrexham by-elections

Alec Doyle Local Democracy Reporter

Plaid Cymru have held on to three Wrexham Council seats despite a strong push from Reform UK.

Elections were held in Grosvenor, Acton and Maesydre and Queensway Wards to choose three new Wrexham County Borough Councillors after the three Plaid Cymru members who previously represented them – Carrie Harper, Marc Jones and Becca Martin – were elected to the Senedd last month.

Overall turnout was low. In the Caia Park ward of Queensway it was just over 16% while in Grosvenor 21.9% of the electorate voted and in Acton and Maesydre 23.6% went to the polls.

In the closest race – Queensway – Plaid Cymru candidate Pol Wong beat Reform UK’s Robbie Green by just eight votes, having previously described his selection to stand as a ‘privilege’.

Former firefighter Richard Everall saw off the challenge of Reform’s Janet Davey as he retained Acton and Maesydre for Plaid Cymru by 41 votes.

In the biggest win of the night, Airbus UK worker Jon Billington secured Grosvenor ward for Plaid Cymru with a 103-vote margin over Reform’s John Penk.

They will now take their seats in the Guildhall to represent their constituents – bringing the number of Plaid Cymru councillors back up to seven.

The authority will now revisit the allocation of its committee roles and responsibilities to ensure political balance is achieved across its decision-making and scrutiny functions.