THE Conservatives repeated their General Election feat by defeating the Liberal Democrats to take Montgomeryshire’s Welsh Assembly seat for the first time in history.
Conservative candidate, Russell George, wrestled the seat from the Liberal Democrats with a majority of 2,324, after polling 10,026 votes.
Lib Dem candidate, Wyn Williams, standing for the first time after replacing the previous incumbent Mick Bates, was a distant second with 7,702 votes.
The race for third place was narrowly won by the Labour candidate Nick Colbourne who secured 2,609 votes to the fourth placed Plaid Cymru candidate David Senior’s 2,596.
Newly elected AM George, told the County Times “It will be a privilege to represent the people of Montgomeryshire”.
He also congratulated his opponents on a hard fought campaign and said he would be making sure the voice of the people of Montgomeryshire is heard in Cardiff.
He said: “I think it’s a great privilege to be chosen as the Assembly Member for Montgomeryshire. The people have put their faith in me to represent them for the next term. It’s a real honour and now the hard work begins.”
He added: “In Montgomeryshire we have got some really big issues. For a long time the people of Montgomeryshire have felt let down by the Welsh Assembly Government - in a few weeks we will be marching on Cardiff to make sure they understand how we feel.”
Montgomeryshire’s Conservative MP, Glyn Davies, congratulated Mr George AM on his achievement and predicted a bright future for the new Assembly Member.
He said: “I am just thrilled. He has worked so hard and run a terrific campaign with a fantastic team. It’s a team that delivered the seat for me and it has delivered the seat for Russell.
“He’s a wonderful candidate and will be a leading Conservative politician for many years to come.”
Wyn Williams was gracious in defeat and congratulated his Conservative opponent on his success before adding: “I am sure he will make a good representative for Montgomeryshire in the future.”