Posted: Sun 7th Mar 2021

Denbighshire council by-election candidates announced

North Wales news and information
This article is old - Published: Sunday, Mar 7th, 2021

The search for a successor to a well respected councillor who died last year will look a little different because of Covid.

Cllr Huw “Chick” Jones was a respected member of Denbighshire council representing Corwen and tributes came from across the political divide when colleagues learned of his death last year.

While in normal times it would have immediately triggered a by-election to find a successor, Covid-19 has made it more complicated and drawn out than usual.

However Welsh Government has given the go-ahead for elections to take place and the vacant seat will be contested on

Thursday, March 18 – 13 months after Cllr Jones died.

He was elected uncontested in May 2017 and the ward covers Corwen, Carrog, Llidiart y Parc,  Glyndyfrdwy and Dwyryd.
Below we have a look at who will now contest the seat and how the election will be conducted, given the restrictions currently in place.

The candidates
Gordon Hughes – Welsh Labour
Mr Hughes, 60, is a part-time college lecturer and a former headteacher who has been a town councillor in Corwen since 2017.
He’s married to Nerys and has children, step-children and grandchildren.
He’s vice-chair of the Denbighshire committee for North Wales Community Health Council and represents councillors on Conwy and Denbighshire Public Services Board.
He believes the issues affecting the local area include providing affordable housing, enticing tourism back to the area and developing business opportunities.

Alan Hughes – Plaid Cymru
Mr Hughes is hoping to take up the baton left by Cllr Jones, who was councillor for the ward from 2008.
He’s a married father-of-two who was born and bred in Corwen and has spent the last two decades working predominantly in training and development within the social care sector.
Among the issues he believes need resolving are a lack of investment in the Dee Valley, providing good quality housing for local people, transport and  youth opportunities.

Lisa Davies – Welsh Liberal Democrats
Ms Davies has lived in the town for 20 years and raised her five children in Clawdd Poncen.
She became a town councillor in 2020, is a leader of 1st Corwen Scout Group and currently a student of equine studies and Welsh. She has also home-schooled her children for more than 10 years.
She believes issues facing residents are speed of traffic (especially around Llidiart y Parc), regularly maintained roads and reliable public transport.

How the election will work
Social media will play a key role in campaigning this year because of Covid, as well as traditional leaflet drops and what is put out through the media.

On election day there will be three polling stations at:

  • Corwen Sports Pavilion, Green Lane, Corwen
  • Carrog Village Hall
  • Owain Glyndwr Memorial Hall, Glyndyfrdwy

Polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm.

There will be hand sanitiser gel available on entry and exit and electors will be required to social distance.

Polling booths and touch points will be regularly cleaned throughout the day by staff.

Electors will need to wear face coverings when inside the polling station unless they have a medial reason not to wear a face covering.

Staff will be wearing face masks and positioned behind perspex screens.

The dealine for voting by post expired on Wednesday March 3, so you will need to turn up on the day to vote.

However you can vote by proxy, which means you can nominate someone you trust to vote on your behalf.
You can do this as an emergency measure if you have a disability, are too ill to vote on the day or are self-isolating due to Covid on the election date.

If you haven’t done this already the forms allowing you to do so are available here:

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/voting-person-post-or-proxy/voting-proxy

By Jez Hemming – Local Democracy Reporter



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