Jamie Street takes Market ward with a 43-vote majority as Reform finishes fourth despite its major Senedd breakthrough two months earlier

THE WELSH CONSERVATIVES have won the Pembroke Dock Market by-election after Jamie Street secured a convincing victory in a crowded seven-candidate contest.

Mr Street received 143 votes, finishing 43 ahead of independent candidate Claire Francis-Boswell, who came second with 100.

Plaid Cymru’s Chloe Richards took third place with 79 votes, while Reform UK candidate Ryan Morgan finished fourth on 48.

Former county councillor and recent Senedd candidate Paul Dowson received just 11 votes. Welsh Liberal Democrat Lee Herring polled nine, while independent Hayley Wood received seven.

A total of 397 valid votes were cast, with one ballot paper rejected. Turnout was 28% from an electorate of 1,442.

Mr Street secured 36% of the valid vote, compared with 25.2% for Mrs Francis-Boswell, 19.9% for Ms Richards and 12.1% for Reform UK.

The by-election followed the death of veteran councillor Brian Hall, who had represented the ward since winning a by-election in 1996.

His successor will now take on the considerable task of following a councillor who spent almost three decades representing Pembroke Dock and became one of the longest-serving members of Pembrokeshire County Council.

Strong local campaigns dominate the contest

The result suggests that voters treated the election primarily as a contest over local representation rather than a referendum on national politics.

Mr Street grew up in the ward and presented himself throughout the campaign as a candidate with direct personal ties to Pembroke Dock.

Mrs Francis-Boswell, who was born and raised in the town and already has a visible role in the local community, also performed strongly. Her 100 votes demonstrated the continuing appeal of independent candidates in Pembrokeshire politics.

Plaid Cymru’s Chloe Richards, an intensive care nurse and clinical educator who lives in the ward, secured almost one vote in five and finished only 21 votes behind Mrs Francis-Boswell.

Between them, the three leading candidates collected more than four-fifths of all valid votes.

That left little room for Reform, despite the party’s dramatic rise across Wales.

Why did Reform receive a hammering?

The result is a bruising setback for Reform UK.

Ryan Morgan finished 95 votes behind the Conservative winner and received only one vote for every three secured by Mr Street.

The contrast with May’s Senedd election is striking.

Across the much larger Ceredigion Penfro constituency, Reform received 23,003 votes, representing 25.8% of the vote, and won two of the six available seats.

The Welsh Conservatives received 14,789 votes, or 16.6%, and took one seat.

In Pembroke Dock Market, those positions were decisively reversed. The Conservatives took 36% while Reform secured just 12.1%.

The two elections are not directly comparable. The Senedd contest covered a vast geographical area, used a proportional voting system and was dominated by national issues. The Market ward by-election involved fewer than 400 valid votes and was fought street by street.

Nevertheless, the result shows that Reform’s national success cannot automatically be converted into council seats.

Mr Morgan runs a care business in Pembroke Dock and campaigned on social care, neglected buildings and support for families with additional learning needs. However, he lives in neighbouring Pembroke rather than in the ward itself.

Against candidates who could point to long-standing personal and community connections within Market ward, that distinction may have mattered.

Low-turnout council elections also reward organisation, personal contact and the ability to identify supporters and ensure they vote. With fewer than 400 votes cast, established local networks can outweigh national polling, online support and the prominence of a party’s leader.

The absence of a Labour candidate may also have fragmented the vote among Plaid Cymru and the independents rather than producing a straightforward contest between Reform and the Conservatives.

There is no way of knowing from the result alone whether tactical voting took place. However, the numbers suggest that voters looking for a centre-right candidate consolidated heavily behind Mr Street rather than Reform.

Reform’s defeat cannot be blamed on Paul Dowson splitting its potential vote. Even if all 11 of Mr Dowson’s supporters had voted for Mr Morgan, Reform would still have finished fourth, behind Plaid Cymru.

The result does not prove that Reform’s wider support in Pembrokeshire has disappeared. It does, however, expose the difference between attracting a protest vote in a national election and building the local organisation required to win a tightly fought council seat.

Former Senedd candidate receives just 11 votes

One of the most striking results of the night was the performance of Paul Dowson.

The former Pembrokeshire county councillor received only 11 votes, representing 2.8% of the valid ballots cast.

Mr Dowson served on Pembrokeshire County Council from 2017 until 2022 and was initially elected as an independent before later joining UKIP.

He returned to electoral politics in May as an independent candidate in the Ceredigion Penfro Senedd election but received only 88 votes from more than 89,000 valid ballots.

His candidacy attracted particular attention because he had previously been disqualified from serving as a councillor for three years.

In 2022, the Adjudication Panel for Wales found that Mr Dowson had committed a series of serious breaches of the councillors’ Code of Conduct.

The tribunal found that he had made false allegations of criminal behaviour against a fellow councillor and members of the public, engaged in bullying and harassment, spread misinformation and attempted to mislead an Ombudsman investigation by providing fabricated evidence.

It concluded that his conduct called into question his fitness for public office and disqualified him for three years from becoming a member of Pembrokeshire County Council or another relevant authority.

That disqualification expired in 2025, leaving him legally entitled to stand in both the Senedd election and Thursday’s council by-election.

Mr Dowson has previously rejected the findings against him and argued that he was targeted because of his political views.

However, his result in Market ward was emphatic. Despite his previous council service, a high public profile and a Senedd campaign only two months earlier, he attracted fewer than a dozen votes.

A warning for Reform and a boost for the Conservatives

The victory gives the Welsh Conservatives an important local boost at a time when the party is under intense pressure from Reform across Wales.

The result suggests there remains a route to Conservative success where the party selects a locally recognised candidate and keeps the campaign focused on council services and community representation.

For Reform, 48 votes demonstrate that the party has an identifiable base in Pembroke Dock. However, it was nowhere near enough to challenge for the seat.

The party now faces the challenge of converting its national profile into credible local campaigns, recognised candidates and dependable voter networks.

For Plaid Cymru, Chloe Richards’ third-place finish was respectable and provides a foundation on which the party may seek to build.

Mrs Francis-Boswell’s strong second place also underlines the continuing strength of independent politics in Pembrokeshire, particularly where candidates have visible records of community involvement.

The immediate winner, however, is Jamie Street.

He enters County Hall with a clear mandate from those who voted, but also with the knowledge that more than seven in ten eligible electors did not take part.

His first challenge will be to establish himself as the representative of the entire ward while following a predecessor who served Pembroke Dock for almost 30 years.

A CALL to extend a Pembrokeshire “boutique nature retreat destination” previously featured in the Sunday Times with further holiday cabins, a mobile sauna and padel courts has been lodged with county planners.

In an application submitted to Pembrokeshire County Council, Paul Cleaver of Wilder Retreats, through agent Hayston Developments & Planning Ltd, seeks permission for two holiday cabins, a mobile sauna and the conversion and extension of an existing building to padel courts and changing rooms to form phase 2 of the existing Wilder Retreats holiday cabins and complex, on land at the former agricultural/ forestry works depot, Solbury Road, Tiers Cross.

Padel is a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash.

A supporting statement said of Wilder Retreats, an ecotourism destination located on 20 acres of rewilded land: “Since opening, the business has established itself as one of Wales’ leading boutique nature retreat destinations — demonstrating how sensitive, high-quality tourism development can work in harmony with landscape, ecology and local economy.

“The business has attracted national press coverage from publications including the Sunday Times and Coast Magazine.”

It said the existing business “was conceived from the outset as an ecotourism model — one that funds and enables genuine environmental restoration through sustainable commercial activity, working towards ecological targets set by Kite Ecology including native woodland planting, wildflower meadow creation and habitat corridor development”.

The Phase 2 developments proposed are: two additional A-frame cabins in addition to the existing six; Wilder Woodland Sauna, a commercial woodland sauna; and Wilder Padel Club, two covered LTA (Lawn Tennis Association) compliant padel courts with associated clubhouse facilities, that re-uses a redundant shed and yard in the client’s ownership.

The two additional A-frame cabins will be operated by Wilder Retreats Ltd as an extension of the existing accommodation business. Wilder Woodland Sauna and Wilder Padel Club will each operate as independent businesses under separate limited companies.

“Together, the three proposals reinforce one another: the cabins bring more guests to the site; the sauna and padel give those guests — and local residents — more reasons to visit and to stay longer,” the statement says, adding: “All three operate independently but collectively strengthen the economic, social and environmental case for this site as a model of sustainable rural tourism.”

The site was previously lawfully occupied by the applicant’s tree works consultancy and land management business until this subsequently relocated a few years ago.

Although the site has since been occupied by a motorcycle business, that business has been given notice to vacate but will trade until early 2027.

The application proposal is supported by a letter from Tennis Wales, the national governing body for Padel, one of the fastest growing sports in the country, which fully supports the principle of creating two padel courts, saying: “Creating more Padel courts, which can be used throughout the year, is critical to sustaining this growth.

“These new facilities will enable more adults and juniors to enjoy, compete and experience the game of Padel in line with Tennis Wales Vision and Mission which is to see ‘Padel opened up’.”

The application will be considered by county planners at a later date.

SENIOR Pembrokeshire councillors have backed changes to a list of council-owned properties, some moving to other departments and some, ultimately, be put up for sale.

At Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet meeting of July 6, members were asked to approve a list of properties as either surplus to council requirements and to be disposed of; appropriated to another use within the council; or removed from the category of properties declared surplus to and to be appropriated for a particular use within the council.

A report for members, presented by Joint Cabinet Member for Communities Cllr Aaron Carey said: “The property department is undertaking a review of the council’s estate to identify under used or vacant properties that are no longer required for service delivery and could be transferred internally or disposed of to generate capital receipts.”

It listed 13 assets either for disposal, to be appropriated to another council directorate, or to be changed from surplus and to be appropriated to a council directorate.

“The identification of properties that may be suitable for disposal is constantly ongoing and there are several additional underused or underutilised properties that are being considered as part of our asset review and are subject to further investigations.

“Any properties to be declared surplus as a result of this review will be brought to Cabinet for determination in due course.”

Four properties were listed to be declared surplus for disposal.

The first was Eastleigh, West Street, Newport, described as a “residential property in the centre of Newport which is vacant; significant expenditure required to bring up to standard of the HRA portfolio; to be sold with a local covenant or restriction (trade/business to include holiday let) to be discussed at Cabinet”.

Also listed was a car park to the side of 56 Charles Street, Neyland, described as “area of land adjoining a commercial premises utilised as parking area for the premises”.

Also listed were the frontage area of a commercial premises at “St Thomas’ Haverfordwest,” and land at Withybush for industrial/commercial use.

The second section, covering six assets, was those declared surplus by one area of the council to be appropriated to another council directorate.

Former residential home Riverside, Woodbine Terrance, Pembroke mores from housing to property to review a future use, with Hakin infant school site having a similar change.

A parcel of land at Slade Lane for future education use moves from Education to Property, as does land to the rear of Eastgate Centre, Pembroke Open area of land From Education to Property, and the former Pembrokeshire Learning Cantre, Pembroke Dock, being vacated by the outgoing service.

At Brynhir an updated plan of land area for residential development moves from property to housing.

The final area of changes were three sites moving from surplus to be appropriated to a council directorate

Land adjoining the Fishguard Co-Op site will transfer to property to review a future use

An area of land at Brynhir, similar to mentioned earlier, will also transfer to housing.

The third was an area of open land adjoining the estuary at Front Street, Pembroke Dock transferring to property commercial/industrial letting.

The proposed changes were backed by members, Cllr Carey pointing out that approval of the surplus units does not automatically authorise their sales, without further approvals as and when required.