A new leader of Monmouthshire council’s Conservative group has been chosen.
Councillor Richard John was elected as leader at a group meeting on Tuesday evening.
Cllr John will take over the position held by long-serving leader Cllr Peter Fox, who is standing as a Senedd election candidate for Monmouth.
He said: “I’m delighted and humbled to have won the backing of my colleagues to lead our group with the intention of putting my name forward at the election of the leader of the council at our next meeting in early May.
“I lead a wonderful group of hardworking councillors, diverse in age, gender and experience and I am delighted to have been elected as leader.
“It is a real privilege to follow in the footsteps of Peter Fox, who has been a giant of local government in Wales and the kindest and dedicated public servant you could ever meet.”
Cllr John has served as a county councillor representing Mitchel Troy since 2017, and has held responsibilities for education and leisure.
The dad-of-two studied French and Spanish at Swansea University and is also a trained chef.
“Monmouthshire is a beautiful place to live, work and raise a family and over the past year the way in which communities have come together to support each other through the pandemic has been such an inspiration,” he added.
“As we begin our recovery from the pandemic, I’m looking forward to working with other councillors and our communities across Monmouthshire to ensure our part of South East Wales can bounce back and that our council does everything possible to improve the lives of our residents.”
Monmouth Senedd Election candidates:
Susan Boucher – Reform UK
Ian Roy Chandler – Green Party
Peter Alan Fox – Conservative
Elspeth Agnes Pearl Hill – Freedom Alliance. No Lockdowns. No Curfews
Hugh Michael Andrew Kocan – Plaid Cymru
Catrin Myfanwy Maby – Labour
Nick Ramsay – Independent
Mark John Reckless – Abolish The Welsh Assembly Party
Jo Watkins – Liberal Democrats
Laurence Williams – Gwlad – The Welsh Independence Party
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