Conwy Assembly Member won’t fight next election

Sep 30 2010 by Eva Ketley, North Wales Weekly News

ONE of the original members of the Senedd is to stand down as an Assembly Member at the next election.

Gareth Jones, 71, who represents Aberconwy, says he will not seek re- election in May 2011.

“It’s been a huge privilege and a rare honour for me to represent the constituencies of Conwy and then Aberconwy, and I will be eternally grateful to the people for giving me that opportunity,” said Mr Jones.

“Early on in my professional career as a teacher I never imagined I would be in this position, nor that Wales would have a semblance of self-government, but I’ve enjoyed it immensely and will miss it greatly.

“I hope I’ve been able to contribute something to our fledgling democracy here in Wales.

“I also hope the next Assembly will see someone elected who shares my passion both for this constituency and for this nation and someone who will finally have the right tools to get on with the job of representing the people of Aberconwy in a proper parliament for Wales.”

Chair of Plaid Cymru in Aberconwy Eryl P Roberts said: “Gareth Jones has been a tremendous servant as a councillor and Assembly Member for the people of Conwy and Aberconwy since 1995 and we in Plaid are extremely grateful for his service to the local party and the constituency.

“He is such a well known and respected figure in the constituency that he will be very difficult to replace.

“Nevertheless, Plaid is confident of putting up a distinguished and experienced candidate for election to take his place and the internal selection process is already underway. I expect an announcement to be made about our new candidate in the next few weeks.”

Mr Jones, who lives in Llandudno, is a former headteacher of Ysgol John Bright in Llandudno, and was later an independent educational consultant before being elected to represent the Conwy constituency in 1999.

Following the loss of his seat by the narrow margin of 72 votes in 2003, he was leader of the Plaid Cymru group, a cabinet member and deputy leader of Conwy County Council before being successfully re-elected to the new Aberconwy seat in 2007.

He has been an active campaigner for the retention and improvement of services at Llandudno Hospital, and is currently chairman of the Assembly’s influential enterprise and learning scrutiny committee.

He will stand down in March next year.