Pembrokeshire County Council’s Conservative group has gained a new councillor following a four-way contest for the seat made vacant following the death of former Chair of Pembrokeshire County Council and Llanelli, Wales and British & Irish Lions Utility Back Cllr Peter Morgan.
Former Wales and British Lions star Peter Morgan, county councillor for The Havens ward, passed away on July 27 at the age of 65 after a long illness.
A four-way by-election for the Havens ward, which includes Broad Haven, Talbenny, Roch and Newgale was held following Cllr Morgan’s death, with the results declared by Returning Officer Will Bramble yesterday, October 10.
Candidates standing were Independent Jonathan Lynne Griffiths, commonly known as Jony Griff, who gained 201 votes; Independent Mike Harris, listed as a Reform UK party member during 2024, with 43 votes; Welsh Liberal Democrats candidate Thomas James Hughes, with 135 votes, and Welsh Conservative candidate Nick Neumann winning with 365 votes.
Speaking after his win, Nick Neumann, of Rainbolts Hill Farm, Roch, said: “Firstly, thank you to all the good people of the Havens and Roch who have entrusted me to represent them at county hall. Secondly, thank you to [Conservative councillors] Cllr Di Clements, Cllr Mark Carter and the rest of the campaign team for their super support.
“And lastly, I’d like to thank the returning officer and all the counting staff for ensuring a smooth and fully transparent process. I now look forward to addressing both the challenges and opportunities for our community going forward.”
Explaining why he stood, Mr Neumann said: “I’ve been clerk of Roch and Nolton Community Council for some time now and enjoy engaging and helping people within the community; the community which I grew up. I’ve been fortunate to work overseas for a multinational, worked hard, saved hard and made investments into the community personally.
“We have a successful business here and it gives me great pride to give back and support our community. My late parents were also community spirited, and I now follow in their footsteps and carry on their good work too.”
With Cllr Neumann’s election, the Conservative group now has 11 members, with Claire Victoria George joining after winning the nearby St Ishmaels by-election seat made vacant by the late Cllr Reg Owens.
The Conservatives, led by Cllr Di Clements, also recently saw Pembroke councillor Aaron Carey leave as he felt has was no longer able to commit his full potential to the group.
Peter Morgan
Peter Morgan, of Little Haven, was a highly successful rugby player who toured South Africa with the Lions in 1980 and played for Wales five times throughout his career.
As a fast and skilful player, Peter was able to play at fly-half, centre and as a utility back he played in every three-quarter position for both the Lions and Wales.
One of the highlights of Peter’s career was when he captained Llanelli to victory over Australia in November 1984, beating the only Australian side to achieve a Grand Slam in the four tests against the home nations.
Morgan toured South Africa with The Lions in 1980 and captained Llanelli to victory over Australia in 1984.
Then, in 1985, he played in Llanelli’s WRU Challenge Cup final victory over Cardiff.
Meanwhile, in his earlier years, Peter played for Pembrokeshire at every level, including school and senior rugby.
Following the end of his rugby career, Peter sat as an independent member on Pembrokeshire County Council for 16 years, and also served on Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.
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