Welsh Lib Dem leader not chosen to defend Brecon seat

Jane Dodds was shortlisted alongside former assembly member William Powell

The Welsh Liberal Democrat leader has failed to win selection to defend the party's only seat in the Senedd.

Jane Dodds was runner-up to former Assembly member William Powell in the contest for the Brecon and Radnorshire nomination for next May's election.

Kirsty Williams is stepping down after representing the seat since the first Senedd elections in 1999.

The party said it was a decision made by local members, and Ms Dodds would now seek election via a regional list.

Mr Powell, a Powys county councillor, was a regional list member of the assembly representing Mid and West Wales from 2011 to 2016.

"Being selected to follow in the footsteps of Kirsty Williams, who has been an exceptional advocate for Brecon and Radnorshire for 22 years, is one of the greatest honours of my life," he said.

'Near-death experience'

Earlier this year, the former Welsh Lib Dem president spoke of how he owed his life to hospital staff, after he spent several weeks unconscious and on a ventilator with coronavirus.

He said his own "near-death experience" had been "a deeply personal reminder of the terrible cost of this pandemic on the lives of so many, but also the courage and care of doctors, nurses and NHS staff, all our key workers and volunteers, small business owners and military personnel, friends and neighbours".

"As we begin the long, hard recovery from this crisis, I will be a voice for everyone in Brecon and Radnorshire, fighting for a brighter future for this constituency," he added.

Jane Dodds (centre) celebrates her by-election victory with Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey and Kirsty Williams in 2019

Ms Williams, who serves as education minister in the Labour-led Welsh Government, said Mr Powell was an "exceptional" candidate who she had known and worked with for many years.

A Welsh Lib Dem spokesman said: "We are a democratic party, and this was a decision made by local members.

"William, Kirsty and Jane will now work together to ensure a Liberal voice is maintained for Brecon and Radnorshire in the Senedd."

Ms Dodds was briefly MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, winning a by-election from the Tories in August 2019, before losing the seat at last December's general election.

She congratulated Mr Powell on Twitter, saying he would be a "strong voice for our communities" in the Senedd.

The party confirmed she would now seek nomination as a candidate for the Mid and West Wales regional list.