It took 52 days for the David Jones U-turn. On September 9th, he announced he wouldn't stand again for the UK parliament. On October 30th, he'd changed his mind. Today, prospective MPs had to declare their intention and Jones is on the list for the Welsh Conservatives. He says that what changed his mind was the fact that having devoted virtually all of the last four years on Brexit he now wants to see it through.
So, the good news for Rhuthun/Ruthin's Conservative Club is that they need not replace the David Jones political banner atop their building. It's been there since the 2017 election. Except, it still refers to one Theresa May.
You can imagine how Private Eye would treat this. Something like, "David Jones came out of retirement on October 30th to fight his Clwyd West seat. He'd previously decided to retire. But somewhere between then and now, Jones forgot who was leader of his party".
The bad news for Darren Millar AM is that he will no longer get the opportunity to stand as MP. He was said to be next in line for that job. Had he got it, the leader of Conwy council, Sam Rowlands, would have been selected as the future constituency assembly member. Now, thanks to 67 year old Jones's decision, none of that will come to pass.
Rowlands is reportedly quite unhappy. He's only been Conwy's leader since June 2019 but is a little under siege there, owing to claim and counter-claim. The June reshuffle seeing Rowlands in follows his sacking from cabinet by the ousted former leader Gareth Jones. Jones was once a Plaid Cymru councillor but left to retain the leadership when Plaid said they would not work with the Conservatives (such as Rowlands). Jones nevertheless appointed Rowlands to a cabinet position. Jones then sacked Rowlands, claiming disloyalty. This, apparently, forced a vote, which resulted in Rowlands being elected leader—just: Jones was kicked out on the casting vote of the council's chairman. It was that close. How stable is Rowlands's position?
In related news, we hear that the financial difficulties at the Con Club may force its closure. They have given themselves till the end of March to see whether the organisation remains viable. If it closes, we shall see yet another of Rhuthun's heritage buildings emptied.
You can imagine how Private Eye would treat this. Something like, "David Jones came out of retirement on October 30th to fight his Clwyd West seat. He'd previously decided to retire. But somewhere between then and now, Jones forgot who was leader of his party".
The bad news for Darren Millar AM is that he will no longer get the opportunity to stand as MP. He was said to be next in line for that job. Had he got it, the leader of Conwy council, Sam Rowlands, would have been selected as the future constituency assembly member. Now, thanks to 67 year old Jones's decision, none of that will come to pass.
Rowlands is reportedly quite unhappy. He's only been Conwy's leader since June 2019 but is a little under siege there, owing to claim and counter-claim. The June reshuffle seeing Rowlands in follows his sacking from cabinet by the ousted former leader Gareth Jones. Jones was once a Plaid Cymru councillor but left to retain the leadership when Plaid said they would not work with the Conservatives (such as Rowlands). Jones nevertheless appointed Rowlands to a cabinet position. Jones then sacked Rowlands, claiming disloyalty. This, apparently, forced a vote, which resulted in Rowlands being elected leader—just: Jones was kicked out on the casting vote of the council's chairman. It was that close. How stable is Rowlands's position?
