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Kirsty Williams announcement yesterday she will not stand at May's #Senedd elections means #BreconandRadnorshire will see it's most keenly contested Welsh election yet
So far I think the only declared candidate is @Plaid_Cymru's @GrenvilleHam who has already given up a New Year Honour from the queen to make a political point @Plaid_BandR https://cwtchnews.wordpress.com/2020/09/28/return-to-sender-why-this-businessman-has-posted-his-new-year-honour-back-to-the-queen/
Sending an honour back to the queen might lose more votes than it gains in #BreconandRadnor but there will be plenty of local voters willing to consider different candidates now the popular Williams is out of the race
Ham stood, against Williams, for the @WalesGreenParty in 2016 and finished (sixth out of 6) with 697 votes while Plaid polled 1,180 to finish 5th. The Greens and Plaid agreed to pull out at last year's #BreconandRadnor by-election to support Lib Dem @DoddsJane on a remain ticket
That won the by-election but though the pact was repeated at December's General Election @BandR_Tories Fay @JonesyFay won it back for the Conservatives and the Brexit Party, which finished 3rd at the by-election, had pulled out
The Conservatives will see 'Kirsty's' resignation as their best chance of winning the Senedd seat. Their 2016 campaign was marred by an internal row over candidate Garry Price which split the local party and Williams won with her biggest ever majority, 8,170
It was a bitter sweet night for Williams tho' as the @WelshLibDems were otherwise wiped out and she stood down as party leader - but shortly afterwards accepted the education post in the Welsh Labour cabinet. That was much criticised by the Tories and UKIP
The Conservatives would have sought to attack Williams over that, and the Labour gov's record, at the election but will have to change tack.
My guess is Jane Dodds will be the LibDem candidate and she will hope for some of Kirsty's personal support, and champion her record, but will also be able to distance herself from the current Labour gov
Anyway here's one of the more unusual stories I wrote about @Kirsty_Williams during my time in #Brecon https://www.brecon-radnor.co.uk/article.cfm?id=100738&headline=Kirsty%20turns%20crime%20fighter%20to%20foil%20quad%20bike%20theft§ionIs=news&searchyear=2016
*Tweeted all this and spotted the typo in the first tweet
