Monmouthshire council leader reveals she had to cancel international work to take up role

• Watch the video report by ITV Cymru Wales Political Editor, Adrian Masters.

Monmouthshire was the Conservatives’ flagship council in Wales. Now it’s run by Labour and 60% of its members have never been councillors before. 

The Conservative party had run the authority alone or in coalition for decades and had pinned their hopes on it remaining in their hands despite what was expected to be a difficult election earlier this year. 

“It will be our saving grace,” one Tory said to me on that uncertain morning of May 6th.

I watched as the votes were counted and saw the change creep up on all of those in Chepstow Leisure centre: the confident smiles of the Conservatives replaced by concern then tears while on Labour faces there was disbelief as first they realised they were doing well and then that they might actually win. 

As she shows me around the council chamber in the still-new County Hall in Usk, the authority’s new leader, Mary Ann Brocklesby, tells me just how much her life has changed since May.

“I was in what was considered an unwinnable seat. So unwinnable that I didn't turn up to the count. I won by nine votes. And then about three hours later, I was leader of the Labour group.”

“I used to work in international development. I was about to go off to Ethiopia. I had to cancel that and stay in Usk!”

The first Labour leader to take the reins since the 1990s and the first woman to lead Monmouthshire, Mary Ann Brocklesby says that as well as learning the ropes, she’s ushering in a different way of working. 

“The tone of the council is very different. We are developing our community and corporate plan in conjunction with all groups across the council, but also people with lived experience.

“Secondly, very clearly, we've got a different relationship with the Welsh Government, a very productive one, a very friendly one, which has meant that we could move very fast.”

“For example, with the uplift that the Welsh Government gave to all councils to target the most vulnerable and the cost of living crisis. We were able to move very fast. We've already distributed a million pounds.”

One of the enduring images of that dramatic count was when one crucial seat was decided on the toss of a coin. A sign of how close the votes had been and how important every ballot paper had become. 

The man with the coin was the Chief Executive, Paul Matthews, and he’s the one now responsible for helping council officers come to terms with the change.

“There are two significant differences, and one is that we have a minority administration.

Monmouthshire has quite a history of having majorities, regardless of colouring, so being a minority administration brings with it a set of challenges and potentially opportunities.

“The other issue clearly is that the the largest group in Monmouthshire is now Labour rather than Conservative. So we've had quite an interesting time in helping many inexperienced councillors become experienced.”

“But,” he adds, “they are rich in life. So, so that that that's not to be disregarded.”

While the Conservatives are bruised and coming to terms with being in opposition for the first time in decades, they are determined both to regroup and to work towards winning back control.

The group’s deputy leader, Councillor Paul Pavia, said: "We've got a lot of really talented new members that have come in that have got a broad experience of the business and industry as well as local government social care.

"We want to use that experience to help us shape our narrative for the next five years and hopefully take the administration back in 2027."