NEWLY elected Assembly Member Janet Finch-Saunders was delighted to receive the backing of her Aberconwy electorate after securing 34% of the votes.
Mrs Finch-Saunders claimed the seat for the Conservative Party from Plaid Cymru, whose candidate Iwan Huws finished second with 26.2% of the vote.
Labour’s Eifion Wyn Williams was close behind with 25.7%, followed by Liberal Democrat candidate MIke Priestley with 14.2%.
Speaking after the count, Mrs Finch-Saunders said she was delighted to be elected following a hard fought campaign.
“I’m delighted. We fought a long, quality campaign, and I’m over the moon,” she said.
“We were still pushing people to go and vote late last night. I genuinely thought it would be quite close, and we never took any of the electorate for granted.
The new Aberconwy AM said she was looking forward to acting on the issues promised in her campaign material, with particular focus on the local development plan in Llandudno and proposed improvements to the town’s hospital.
“I’ve been talking on a number of issues and have been frustrated with Conwy County Council and the opposition,” she said.
“On the LDP, I’ve worked very hard on it, and I’m looking forward now to sorting that out. I said that I wanted to see the money allocated to Llandudno Hospital used well, and it’s time to make sure those improvements happen.
She also said she was looking forward to working with fellow Conservative colleagues in the local area, including Aberconwy MP Guto Bebb.
“I’m looking forward to working with Guto, and from the doorstep I can already see that he’s making a difference.
“Guto and myself will make a great team, along with Darren (Millar), and David (Jones), and I hope this will be a new dawn for Aberconwy and this area.”
20,288 people turned out in the constituency, just over 45% of the population, with Mrs Finch-Saunders claiming a 7.7% majority.