TORFAEN Councillor Cynthia Beynon will not be able to stand for the Panteg ward in next year’s elections, as she was not chosen by her local Labour Party at a recent selection meeting.

The meeting of the Griffithstown and Sebastopol branch of the Labour party, which took place at Griffithstown Labour Hall, saw 26 members vote for the four shortlisted candidates.

Anthony Hunt and David Yeowell were selected, along with Cllr Norma Parrish, who was reselected.

After representing the ward since 2008, Cllr Beynon, who has lived in Griffithstown for 27 years, said: “I am absolutely gutted.

It came as a real surprise. I cannot begin to understand what the reason behind it was. What I can’t understand is how a few people can make a decision like that. What is it I am supposed to have done wrong?”

Councillor Beynon, who was the driving force behind the launch of the Torfaen Community Transport scheme in 1985 and a director of Torfaen Opportunity Group for disabled children, said she is receiving lots of letters from constituents offering support.

But she added: “There’s nothing I can do about the decision. I am upset and angry but I will still be a councillor for the ward for another nine months and will continue to work hard.”

She says she has yet to decide what to do come the election: “I will have to decide what to do next .

Do I go Independent?

Do I stand for another ward? I’m just not sure yet.”

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “The selection of our three candidates for Panteg was done entirely by the local members living in that ward. Every local member was entitled to vote from an open shortlist and had the right to select the candidates they thought would best represent their community.”