The grandson of Plaid Cymru’s first ever MP has been selected to stand for the Dwyfor Meirionnydd seat in the next Welsh Government elections.
Mabon ap Gwynfor, who is currently a county councillor in Denbighshire, is the grandson of Gwynfor Evans, who represented Plaid Cymru at Westminster in the 1960s and ’70s.
Mabon will stand for election in 2021 against a former party stalwart, Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, who left the party in 2016 to become an independent AM at Y Senedd.
Speaking following his selection, Mabon ap Gwynfor said: “I’m grateful to party members in Dwyfor Meirionnydd for putting their faith in me as their candidate to win back the seat and help Plaid Cymru form the next government of Wales.
“It’s an exciting time for Plaid Cymru. We are charting a course that offers the best and brightest future for the people of Wales. Now the work must begin to reach out to the people of Dwyfor Meirionnydd and build on Plaid’s strong track record of standing up for the constituency, our European values and for Wales.”
Liz Saville Roberts MP added: “I congratulate Mabon on his selection and pay tribute to all the candidates for putting themselves forward for the constituency nomination in what has been an engaging contest.
“We must turn every stone to ensure we return Mabon as a Plaid Cymru Assembly Member at the Senedd Elections in 2021 and win back the constituency for the party.”
Mabon’s selection came following a hustings event in Pwllheli on Saturday.
He faced stiff competition from six other hopefuls: Elin Roberts; Bangor county councillor Elin Walker Jones; Porthmadog town councillor Llywelyn Rhys; Porthmadog county councillor Nia Jeffreys; Abererch county councillor Peter Read and Porthmadog town councillor Simon Brooks.
Congratulating Mabon, Cllr Nia Jeffreys said: “Mabon ap Gwynfor is a brilliant and principled person - he will make an excellent Assembly Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd. I and all local members will work hard under his leadership to bring the seat back to the Plaid Cymru fold.”