Councillor Jamie Pritchard has announced he is standing for re-election as Deputy Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council.

Any Labour councillors hoping to become the next Leader and Deputy Leader of the council have until Sunday, May 15 to nominate themselves for the positions.

It is unclear who will be replacing the former Leader Philippa Marsden – who lost her seat in Ynysddu – and who will be going up against Cllr Pritchard for the deputy leadership.

The Leader, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Members will be announced at the council’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, May 19.

The appointments will be decided following an internal vote by the Labour group, which has a majority in Caerphilly County Borough Council after winning 45 of the 69 seats available at last week’s election.

Cllr Pritchard, who has been Deputy leader since July 2021, said he understood why some thought he would be going for Leader – but admitted that was never his intention.

Cllr Pritchard was re-elected in the Morgan Jones ward following the council elections last week, alongside his fellow Labour candidates Shayne Cook and Anne Broughton-Pettit.

He said: “In 2008, Morgan Jones was the safest Plaid Cymru seat in the whole borough. As a strong Labour team, we have been able to turn this around with positive campaigning, and not by obsessively targeting individual candidates.

“If re-elected as deputy leader, I will work solidly to ensure I do my best by standing up for the whole borough.”