Plaid Cymru has taken the Baruc ward seat on Vale of Glamorgan Council after a by-election prompted by the departure of the previous councillor to the Senedd. Shirley Hodges secured the position with 856 votes, amounting to 48 per cent of the ballot.
What the result means locally
The result reshapes representation for parts of Barry including Barry Island, the Waterfront, Garden Suburb, the Knap, Romilly Park and the streets around Harbour Road. The vacancy arose when Mark Hooper stood down after his election to the Senedd; under the new rules he could not remain both a Senedd member and a councillor, triggering the contest.
Hodges, a long-serving Barry Town councillor since 2004 and known locally for her work promoting the town’s heritage, said she was grateful to voters for their support. She intends to concentrate on scrutiny of how the Vale of Glamorgan Council delivers services to Barry and to highlight discrepancies between council priorities and residents’ experiences.
“I am delighted that so many people in Baruc ward put their trust in me to represent them,”
Her profile in the town includes running the Victorian Barry Experience Facebook page, which has a substantial following, and contributing a regular column in a local magazine.
Vote picture and party reactions
Hodges’ tally was almost double that of the second-place candidate from the Reform Party, according to local counts. Conservative and Labour candidates finished third and fourth, each taking just over 10 per cent of the vote.
| Candidate/Party | Known result |
|---|---|
| Shirley Hodges (Plaid Cymru) | 856 votes — 48% |
| Reform Party candidate | Second place — vote share roughly half of winner's |
| Conservative candidate | Just over 10% |
| Labour candidate | Just over 10% |
Plaid Cymru’s group leader on the Vale Council welcomed the gain and indicated he expects Hodges’ experience to strengthen the group’s ability to hold the ruling Labour members to account in the remainder of the council term.
Practical implications for residents
The new councillor has signalled she will place a priority on visible local issues in Barry, from the seafront to neighbourhood streets. For residents in the Baruc ward, this change means a different political voice at council meetings and a representative who has long-standing links to town projects and community heritage work.
- By-election triggered by Mark Hooper’s election to the Senedd and subsequent resignation.
- Plaid Cymru gains the Baruc seat with 48% of the vote.
- Conservative and Labour candidates polled similarly in the low teens.
Further detail on vote numbers for other candidates and any shifts in the overall council arithmetic will be confirmed when full returns are published by the Vale of Glamorgan Council. For now, Barry will have a new voice on the council in Shirley Hodges, whose local profile and pledges suggest an immediate focus on neighbourhood-level scrutiny and advocacy.
