Welsh Labour declines to comment on councillor's move to England

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

The Welsh Labour party has refused to explain why a Cardiff Council ward member now appears to be representing residents from a town in England.

Labour Cllr Chris Lay, who is a ward member for Trowbridge, created a social media post on Saturday, July 26, suggesting that he had moved house to Telford.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands that Cllr Lay has notified Cardiff Council about a change of address.

Cllr Lay posted on Facebook that he was at a location in Telford and Werkin with family members.

The post read: “The move is complete, lovely evening sunshine with a cheeky drink.

“Massive thank you to mom and dad… and my cousin Jude. Me and jess are very grateful for the help and support moving us in.”

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Change of address

We tried to contact Cllr Lay on a mobile number published on Cardiff Council’s website and via Facebook.

The LDRS also asked Cllr Lay via email if he would like to respond to questions about his change of address.

The Labour group at Cardiff Council and Welsh Labour was also asked to clarify Cllr Lay’s move and how he hoped to represent residents in Trowbridge and address the issues in their area from a town that’s more than 120km away.

Welsh Labour said it would not be commenting at this time.

Changing address to a location outside your ward is not a breach of the members code of conduct – a code of standards councillors across the country have to adhere to.

In the members code of conduct document on Cardiff Council’s website, it states that councillors must register a change of interest within 28 days of becoming aware of it.

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St Mellons

Under Cllr Lay’s profile on Cardiff Council’s website, it states under his register of interest that he is the owner of a property in St Mellons.

Two of the other ward members for Trowbridge live at addresses outside of their ward.

Under Labour Cllr Michael Michael’s register of interests, it states that he is the owner of a property in Fairwater.

The other Labour councillor for the area, Cllr Bernie Bowen-Thomson, owns a property in Heath according to her register of interest.