Plaid Cymru ask defected councillors to hold by-election and challenge Welsh Labour to “publish defamatory allegation in full”

Two Plaid Cymru councillors in Wrexham have defected to Labour over concerns about their former party’s handling of sexual harassment claims.

Cllr Emma Holland, who represents Gwersyllt North, and Cllr Kate Wilkinson, the elected member for Offa, have both joined the Labour group on Wrexham Council.

The move comes just over a year after a damning report was published which found a culture of sexual harassment, bullying and misogyny within Plaid Cymru.

According to Welsh Labour, the two ex-Plaid Cymru members feel that not enough has changed in regard to how cases of sexual harassment are dealt with.

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson confirmed an allegation, details of which have not been made public, was raised with the party’s group leader Marc Jones around 18 months ago which was dealt with at the time.

Plaid accused the two former party members of trying to “smear” their former colleagues for political gain and called for them to stand down to contest a by-election.

The pair’s decision increases the number of Labour councillors on the local authority from 14 to 16, while the amount of Plaid politicians has dropped from nine to seven.

Dana Davies, leader of Wrexham’s Labour opposition group, said: “We are pleased to welcome Councillors Emma Holland (Gwersyllt North) and Kate Wilkinson (Offa) into the Labour group at Wrexham County Borough Council.

“Both are dedicated public servants who are deeply committed to their residents and communities.

“With our shared values, I am confident that each will be a valuable contributor to the collective efforts of Team Labour.”

A Plaid Cymru spokesperson said: “A concern was raised with Plaid Cymru’s group leader on Wrexham Council 18 months ago and was dealt with at that time.

“No further allegations were made to either the council group or to Plaid Cymru centrally.

“We wish Cllr Holland and Cllr Wilkinson well with their decision, but we are disappointed that they should choose to allow their new party to smear their former colleagues for political gain.

“Welsh Labour has chosen to try to distract from its own problems with a fact-free smear.

“We challenge them to publish the defamatory allegation in full and face the consequences.

“As both were elected as Plaid Cymru councillors, we feel it’s only right that they stand down and stand again as Labour councillors.”

By Liam Randall, BBC LDRS (updated article to include Plaid Cymru comment)