A DEPARTING Member of Parliament (MP) says he has been 'extremely fortunate' to have 'served the Delyn community'.

Independent politician Rob Roberts had been the MP for Delyn since 2019 and stood in the election once again last Thursday (July 4).

However, it was Labour's Becky Gittins who came out on top with 18,484 votes that night and will now be the first MP to represent the new Clwyd East constituency.

Following the recent boundary changes, Clwyd East now covers a small part of Wrexham county borough encompassed by the Llangollen rural ward, including the villages of Froncysyllte and Trevor.

This constituency covers a lot of what was the old Delyn seat, including Flintshire wards in Mold, Holywell, Mostyn, Caerwys, Northop and Northop Hall.

Mr Roberts has since taken to social media to reflect on losing out on a seat this time around.

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He said: "And so a new chapter begins. Not everyone gets to fulfil their dreams and ambitions. I consider myself extremely fortunate that I had the opportunity to serve my community as the Member of Parliament, humbled to walk in those corridors of power that have been graced by titans of British political history, and I am proud of the impact that I have been able to make on many issues both seen and unseen.

"Not alone of course, but with the love, support and encouragement of family and friends. Some old and some new ones that I have made along the way that will now always be part of my life.

"The job took me to London where I was blessed to meet the individual who would, in December 2023, become my husband in an astonishingly beautiful wedding ceremony.

"But public service is a fickle beast, which does not always reward hard work, integrity and diligence. Those who know me and the work I did alongside my dedicated team will have seen first hand the amount of effort that we all went to in service of our community and country.

"I am not sad that I have lost, I am proud to have served, but remain disappointed with the manner in which some people choose to behave towards me and other elected representatives. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can and must be better.

"Overnight many people have messaged with words of sympathy and regret at the ending to this particular story. Thank you all for your kind words.

"The days, weeks and months ahead are uncertain, but those who know me, will know I’m already full of ideas about other ways in which I’ll be able to be of benefit to wider society.

"Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past four and a half years. You are all wonderful and loved by us for it."