Helping people hit by rising prices, breathing new life into town centres and more train services - including direct trains from west Wales to Cardiff - are among the priorities of the new leader of Carmarthenshire Council. Darren Price was catapulted into the role after the shock defeat of his Plaid Cymru colleague, Emlyn Dole, in May's local government elections.
Cllr Price had not served in the cabinet prior to May 5 but put his name forward as a candidate for leader the day after the count, having been asked to by Plaid colleagues. A couple of months on and the 42-year-old has his feet under two desks - one at Llanelli Town Hall, the other at County Hall, Carmarthen - where he splits his working week, although he still dedicates time to issues in his Gorslas ward.
Although young for a council leader, he served as a Swansea councillor between 2004 and 2012 before deciding to move back to his home county, where he lives with his wife and their two children, aged 10 and eight. He has been a Carmarthenshire councillor since 2012. You can get more Carmarthenshire news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
