Following the resignation of Uplands councillor Pearlean Sangha, Swansea West Conservatives have selected their Josh Allard as their candidate to contest the ward’s by-election.

The Conservatives officially announced Mr Allard as their candidate at their first Policy Forum. Also in attendance at the first of their new discussion forums was their recently selected candidate for the General Election, Emma Lane.

Mr Allard said: "Having lived in Uplands I am fully aware of the issues that people face.

"There are drastic issues that the Labour-led Council need to address, notably the problem of how to regulate Houses of Multiple Occupation properly."

Recent figures released by the Council show that there are currently 999 HMOs in the ward, which makes up over 65% of the city’s total.

Chairman of Swansea West Conservatives, Craig Lawton, said "I was pleased to be able to announce Josh as our candidate. He has some great ideas for the area and have first-hand knowledge of Uplands.

"Having both Josh and Emma at our first Policy Forum means that members and residents have a direct line to their candidates and can play an important role in shaping future Welsh Conservative Party policy."

Mrs Lane, who works to help Small and Medium sized businesses, added "Uplands has some fantastic independent businesses.

"It is these types of businesses that give Uplands and the whole of Swansea its character. Our Party in the Assembly is working hard to support these types of businesses and I hope we can continue to do that."

Polling Day for the Uplands by-election is Thursday 20 November 2014.