A Conservative member of Powys Council has expressed her sadness after one of her colleagues defected to a party opposed to the Welsh Parliament.

It was revealed on Wednesday that the councillor for Llanyre, Claire Mills, had left the Tories for the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party.

In response Amanda Jenner, her erstwhile party colleague and the councillor for Trewern near Welshpool,  published a thread on Twitter which affirmed her belief in devolution.

Cllr Jenner started her thread in Welsh, saying that “devolution could work amazingly for Wales and that she’s excited to prove that”.

Cllr Jenner who stood as a general election candidate last December for the Conservatives in Ceredigion, said: “I’m so sad that my good friend Cllr Claire Mills has left the Welsh Conservatives.

“Claire is a compassionate and committed councillor and I know she will continue the hard work in her role.

“I don’t share her views on devolution. I believe with a change of Government in Cardiff, Wales has huge potential.”

Cllr Jenner went on to criticise the Labour party's performance in the Senedd, claiming it is "not interested in a Wales outside the M4 corridor".

Cllr Mills had said that she thought the Welsh Assembly, which is now known as the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament was a “level of bureaucracy that we didn’t need”.

The last Welsh political barometer in April – conducted by YouGov and analysed by Cardiff University’s Professor Roger Awan-Scully – gave the Conservative party a 12-point lead over Labour ahead of next year's Senedd elections.