Former Montgomeryshire MP Delwyn Williams has died at the age of 85.

Mr Williams represented the constituency from 1979 to 1983 managing to defeat the well-established MP Emlyn Hooson when the county was considered a safe Liberal seat.

He had fought for the seat unsuccessfully in 1970 United Kingdom general election, but went on to score a political upset by defeating Mr Hooson however he went on to lose the seat by 668 votes after one term to the Liberal Alex Carlile in 1983.

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In more recent years he had changed his political allegiance and had supported UKIP after citing dissatisfaction with the Prime Ministerial record of David Cameron.

(Image: Newsquest)

In a post online, fellow former Montgomeryshire Glyn Davies said he was “impossible not to like”.

“Saddened to be told that former Conservative Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire, Delwyn Williams died this morning,” said Mr Davies. "Delwyn was elected in 1979 defeating the long-serving Emlyn Hooson."

“Delwyn’s election brought to an end around a century where the old county had been represented by the Liberal Party (later to be renamed the Liberal Democrat Party). He lost the seat by a marginal 668 votes in 1983 to Alex Carlile.

“Delwyn had been a local solicitor based in Welshpool. I first knew him when he arranged cricket matches at Guilsfield, in which I sometimes played. Delwyn was associated closely with Guilsfield all of his life.

"He was always a ‘larger than life’ personality, impossible not to like”.