Matthew Dorrance is the Powys County Councillor for Brecon, St John. He was elected in 2012 with 71% of the vote – gaining the seat for the Labour Party and re-elected in 2017 with an increased majority.

Matthew has lived in Brecon all of his life, he went to local schools and worked in the community in health and social care.  Before being elected to the Council, Matthew worked in nursing and residential homes as a care assistant and as a community mental health support worker. Matthew has also worked for Labour MEPs, as an organiser for Welsh Labour and for members of the Welsh Parliament.

Matthew, who is a former Mayor of Brecon is an active local campaigner. After he was elected to Powys County Council, Matthew fought a two year campaign to secure a Living Wage for Council staff, he has campaigned to protect budgets for tackling Domestic Violence and he has secured investment to improve social housing in Brecon, St John.

Matthew has a keen interest in Health and Social Care and he is a member of Powys Teaching Health Board.   In County Hall, Matthew is the Leader of the Welsh Labour Councillors and Chair of the Economy, Residents, Communities and Governance Scrutiny Committee.  Matthew is Vice-Chair of Governors at Priory School and a Governor at Ysgol y Bannau.

In May 2015, Matthew fought the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency at the General Election. Despite a disappointing result for the Labour Party across the UK, Matthew managed to increase Labour’s vote in Brecon and Radnorshire by 4.2%.

Matthew is a member of GMB, the Co-operative Party and USDAW.