Plaid Cymru’s victory in the Welsh Parliament by-election leaves Labour with a “very tough fight” on its hands ahead of the Senedd elections in May, a minister has conceded.
Labour trailed Reform UK in third after Nigel Farage’s party had pledged to “throw everything” at its campaign for the Caerphilly seat, which Labour had held since the Senedd was established in 1999.
Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour’s loss was “disappointing” and pointed to a “fractured political landscape” in the UK.
Reform candidate Llyr Powell got 12,113 votes – the party had only 495 four years ago – with Labour’s Richard Tunnicliffe trailing on 3,713, down from 13,289 in 2021, when there was a lower turnout.
Conservative candidate Gareth Potter received just 690 votes, with the Greens and Liberal Democrats getting 516 and 497 respectively.
Meanwhile, polling expert Sir John Curtice said the result showed Labour was in “severe trouble” in Wales, after Plaid emerged victorious with a majority of 3,848 votes, and a swing of almost 27% from Labour, on a high turnout of more than 50%.
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