Labour capture half the Senedd

LABOUR has won half the seats in the next Senedd – this matches its best performances in a Welsh election.

Labour has gained two seats and lost one from its 29-seat 2016 result to win exactly half the seats in the 60-seat Welsh Parliament.

As the Llywydd (Presiding Officer) and the Deputy Llywydd don’t vote, Labour may decide to seek the support of one other MS to pass its spending plans and all eyes are now on the lone Liberal Democrat MS Jane Dodds.

But the previous times Labour has won 30 seats, in 2003 and 2011, previous First Ministers Rhodri Morgan and Carwyn Jones decided to govern without the support of a coalition partner.

Only a few constituency seats changed hands at this election. Labour won the Rhondda from Plaid. The Tories took the Vale of Clwyd from Labour and Brecon and Radnorshire from the Lib Dems.

Apart from the Vale of Clwyd, Labour held nearly all the so-called “red wall” seats in the north-east that the Conservatives had hoped to take. Wrexham, Alyn and Deeside and Clwyd South all stayed red as did Bridgend and the Vale of Glamorgan.

The Conservatives were the only other party to gain seats - picking up three regional seats and two constituencies to take their total 16 to despite failing to win their key targets. Plaid had a disappointing election but gained one seat and will return to the Senedd with 13 representatives.

The smaller devo-sceptic parties and independents were wiped out.

Given the difficulties counting officials faced with pandemic restrictions and three separate ballot papers, counting was a drawn-out process in many parts of Wales. The Vale of Glamorgan was the last constituency to announce its result at nearly 11pm. South Wales Central and South Wales East published their regional results yesterday afternoon.

In England, Labour lost the Hartlepool by election after a Conservative onslaught saw Boris Johnson’s party win the seat for the first time in 62 years with a majority of just under 7,000.

There were massive queues at polling stations as voting officially stopped at 10pm in Wales on Thursday night but people were told their would still be able to cast their ballot if they had been waiting from before 10pm.