Labour hold their ground in the north as Welsh election count continues
Welsh Labour appears to have exceeded expectations as counting for the Welsh Parliament election continues.
Only one of Wales' so-called red wall seats, the Vale of Clwyd, fell to the Welsh Conservatives, while Labour sources are also confident of unseating the former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood in Rhondda.
Changes to ensure social distancing at venues means counting for all constituencies may be adjourned until this morning.
Some regional counts also look set to be pushed back to Saturday.
At the start of the election campaign, polling suggested
Labour was facing its worst ever result and was at risk of winning as few as 22 of the Senedd's 60 seats, a loss of seven from 2016.
After voting polls closed at 10pm on Thursday, party sources said retaining all of its seats in the Senedd remained "a massive challenge".
But last night, confirmed results as well as indications from parties contesting seats across the country means Mark Drakeford's party is confident of ending up just short of an outright majority once again.
The First Minister said Labour's performance reflected the "real enthusiasm" he had encountered on doorsteps.
"I started this campaign answering questions as to why this was going to be Labour's worst-ever result, a poll prediction of 22 seats," he said. The campaign never felt like that to me. We've had a fantastic and energetic campaign with hundreds of people involved and real enthusiasm on the doorstep.”