Week Five

Week Five

3.10am

                It has already been a very good night for the Labour party in Wales, who have won back seats in Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South, the Vale of Glamorgan, and Aberconwy – seats which were previously taken from them by the Conservatives in 2010.

Conservatives, however, have beaten the Liberal Democrats incumbent with a swing of 10% in Brecon & Radnorshire.

Liberal Democrats have lost Cardiff Central to Labour.

Llanelli

So far looking like Nia Griffith (Labour) has kept her seat out of the hands of Plaid Cymru.

3.15am

                In the event of a hung parliament, the Labour Party have confirmed that they will not contest the Prime Minister’s right to form a government.

Ed Miliband is also confirmed to be currently travelling from his constituency to London and will arrive within the hour.

Montgomeryshire

James Rothbury (Conservative MPs Glyn Davies’ campaign manager) speaking on Radio Wales has acknowledged the success of the Labour party, saying “they were always going to bounce back from 2010” in regards to the seats being won back.

He also says the Liberal Democrats have had “a poor showing all over the UK, particularly in the university towns”, identifying the argument over tuition fees as a possible reason for the losses.

Ceredigion

Plaid Cymru are looking good, estimated a close contest between them and the Liberal Democrats.

Arfon

Boxes from Bangor appear to be leaning strongly towards Labour.

3.20am

Llanelli

Mike Persons, the Acting Returning Officer for Llanelli has released the totals votes for each candidate.

Labour win by a considerable margin with 16,320 votes, followed by Plaid Cymru with 10,230.

Nia Griffith (Labour) has been declared elected as the member of parliament for the constituency.

3.25am

                There was a clear shift towards Labour in Llanelli, but perhaps not the kind of momentum they will need in order to secure the majority at Westminster.

Llanelli

Vaughan Williams (Plaid Cymru) has accepted defeat. “Trying to win the seat was always going to be an uphill task”, he says.

Williams also identifies his belief for the reason for his loss; tactical voting. “It was seen as a vote between 

Labour and the Conservatives in Westminster rather than Plaid and Labour in Llanelli” he says.

“We can build on this in elections in the future. It’s been a long and hard campaign” was his closing statement.

Ceredigion

Totals appear to be close between Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats, who look worried.

Arfon

Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru – winner in 2010) has said he is “quietly confident about keeping my seat”. He seems optimistic about the future in the event that Labour and the Liberal Democrats fail to win the majority either way, saying “there could be a role for Plaid (Cymru) and other parties such as the SNP in forming a majority government”

There has been a lower turnout for this election than in 2010.

3.30am

Ceredigion

Tom Mathias, the Acting Returning Officer for Ceredigion, has released the total votes for each candidate.

Plaid Cymru win with a total of 14,502 votes, narrowly beating the Liberal Democrats with 13,208 votes in total.

Mike Parker (Plaid Cymru) has been declared elected as the member of parliament for the constituency.

3.35am

Arfon

Dylan Jenkins, the Acting Returning Officer for Arfon, has released the total votes for each candidate.

Plaid Cymru has won with a total of 8,902 votes. Labour only missed out by 98 votes. The votes for Labour totalled 8,804, a very narrow win for Plaid Cymru.

Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru) has been elected as the member of parliament for the constituency.

3.40am

Carwyn Jones, the Welsh Labour First Minister, has said “Wales looks as if it’s leading the way for the rest of 
the UK to follow”.

Ceredigion

Mike Parker (winning candidate for Plaid Cymru) has acknowledged the loss of the seat in Ceredigion in 2005, and has called the area “a stronghold for us in the Assembly Election for years”, he said gaining the seat back was always felt as “doable”.

Mark Williams (losing candidate for Liberal Democrats) has called the event “heart breaking”. He says “I have no doubt in my mind that it’s the student vote that has made the difference”. He protests his innocence in the raised tuition fees matter but has said “people only looked at it as a party political issue”, and extends his congratulations to Plaid Cymru’s Mike Parker on his victory in Ceredigion.

Arfon

Alun Pugh (Labour) has acknowledged the very narrow loss for Labour to Plaid Cymru.

“I think we’ll do it next time” he says with a hint of optimism, “It looks like a very good night for Labour across the UK” he says, “I think we picked up on a lot of disaffected Liberal Democrat votes amongst the students”.

Montgomeryshire

The Conservative Party are expected to win the seat in Montgomeryshire.

3.45am

Montgomeryshire

James Buntley, the Acting Returning Officer for Montgomeryshire, has released the total votes for each candidate.

The Conservative Party has won by a landslide with a total of 15,208 votes. Their main competitors, the Liberal 
Democrats, stray behind with 12,602 votes.

Glyn Davies (Conservative) has been elected as the member of parliament for the constituency.

3.50am

Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, has spoken about the party’s situation.

“Clearly it’s a terrible result for the Liberal Democrats in Wales” she blames the coalition with the Conservatives for this result.

“I don’t think there will be much appetite for another coalition” with either Labour or Conservative, she says. “It’s time to lick our wounds and re-group as a party”

Montgomeryshire

Glyn Davies (Conservative), has spoken about his win in Montgomeryshire.

“We’ve lost a few seats but we’ve also kept a few seats with a larger majority” he says, “Across the UK we seem to be faring better. It’s going to be an interesting few days”

When asked about the threat from UKIP, who totalled 601 votes in Montgomeryshire, Davies said they “never really materialised after all the talk and bluster”.

Davies is “looking forward to representing Montgomeryshire over the next four years”.