Standard

Plaid Cymru swipes two Tory seats, ousting former chief whip Simon Hart

B.Wilson18 hr ago
News | Politics

Plaid Cymru swipes two Tory seats, ousting former chief whip Simon HartMr Hart was not wearing the blue Conservative rosette when it was announced that he came third in the Caerfyrddin constituency.Former chief whip Simon Hart (Jonathan Brady/PA)PA Archive Rhiannon James

The Tories are taking a battering in Wales as the General Election results so far leave ex-chief whip Simon Hart seatless and a former minister is ousted.

This comes as Rishi Sunak's Welsh Secretary, David TC Davies, said he is also expecting to lose his seat – and an exit poll indicated Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party will sweep to power.

Mr Hart was not wearing the blue Conservative rosette when it was announced that he came third in the Caerfyrddin constituency, with Plaid Cymru's Ann Davies taking top spot.

Other former Tory MPs ousted include Virginia Crosbie, Stephen Crabb and the ex-Welsh secretary Alun Cairns.

Plaid Cymru's Llinos Medi succeeded in Ynys Mon with a majority of 637, as she received 9,953 votes and Ms Crosbie received 9,953 votes.

In an emotional speech following her election, Ms Medi said: "Someone said to me 'Llinos, I'm so glad you want to be an MP', I said 'I don't want to be an MP, I just want to represent Ynys Mon which I love so much'."

She added: "Can I say to any young girl who doesn't think she's good enough, everything is possible if you go for it."

Labour's Henry Tufnell was elected in Mid and South Pembrokeshire where he defeated Mr Crabb, another former secretary of state for Wales. In the Vale of Glamorgan, Labour's candidate Kanishka Narayan succeeded.

Labour's winner in Swansea West, Torsten Bell, who is the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation think tank, previously received criticism for being "parachuted" in by the party.

Read More Starmer says country 'ready for change' as he appears set for No 10

Gillian Keegan: The Education Secretary who swore on-air

John Swinney pledges SNP 'soul searching' over 'very poor' election results

Sponsored Your expert guide to Irish single malt whiskey

Meanwhile, Tory minister Mr Davies does not see himself back in Parliament following the result in Monmouthshire, BBC Wales has reported.

The result of Mr Davies' constituency is "too close to call", according to the exit poll carried out by Ipsos UK, which predicts a 61% chance of a Conservative hold and a 39% chance that Labour will claim the seat.

The Liberal Democrat candidate for Monmouthshire, Bill Powell, seemed surprised by Mr Davies' comments, stating that "the Conservatives are still competitive here".

Mr Davies has served as the MP for Monmouth since 2005, and has been Wales' minister in the cabinet since October 2022.

Mr Sunak's term as Prime Minister looks set to end in electoral disaster, with the Conservatives forecast to endure heavy losses. The exit poll suggests Labour is on course for 410 seats, with the Tories reduced to 131.

Despite being embroiled in the election date betting scandal, Mr Sunak's former parliamentary aide Craig Williams is predicted to hold his seat in Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr.

Th exit poll has suggested just a 3% likelihood that Labour will make a gain in Mr Williams' constituency.

Tory support was withdrawn from Mr Williams after he admitted having a "flutter" on the election date.

Welsh Conservatives leader Andrew RT Davies said the Tories have "let a lot of people down" and taken voters for granted.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the member of Senedd said: "Let's be frank: We've let a lot of people down.

"In Wales, the Welsh Conservatives have a solid record in our communities at all levels of government, from local government, to the Senedd, to Parliament.

"And we're going to take the lead in rebuilding our party in the run up to 2026. Step one: Stop taking lifelong Conservative voters for granted."

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT

0 Comments
0