Labour heading for crushing defeat in Wales

Labour is heading for a crushing defeat in Wales after suffering disastrous local election results in England overnight.

The party has been the largest at country-wide elections in Wales for more than a century and had won the most seats in the Welsh Parliament since its creation more than two decades ago.

But after Wales went to the polls on Thursday, Labour is bracing itself for a brutal set of results in its former heartlands, with a senior figure admitting the party faced a “tough election campaign” under “difficult circumstances”.

Image from: Labour heading for crushing defeat in Wales

Sir Keir Starmer has already said he takes responsibility for a “tough” set of local election results in England, where hundreds of Labour councillors have been voted out.

In Wales, a Labour source indicated the party’s vote had collapsed in Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni and said it would be a “struggle” to hold on to one seat – out of a total of six – in the constituency, which includes some of its South Wales heartlands.

Baroness Eluned Morgan, the First Minister and leader of Welsh Labour, has previously said she is at risk of losing her seat in this election, where she stood in the Ceredigion Penfro constituency.

An observer from Reform UK watches as votes are counted in Newport (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

At the close of polls on Thursday, Huw Irranca-Davies, Welsh Labour campaign chairman and Lady Morgan’s deputy, said: “After many years in government in Wales, and with Labour now governing across the UK, there was always going to be a strong mood for change and frustration.

“The ongoing pressures people face from the cost of living are real and hurt deeply. We take that seriously. There were many tough messages heard on the doorstep.

“And in the days ahead, we will reflect carefully and listen with humility to what voters are telling us. There will be no dodging. No deflection. Just determination to put things right.”