Conservatives poll best result in Wales since 1983

By The Press Association8th May 2015News WalesGeneral Election, News Wales

The Conservatives have enjoyed their best election results in Wales for 32 years.

The Tories picked up three more seats this time around than in 2010 and caused a major upset in the process after winning the Gower constituency which Labour had held for more than 100 years.

They also held onto the marginal seat in Cardiff North – much to the delight of new MP Craig Williams.

He said: “Not only did we keep the seat but we had more than a 1,500 majority.

“Wales has been described by some as being Labour’s pasture – but these results show that the Welsh Conservatives are here to stay.

“It is a game-changer for Conservative party in Wales.”

Of the 40 Welsh Commons seats, Labour won the most seats – 25.

Labour supporters will be bitterly disappointed with that figure, especially as they lost Gower to the Tories by 27 votes.

The constituency, which is in Swansea, has been under Labour control since 1910 and had never been won by the Conservatives.

As well as putting up serving AM Byron Davies, a former policeman, several senior Tory figures were seen on the campaign trail – including former party leader William Hague.

They also gained Brecon and Radnorshire from the Liberal Democrats and Vale of Clwyd from Labour – resulting in their best showing since 1983.

The Conservatives repeatedly attacked Labour’s record on running the NHS in Wales.

Plaid Cymru managed to retain their three seats – but missed out on dealing the Lib Dems a hammer blow, as they kept Ceredigion in west Wales.

And while Ukip did not win a single seat in the principality, they did come second in several areas and had the third largest overall number of votes in Wales.