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27th May 2019

Labour battered by Brexit Party and Plaid Cymru at European elections in Wales

James Dawson

Labour haemorrhaging votes to nationalists from both sides of the political spectrum

Labour has been humiliated in Wales by the Brexit Party and Plaid Cymru, with Nigel Farage’s party coming first with 32.5 per cent of the vote and the Welsh nationalists second with 19.6 per cent.

Although the country has traditionally been a Labour heartland, Jeremy Corbyn’s party finished in third getting 15.3 per cent of the vote, meaning the Brexit Party have two of Wales’s four seats, with one each for Plaid Cymru and Labour.

The result represents the worst election outcome for Labour in Wales for a hundred years and the first time Plaid has held a larger vote share than them.

Nathan Lee Gill and James Wells will represent the Brexit Party, Jill Evans will take Plaid Cymru’s seat and Jacqueline Jones for Labour.

The result continues a trend across the UK that has been Nigel Farage’s recently formed party picking up a heavy percentage of the vote – and it looks increasingly likely that the party will finish with the most seats in the election overall.

Overall vote share in Wales

Brexit Party: 32.5% (+32.5)

Plaid Cymru: 19.6% (+4.3)

Labour: 15.3% (-12.8)

Liberal Democrats: 13.6% (+9.7)

Conservative: 6.5% (-10.9)

Green Party: 6.3% (+1.8)