Plaid Cymru swipes two Tory seats, ousting former chief whip Simon Hart
Rishi Sunak’s Welsh Secretary, David TC Davies, has also lost his seat.
Last updated 5th Jul 2024
The Tories have taken a battering in Wales as the General Election results leave ex-chief whip Simon Hart seatless and a former minister is ousted.
Rishi Sunak’s Welsh Secretary, David TC Davies, has also lost his seat.
The party has failed to win any seats in Wales after winning 14 of 40 at the last election in 2019.
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.
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.”