Labour lost the Caerphilly seat to Plaid Cymru, finishing third behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Plaid Cymru won 47% of the vote, Reform UK 36%, and Labour 11%.
Britain’s ruling Labour Party suffered a crushing electoral setback on Friday in Wales, a long-standing stronghold, underscoring the growing threat from the Reform UK party as the government grapples with reviving the economy and addressing public concerns over immigration.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour lost a by-election for the Caerphilly seat in the Welsh parliament to the centre-left nationalist party Plaid Cymru, finishing a distant third behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
“I’m not shying away from how disappointing the result is,” Labour minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News. “We treat the result with humility; we are listening.”
Plaid Cymru secured 47% of the vote, Reform UK 36%, and Labour just 11%. The by-election followed the death of the incumbent Labour lawmaker and comes ahead of full Welsh parliament elections in May, which will further reveal the party’s standing in Wales.
“Labour are in severe trouble in Wales, and this result confirms the broader UK trend,” polling expert John Curtice told the BBC.
Polling for UK parliamentary elections indicates Labour has fallen sharply behind Reform since its landslide victory in July 2024. “Reform will be disappointed to come second with 36%, but we shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that Nigel Farage’s momentum has disappeared,” Curtice added.
The next British parliamentary elections are not due until 2029.
