Labour victory in Caerphilly & Islwyn

Labour has held both Caerphilly and Islwyn in this year’s general election.

Wayne David has been returned as Caerphilly’s MP for the third time with a reduced majority of 10,755.

In a shock result Brighton and Hove City Councillor Maria Caulfield has come second for the Conservatives beating Caerphilly’s Plaid Cymru council leader Lindsay Whittle.

Much was made of the Tory candidate’s decision to stand some 200 miles away from her home in Brighton but it seems her campaign messages of boosting tourism and supporting local farmers has struck a chord with voters.

Cllr Whittle will be bitterly disappointed with third place. During the campaign he spoke about fulfilling his boyhood dream of representing Caerphilly in the Houses of Parliament but at the seventh time of asking it wasn’t to be.

In Islwyn Chris Evans, the former researcher of outgoing MP Don Touhig, has claimed his old boss’s job by holding the Labour seat.

Mr Evans has a majority of 12,215 but suffered a 15.1% fall in Labour’s share of the vote.

Caerphilly County Borough Councillor Dave Rees, who quit Labour in a row over shortlists, managed to gain 4.3% of the vote with 1,495.

As in Caerphilly, Plaid Cymru finished in third place with candidate Steffan Lewis beaten by the Conservatives’ Daniel Thomas.

Caerphilly Result

Islwyn Result