"Amid the blizzard of nocturnal numbers any by-election generates, three stand out in Caerphilly this morning. Labour, so long the victor of so many a south Wales political contest, humbled, pummelled, crushed - attracting just 11% of voters. The Conservatives, so often the victor of many a UK-wide election - 2%. Yes, you read that right - the two big beasts of Westminster politics managed just 13% of the vote between them. Just one in seven voters backed either Labour or the Conservatives, which is extraordinary."
"As so often in election contests, there is a striking human story that illustrates the wider picture. Today's victor, Lindsay Whittle, a Plaid Cymru councillor for nearly half a century, told me he remembers standing in the crowds in Caerphilly in 1968 as a 15-year-old new recruit to the party. The party, then, came pretty close to toppling Labour in a Westminster by election. But here is the thing: they didn't, they were second. Defeat at Labour's hands was something Whittle was to get very used to - he has stood for election to Westminster ten times, and stood repeatedly for election to Cardiff Bay too. He had always lost - until now. Now in his 70s, he tastes victory for the first time. Speaking to senior Plaid figures, they detect - and have for some time - a sense that the tide may finally be going out for Labour in Wales. They are determined to capitalise and allow themselves to dream of governing Wales, at least as the main party, after next May's Senedd elections across the nation."
Plaid Cymru captured the Caerphilly by-election decisively as Labour and Conservative support collapsed to a combined 13%. Reform UK finished strongly in second with 36%, and Plaid and Reform together took 83% of the vote. Long-serving Plaid councillor Lindsay Whittle secured his first Westminster victory in his 70s after many previous defeats. Plaid figures sense a potential wider decline for Labour in Wales and aim to capitalise on momentum ahead of next May's Senedd elections, aspiring to become the main governing party across Wales.
Read at www.bbc.com
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