Llanelli MP retains her seat despite a scare from Reform

The final YouGov MRP projection, based on opinion polling between June 19 and July 2, had Labour neck and neck with Plaid Cymru, and the exit poll gave Dame Nia a 99 per cent chance of retaining her seat.

But it was fairly early on Thursday night when Reform emerged as the main contenders.

Dame Nia was first elected in Llanelli in 2005, and went in to this election with a 4,670 majority from 2019 after she received 42.2 per cent of the vote.

This time around, the Labour candidate received 12,751 votes (31.3 per cent), with Reform’s Gareth Beer trailing by just over 1,500 votes with 11,247 (27.6 per cent).  

Rhodri Davies, of Plaid Cymru, received 9,511 votes (23.3 per cent), whilst Conservative Charlie Evans got 4,275 (10.5 per cent).

The total turnout was 40,744 – the highest since 1997 – with 124 ballot papers rejected.

Llanelli (in green) has been expanded with parts of Carmarthen East and Dinefwr added. (Image: Boundary Commission)

Dame Nia thanked her opponents for a “courteous contest” throughout the campaign.

“I very much hope that by the end of the night, we will have a Labour government in Westminster and Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister so that we can make a real difference for the better to the lives of people here in Llanelli – securing stability in the economy to give business and industry the confidence they need to invest in the jobs for the future, bringing down NHS waiting lists, giving every young person opportunities in life, putting more police on the beat, and investing massively in renewable energy,” she said after retaining her seat.

Labour secured a landslide in the election, securing 412 seats to put Sir Keir Starmer in to Number 10, with the Conservatives falling to 121 seats.

The Conservatives were completely wiped out in Wales, with former Welsh secretaries Simon Hart in the new Caerfyrddin seat and Stephen Crabb in the new Mid and South Pembrokeshire constituency among those to lose their seats.

Under the recent boundary changes, the Llanelli constituency was expanded to include parts of the former Carmarthen East and Dinefwr area – including Gorslas and Foelgastell to the north and out to Ferryside to the north west.

Llanelli results in full:

• Gareth Beer (Reform UK) – 11,247
• Rhodri Davies (Plaid Cymru) – 9,511
• Charlie Evans (Welsh Conservatives) – 4,275
• Nia Griffith (Welsh Labour) – 12,751
• Karen Laurence (Green Party) – 1,106
• Chris Passmore (Welsh Liberal Democrats) – 1,254
• Stan Robinson (UKIP) – 600