Labour gain Vale of Glamorgan from Conservatives as ex-Welsh secretary Alun Cairns ousted

Labour has gained the Vale of Glamorgan seat from the Conservatives, with former Welsh secretary Alun Cairns ousted.

Cairns has become the first of what could be a number of senior Welsh Conservatives to lose their seats.

As a Parliamentary seat, it has swung back and forth between Labour and the Conservatives over the years but has remained blue since 2010.

It has always been won by the party which has formed the government in Westminster, making it a key bellwether seat.

It’ll be scant comfort to Alun Cairns that he could be one of four former Welsh secretaries to lose their seats tonight.

The victor Kanishka Narayan is not only celebrating Labour success but a historic first: he becomes the first ever ethnic minority MP from Wales.

The result also shows another sizeable vote for Reform UK, even though it came third. It’s still unlikely to win any seats but will be buoyed by its success and the subsequent chances that will give it in 2026’s Senedd election.

• Labour, Kanishka Narayan - 17,740

• Conservative, Alun Cairns - 13,524

• Reform, Toby Rhodes-Matthews - 6,973

• Plaid Cymru, Ian James Johnson - 3,245

• Green Party, Lynden Mack - 1,881

• Liberal Democrats, Steven Rajam - 1,612

• Abolish The Welsh Assembly Party - 669

• Independent, Steven Sluman - 182

Majority: 4,216 - 9.2%Turnout: 61.62%

Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…