EditorSIR GAERFYRDDIN: Reform UK and Plaid Cymru take three seats each as Welsh Labour wiped out — Adam Price returns to the Senedd
Reform UK and Plaid Cymru have taken three Sir Gaerfyrddin seats each in a knife-edge result that ends Welsh Labour’s representation in Carmarthenshire entirely.
The result, declared this afternoon at the Carmarthenshire count, marks Reform UK’s first ever Senedd breakthrough in west Wales – and represents an historic collapse for Welsh Labour in a region it has long counted among its strongholds.
Plaid Cymru topped the poll with 36,160 votes, ahead of Reform UK on 27,542. Welsh Labour received 6,458 votes – a fraction of its previous performance in the area.
Plaid Cymru’s Cefin Campbell topped the poll, taking the first seat. Reform UK’s Gareth Beer took the second – becoming the first Reform UK Member of the Senedd ever elected in west Wales.
Plaid’s Nerys Evans took the third seat, with Reform’s Carmelo Colasanto taking the fourth.
The fifth seat went to Adam Price – the former Plaid Cymru leader and former MS for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr – marking his return to the Senedd.
The sixth and final seat went to Reform UK’s Sarah Edwards, after going to a recount with the margin understood to be around 140 votes.
Welsh Labour, the Welsh Conservatives and other parties failed to secure a single seat in the constituency.
The six new Sir Gaerfyrddin Members of the Senedd will be:
- Cefin Campbell (Plaid Cymru)
- Gareth Beer (Reform UK)
- Nerys Evans (Plaid Cymru)
- Carmelo Colasanto (Reform UK)
- Adam Price (Plaid Cymru)
- Sarah Edwards (Reform UK)
Adam Price’s return to the Senedd is one of the most significant individual stories of the day. The veteran Plaid politician, who previously served as MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr before becoming MS for the same area, stepped down as Plaid Cymru leader in 2023.
His return – via Plaid’s Sir Gaerfyrddin list – gives Plaid Cymru one of its most experienced political operators back at Cardiff Bay. Price had originally been selected third on Plaid’s list, meaning his election demonstrates just how strongly the party performed in the constituency.
l-r) Cefin Campbell, Nerys Evans and Adam Price celebrate at the Sir Gaerfyrddin count after all three were elected as Plaid Cymru Senedd Members for the constituency. Picture: Swansea Bay NewsThe result is a significant moment for Reform UK in Wales. The party had targeted Sir Gaerfyrddin as a key constituency, with Welsh leader Dan Thomas visiting Llanelli during the campaign to push for what he described as a major breakthrough in west Wales.
That breakthrough has now been delivered.
For Plaid Cymru, the result represents both consolidation and concern – three seats in one of its traditional strongholds is a strong return, but the party will have hoped to push for four against a Labour vote that had collapsed.
The constituency recorded a turnout of 55.97% – significantly higher than the 47.8% recorded in Casnewydd Islwyn and the 47.7% in Blaenau Gwent Caerffilii Rhymni, both of which declared earlier in the day.
Higher turnout has been described throughout the campaign as a positive indicator for Reform UK, with the party having focused much of its strategy on mobilising voters who had not traditionally turned out at Welsh elections.
The pattern in Sir Gaerfyrddin echoes the result earlier this afternoon in Casnewydd Islwyn – where Reform UK and Plaid Cymru also took two seats each, with Labour reduced to a single seat and the Welsh Conservatives picking up the sixth.
It also echoes Pen-y-bont Bro Morgannwg, where Plaid topped the poll ahead of Reform but the same six-seat split of two Reform, two Plaid, one Labour and one Conservative was returned.
Across the south Wales results so far, Welsh Labour’s collapse from its previous position of dominance is unmistakable.
Sir Gaerfyrddin is the third constituency to declare today, with attention now turning to Gwyr Abertawe – where the count is expected to conclude shortly.
Other constituencies in our area are also expected to declare in the coming hours, including Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd, Ceredigion Penfro and Afan Ogwr Rhondda.
Reform UK leader Dan Thomas, who became an MS himself earlier today after winning a seat in Casnewydd Islwyn, said in his victory speech that “the Welsh Valleys have been ignored, let down and forgotten by the old parties of Wales” – a message that now appears to be resonating across rural and post-industrial Wales alike.
The Sir Gaerfyrddin declaration ends an era in Carmarthenshire politics – with the constituency returning no Labour MS to the Senedd for the first time since the institution was established in 1999.
The full picture of how the new 96-seat Senedd will look should become clear over the coming hours, with the latest declaration of the day expected from Fflint Wrecsam at around 5.30pm.
#AdamPrice #CarmeloColasanto #CefinCampbell #GarethBeer #NerysEvans #PlaidCymru #ReformUK #SarahEdwards #SeneddElection2026 #WelshLabour
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Andrew Shields
