LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s ruling Labour Party suffered a heavy electoral defeat on Friday in Wales, a traditional stronghold, in a result that highlights the threat posed by the Reform UK party, as the government struggles to revive the economy and ease fears about immigration.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour lost a by-election for the Caerphilly seat in the Welsh parliament to centre-left nationalist party Plaid Cymru, falling into a distant third place behind Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
“I’m not shying away from how disappointing the result is,” Labour minister Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News. “We treat the result with humility, we are listening.”
Plaid Cymru won 47% of the vote, with Reform taking 36% and Labour 11%.
The seat was being contested following the death of the incumbent Labour lawmaker, and comes ahead of full elections for the Welsh parliament in May which will show the extent of Labour’s decline in Wales.
“Labour are in severe trouble in Wales, and it just confirms the broader UK story,” polling expert John Curtice told the BBC.
Polls focused on elections for the British parliament show Labour has slipped far behind the Reform party since winning a landslide majority in July 2024.
“Reform will be disappointed in coming second with 36% but I don’t think we should run away with the idea that this, in any way, suggests that Nigel Farage’s bubble is burst,” Curtice added.
Elections for the British parliament are not due until 2029.
(Reporting by William James and Catarina Demony; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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