LABOUR’S Chris Evans retained his seat in Islwyn for the third time in four years, claiming 44.7 per cent of the vote.

On a night where many Labour heartlands rejected their historical allegiance, Mr Evans held onto his constituency despite pressure from the Conservatives and the Brexit Party.

But he saw his majority more than halved, with the Brexit Party taking a big chunk of his vote.

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Speaking after the result, Mr Evans - who has represented the area since 2010 – said: “I am very pleased and very proud of the team.

“They have kept the faith and they have knocked on doors in all weather.”

Mr Evans, who had 15,356 votes on the night, saw his majority of 11,412 in 2017 more than halved to 5,464. He said, “local issues and Brexit cut through” and called for the Labour Party to “start speaking to people and not talk at them”.

Gavin Chambers, representing the Conservative Party, polled second with 9,892 votes.

“I think it is a good night for the Conservatives in Islwyn and a good night nationally,” he said. “We have run a clean campaign. It is what we need to be doing.

“People don’t want bickering anymore. Now is time for the country to unite and get Brexit sorted.”

James Wells, current MEP for the Brexit Party, placed third with 4,834 votes.

“It is a respectable result, but our campaign all started to go wrong when we (the Brexit Party) stood down our 300 seats,” he said.

“At that point, people who were weighing up whether to vote Conservative or Brexit chose Conservative, that was the tipping point.

“(The Conservatives) wouldn’t have got the result they had tonight if we hadn’t stood down.”

Zoe Hammond, of Plaid Cymru, came fourth with 2,286 votes, followed by Jo Watkins, of the Liberal Democrats, who had 1,313 votes.

The Green Party’s Catherine Linstrum came last, with 669 votes. Ms Linstrum called for electoral reform, saying that “cooperation and coalition is the way forward”.

Asked on whether Jeremy Corbyn’s position as Labour leader is tenable, Mr Evans said: “We need a period of reflection, we have suffered a terrible defeat.

“Rather than speaking about personality, we need to start talking about the organisation and what we stand for as the Labour Party.”

He added that his priorities will be to continue campaigning for improvements in air quality.

Mr Evans also said he would seek to tackle the constituency’s high unemployment rate – five per cent compared to a UK average of 4.1 per cent – by “encouraging businesses to come here”.

Turnout was down two per cent at 62.2 per cent compared to 64.2 per cent in 2017.

FULL RESULT:

  • Chris Evans (Labour): 15,356 (44.7 per cent)
  • Gavin Chambers (Conservative): 9,892 (28.8 per cent)
  • James Wells (Brexit Party): 4,834 (14.1 per cent)
  • Zoe Hammond (Plaid Cymru): 2,286 (6.7 per cent)
  • Jo Watkins (Lib Dem): 1,313 (3.8 per cent)
  • Catherine Linstrum (Green): 669 (1.9 per cent)