RUTH Jones held onto the Newport West constituency for Labour in the teeth of a determined effort from the Conservatives - but her majority has been cut to just 902.

This was a seat the Tories felt they might have won, in a city that voted to leave the European Union at the 2016 referendum, and the party's candidate Matthew Evans said he his campaign had gone particularly well in working class, traditionally Labour-voting areas of the constituency.

He did not feel it had gone as well however, in what he described as "the leafy suburbs", and this appears to have proved the difference.

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Another factor in the Conservatives falling just short may have been the 1,727 votes picked up by Brexit Party candidate Cameron Edwards, though it is difficult to estimate how many of these were from disenchanted Labour voters.

Mrs Jones - who was only elcted to the thanked her supporters for turning out on a day of awful weather to ensure she will extend her tenure on the House of Commons benches beyond what had been barely seven months prior to the dissolution of Parliament.

"The new Parliament will be very different, and I am still taking in the changes," she said in the aftermath of her victory, alluding to the gains the Conservatives have made at the expense of Labour on the way to a decisive majority.

"It will be a very different atmosphere, but I am determined to keep fight for the people of Newport West on issues that should concern us all - homelessness, the effects of nine years of austerity, the cruelty of Universal Credit that is impacting on so many people's lives.

"This is all under the cloud of Brexit, but these things must be addressed."

Mr Evans said he was "incredibly proud" of the campaign the Conservatives had run in Newport West, and is thankful of a Tory majority in Parliament to "get Brexit done".

Turnout was 65.4 per cent.

FULL RESULTS:

  • Ruth Jones (Labour): 18,977 (43.7 per cent)
  • Matthew Evans (Conservative): 18,075 (41.6 per cent)
  • Ryan Jones (Liberal Democrat): 2,565 (5.9 per cent)
  • Cameron Edwards (Brexit Party): 1,727 (four per cent)
  • Jonathan Clark (Plaid Cymru): 1,187 (2.7 per cent)
  • Amelia Womack (Green Party): 902 (2.1 per cent)