PLAID Cymru – the Party of Wales – may have come second to Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party in the Euro poll, but for the first time they knocked Labour into third place with 19.6% of the vote compared to Labour’s 15.3%.
The Tories scored 6.5% of the vote.
Across Wales, the Brexit Party attracted 271,404 votes and won two Seats, with Plaid Cymru on 163,928, retaining its one MEP, as did Labour.
The MEPs for Wales are Nathan Lee Gill and James Wells for the Brexit Party, Plaid’s Jill Evans and Jacqueline Jones for Labour.
Evans – a former chair and president of the party – retained the seat she has held for Plaid since 1999. This was the first time Plaid has beaten Labour in a Wales-wide election, and only the second time Labour has lost such a poll in a century.
Adam Price, Plaid’s leader, said it was an “incredible” result which “shows that the tectonic plates of Welsh politics are shifting”.
“Support for the Westminster establishment parties is crumbling and Plaid Cymru is preparing to form the next government of Wales in 2021,” he said.
Evans added: “Plaid’s manifesto set out a vision for a thriving future for Wales at the heart of Europe. I’m looking forward to throwing all my energy into delivering it.”
Plaid backs another referendum on Europe and a vote on Welsh independence. Nicola Sturgeon tweeted her congratulations: “Well done to our friends in @Plaid_Cymru on a great result.”
Price replied: “Thanks Nicola. And congratulations to you and all our friends in Scotland for a terrific @theSNP result. Looking forward to continuing our work together in Brussels, Westminster, and, one day soon, as independent members of the European Union.
“This result is a signal which cannot be ignored. There is no way that Brexit can continue to be considered the settled will of the people.”
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