LABOUR held on to Newport West in a by-election battle that saw voters shun the polls.
The party’s Ruth Jones took 9,308 votes – giving her a majority of 1,951 over the Tories, with UKIP in third place.
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It followed the death of veteran MP Paul Flynn and came against the backdrop of Brexit battles at Westminster.
The city has long been a Labour stronghold and voted Leave by a margin of 56% to 44% in the 2016 EU referendum.
Mrs Jones had been the clear favourite to succeed Mr Flynn, who held the Newport West seat for 32 years.
He had won with a majority of 5,658 and more than half the vote in 2017.
LOW TURNOUT
Voter turnout was as low as 37.1 per cent – down from 67.5 per cent in the 2017 general election.
The parties blamed poor weather including rain and hail on Thursday.
Mrs Jones, who campaigned for Remain in the lead-up to the Brexit referendum, said the country should not accept a “damaging Tory Brexit” or a no-deal outcome.
UKIP’S Neil Hamilton sought a return to the Commons more than two decades after being ousted as an MP in the 1997 general election following his involvement in the cash-for-questions scandal.
The party’s leader in Wales took 2,023 votes – well up on the party’s showing in 2017.
Conservative candidate Matthew Evans, who gained 7,357 votes, had hoped to improve on his party’s performance at the 2017 general election, when the Tories finished second.
Mr Evans has been a councillor for the Allt-yr-yn ward in Newport Council for 20 years as well as serving as opposition leader, having served as mayor of the city between 2008 and 2012.
Mrs Jones is a former president of the Wales Trade Union Congress and was defeated at two previous parliamentary elections for Monmouth in 2015 and 2017 by Conservative David Davies.
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