Election results: Labor remains in power in Wales after winning workers majority in Senedd | Political news

Labor will remain in power in Wales after winning a workers majority in Senedd.

The result provides a bright spot for the party in a series of largely disappointing elections for Labor across the rest of the UK.

In the Welsh parliament, once all the results were declared, Labor won exactly half of the 60 seats available to match their best performance ever.

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This leaves the party with one seat less than an overall majority.

But, with the Senedd chairman – coming from an opposition party – not voting, Labor is unlikely to be prevented from passing a budget or facing a vote of no confidence.

Behind Labor’s 30 seats, the Conservatives are the second largest party with 16 seats, Plaid Cymru is the third party with 13 seats, and the Liberal Democrats the only other party to be represented retaining their single seat.

Labor and Plaid Cyrmu both won one seat on their 2016 result, while the Tories won five seats to give the party their record 16 seats in the Senedd.

Plaid Cymru’s 13 seats are the Nationalist Party’s highest number since the first election to what was then the Welsh Assembly in 1999, when they won 17 seats.

The seven seats won by UKIP in 2016 went to other parties this year.

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The last time Labor won 30 seats in the Senedd, in 2011, the party decided to rule on its own.

Since 2016, the last round of Senedd elections ahead of Thursday’s vote, the Labor Party has ruled in Wales in coalition with the only Liberal Democrat member, Kirsty Williams.

Before full results were declared on Saturday, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said he was delighted Labor had “exceeded expectations”.

“Did I think we would get close to the top …