Party misses out on power by one seat

Carwyn Jones’ party comprehensively beat their rivals, winning 30 of the Senedd’s 60 seats, but it was left one short of being able to form a majority government.

Labour won four more seats than in 2007 while former coalition partners Plaid Cymru slipped into third place after shedding four seats on a disappointing day.

The Conservatives endured a “bitter-sweet” morning, managing to increase their number of Assembly Members by two but losing leader Nick Bourne after he was defeated in the Mid and West Wales region.

And the Liberal Democrats, who endured a torrid time in the Scottish and English local elections, managed to pull themselves back from the brink, with five of their members returning to the Assembly – the same number they had before the elections.

Labour’s Assembly leader Carwyn Jones, who retained his seat in Bridgend, said it was a “good result” but the party had been hoping to gain a majority to show Ed Miliband was winning over Welsh voters.

“The task now is to make sure we are in a position to form a Labour-led government, because that’s what the people of Wales have shown they want,” said Mr Jones.