Plaid Cymru’s Elin Jones has retained her Ceredigion seat in the Senedd following her biggest win since the-then Welsh Assembly’s inception in 1999.

Of the 30,915 eligible votes cast in Ceredigion, Miss Jones received 16,946, giving Plaid Cymru a vote share of 55 per cent, up 14 per cent, and a majority of 12,145.

Amanda Jenner, representing the Welsh Conservatives, received 4,801 votes while Labour’s Dylan Lewis Rowlands, who had 3,345, narrowly beat out Liberal Democrat Cadan ap Tomos (3,227) for third.

Green Party candidate Harry Hayfield tallied 1,356 votes while Reform’s Gethin James had 775 and Stephanie Evans of the Freedom Alliance had 305.

The result is particularly disappointing for the Liberal Democrats who have finished second to Miss Jones in every Senedd election other than in 1999 – losing by 2,408 votes in 2016.

Conversely, both the Conservatives and Labour increased their vote share, by 8.6 per cent and 4.4 per cent respectively.

Speaking after her win, Miss Jones thanked Ceredigion residents for electing her for a sixth election in a row.

“The people of Ceredigion deserve the biggest of thanks,” she said. “From me, as the person who has represented Ceredigion in the Senedd since 1999, I’m so pleased and chuffed that the people of Ceredigion have given me my best result.”

A turnout of 55.4 per cent means there was just less than a one per cent drop from the last election.

Miss Jones also gave thanks to those who helped ensure the election was able to take place safely amid the Covid-19 virus.

“Thank you to everybody who’s been involved in this count and made it possible for this election to take place,” she said.

“Thank you to my fellow candidates. I think this has been one of the strangest elections, one of the shortest campaigns in terms of our ability to canvas and knock on doors, but I think our ability to work in a positive context, even in the most difficult of times, has hopefully shone through.

“I’m very grateful for the campaign and the nature of the campaign that we’ve had here in Ceredigion.”

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