Labour looking to regain Welsh seats that turned blue in 2019

Labour will be fighting to take back several key seats it lost in Wales after being knocked back at the last election.

The Conservatives took six seats from Labour in 2019 – turning Wrexham, Bridgend, Delyn, the Vale of Clwyd, Clwyd South and Ynys Mon blue.

Now Labour and Plaid Cymru will be fighting to claim several big Tory names.

And Wales is set for major changes this year, with the number of seats in the country slashed and MPs who have sat for decades standing down.

Labour will be focusing on reclaiming seats taken by the Conservatives at the last general election, with many of the north Wales constituencies expected to turn red.

Polling has suggested Labour has a good chance of ousting several big names, including David TC Davies, the Monmouthshire MP and Welsh Secretary; Stephen Crabb, who is standing for Mid and South Pembrokeshire and chairs the Welsh Affairs Committee; and Alun Cairns, a former Welsh secretary and MP for Vale of Glamorgan.

And Simon Hart, the chief whip, is at risk of losing to Plaid in the new Caerfyrddin seat.

Plaid will also be looking to secure Ynys Mon, which could be a tight race against Labour.

While polling is positive for Labour in Wales, the party may face a tough battle.

Several recent Welsh government policies have proven unpopular, including a default 20mph speed limit in built-up areas which saw almost 500,000 people sign a petition objecting to the scheme.

There have also been concerns about the new First Minister’s judgment following Vaughan Gething taking a significant donation from a man convicted of environmental offences during his run to be Welsh Labour leader.

The contest will be an early test for Mr Gething, who has only been leading the country since March.

The number of seats in Wales has been reduced from 40 to 32, as part of an effort to more accurately reflect the number of voters in the country.

The seat to see the biggest change is Ogmore, which will be split between five successor constituencies.

Its largest successor constituency is Bridgend, which will take 31% of the population, while Cardiff West will take 1%, according to the House of Commons Library.

Several currently sitting MPs have already announced their intention to stand down at the election, including some who have sat in the Commons for more than two decades.

These are:
– Wayne David, the Labour MP for Caerphilly since 2001
– Hywel Williams, the Plaid Cymru MP for Arfon since 2001
– David Jones, Conservative MP for Clwyd West since 2005
– Jamie Wallis, Conservative MP for Bridgend since 2019
– Christina Rees, Labour MP for Neath since 2015

Labour is currently the largest party in the country, holding 21 seats.

The Conservatives hold 13 seats, Plaid Cymru has three and three are independent.

The three independents have all been suspended from the parties they were elected for in 2019.

Geraint Davies, MP for Swansea West, was elected for Labour but was suspended from the party in 2023 following accusations of sexual harassment.

Jonathan Edwards, the MP Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 2010, was previously a member of Plaid Cymru but has sat as an independent after receiving a police caution for assaulting his wife.

Rob Roberts, the MP for Delyn in north Wales since 2019, was elected as a member of the Conservative Party but was suspended following an independent panel finding he acted inappropriately with a male member of staff.