AFTER a tough battle in the Vale of Clwyd Labour held on to their seat.
The Conservative candidate Matt Wright was unable to oust Chris Ruane and said the defeat came as ‘quite a surprise’.
Support for the Tories was high at the election count in Denbigh leisure centre and many expected Mr Wright would be victorious at this election after losing out by only 92 votes to Labour in the last Welsh Assembly government election.
As the voting papers piled up both parties said it looked a very close call but in the early hours of the morning it looked as though Mr Ruane had gained slightly more votes.
In total Mr Ruane polled 15,017 votes, while Matt Wright got 12,508. Mr Ruane said it was the most efficient count he had attended and paid tribute to the people of the Vale of Clwyd, who he labelled the best electorate in the UK and Wales.
He said: “To come out of one of the worst recessions since the 1930s and have an increased number of people voting for myself is a good result for myself and for Labour.
“It was a big achievement and it does show what you can do with a good campaign team behind you.”
Mr Wright said it was a clear win for Labour and paid tribute to his campaign team but said ‘the support was just not quite enough’.
Mr Ruane said his main focus now was employment in the area.