Caerphilly byelection result live: Plaid Cymru beats challenge from Reform UK to win pivotal Welsh parliament vote

Lindsay Whittle seized the Senedd constituency from Labour and resisted a fierce challenge from Reform UK

Report: Plaid Cymru ousts Labour in Caerphilly byelection

Analysis: Result shows parties who cannot adapt will be crushed

Reform UK candidate Llŷr Powell denied the campaign had been all about immigration.

He said: “My campaign has been about government policies and where best to put money into Caerphilly.”

When you look at where we started, we had a blank slate. We had to go out there and find a lot of voters. We found a lot of support. It’s been a great campaign. The collapse of the Labour vote is there for everyone to see. It’s been a betrayal what Labour has done around here.

Going into next year we’re in a really good place. A big part of what we were trying to do here is to master our campaigning. We’ve trained so many people up on our systems. We’re now a grassroots campaigning party.