IT was a night of high drama at the Memo Arts Centre in Barry as Labour unseated the Conservatives and Kanishka Narayan became the new MP for the Vale of Glamorgan.
Narayan brushed the Conservatives aside with a large victory of 17,740 votes to Alun Cairns' 13,524 backers.
In his victory speech, Narayan said the landmark result - which unseats Cairns who has held the seat since 2010 - was a 'moment of change' for the Vale.
Turnout for the Vale of Glamorgan was 61.62 per cent with 45,965 ballot papers cast of a total of 74,595.
In his victory speech, Mr Narayan vowed to bring in change and win the hearts of those who didn't vote for him.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," said Mr Narayan.
"This is a moment of change in the Vale of Glamorgan.
"I am grateful to the people of the Vale who have placed their trust in me.
"To everyone who did not vote for me, I hope you know I will be dedicating everyday from here on to gain your trust."
Mr Narayan went on to commend Mr Cairns' for his 'admirable' focus on community in the Vale and in showing a "total commitment to public service".
Victorious: Labour's Kanishka Narayan (Image: Newsquest)
In his speech, Mr Cairns said he hoped "exciting projects" brought in by the Conservatives, will continue.
"I warmly congratulate Kanishka," said Mr Cairns. "I hope he gains the same pleasure and honour I gained when I served as member of parliament.
"I hope Kanishka is able to continue some of the exciting projects we have started in the Vale of Glamorgan; the marina, regeneration, the train station plans in St Athan.
"Finally I want to thank my team and my family, my wife and son in particular for the support I have been given in the 25 years I have been an elected politician."
Alun Cairns speaking after defeat (Image: Newsquest)
Labour flip Vale from blue to red in General Election 2024
Alun Cairns had been the MP for the Vale of Glamorgan since 2010, from now Labour's Kanishka Narayan will represent the Vale at Westminster.
It was a night of high drama although proceedings ran smoothly - the Vale's count was predicted as coming in at 2.30am and it practically did, if not a bit earlier.
That could have partly been down to the amount of ballot papers that were counted - there was only a turnout of under 62 per cent for the election in the Vale (61.62 per cent to be exact).
For this reporter, the night included chicken poppers, sandwiches, excellent coffee (shout out to Awesome Wales) and some interesting interviews, particularly with Stuart Field of the Abolish party who described the Senedd members as '96 parasites'.
Mr Fields told us during the evening: "Some people do not like the idea of our money going down the Senedd increasing members up to 96 when we only have three million people in this country.
"Nationalists think the Senedd is a stepping stone to independence but there is no money - most of the money comes from England."
Stuart Field, Abolish The Welsh Assembly Party (Image: Newsquest)
It was a disappointing night for the Greens losing their deposit getting only 4.1 per cent of the votes, however candidate Lyndon Mack vowed to kick on and not give up what he described as fighting the bigger issues.
"The GE is always focussed on the hear and now, but the long term issues can be overlooked," said Mr Mack speaking to us during the evening. "I see it as my role to talk about those issues."
Green's Lyndon Mack (Image: Newsquest)
Inside Memo Arts Centre where the count took place (Image: Newsquest)
Essential reporter diet for the GE... (Image: Newsquest)
Full list of results in the Vale of Glamorgan at the 2024 General Election
Labour - 17,740
Conservatives - 13,524
Reform - 6,973
Plaid Cymru - 3,245
Greens - 1,881
Liberal Democrats - 1,612
Abolish - 669
Independent - 182
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