Labour faces 'tough fight' after defeat in Caerphilly

PLAID Cymru's victory in the Welsh Parliament by-election leaves Labour with a "very tough fight" on its hands ahead of the Senedd elections in May, a minister has conceded.

- By ELEANOR STOREY

Labour trailed Reform UK in third after Nigel Farage's party had pledged to "throw everything" at its campaign for the Caerphilly seat, which Labour had held since the Senedd was first established in 1999.

Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour's loss was "disappointing" and pointed to a "fractured political landscape" in the UK.