Labour fight off Plaid challenge in Anglesey

General election 2010: Labour hold off Plaid challenge in Anglesey

General election 2010: Labour hold off Plaid challenge in Anglesey

By Sam Dale

Labour has held Ynys Mon in Wales, fighting off competition from Plaid Cymru.

In a good result for Labour, Albert Owen was elected with a 3.6% swing from the Welsh nationalists.

Mr Owen received 11,490 votes, over 2,000 ahead of the Plaid Cymru candidate Dylan Rees.

The Conservatives made the biggest gains of 11.6%. Andrew Ridge-Newman came just behind Mr Rees on 7,744 votes, with 22.6% of the vote.

Ynys Mon – the Isle of Anglesey – is an ancient island constituency off the coast of north-west Wales.

Known as Anglesey until 1983 it has been an autonomous seat since the 16th century and today has a population of more than 65,000.

Since the late 1980s it has become more and more a direct marginal between the Labour Party and Plaid Cymru with the other parties falling by the wayside.