Labour has regained control of Blaenau Gwent council after five years in which it has been controlled by independent councillors. The former leader of the council, independent Nigel Daniels, was among those who lost his seat.
The local Labour Party called it a "fantastic" gain. Turnout however fell to 32.49% (a drop from 40% in 2017). The full results from the local authority are:
- Welsh Labour: 21
- Independent: 12
You can follow live updates from counts across Wales on our dedicated election day blog here and use in our live updating widget below to see the full ward results for Blaenau Gwent:
The result in 2017
In 2017, independent councillors won the most seats, with 28, up 19 on the year before. Labour dropped 20 seats to a total of 13. Plaid Cymru had the remaining councillor but in March 2018 Gareth Davies resigned from the party.
At the time, varying reasons were given for the election result and the move away from Labour. Leader Steve Thomas, who was re-elected in Tredegar, said it had been a difficult night for Labour locally and nationally and said difficult decisions had had to be made due to Government budget cuts. The MP Nick Smith said it was a "kickback" to waste changes in the council area while independent councillor Dai Davies said Labour had moved too far away from its roots.
Nigel John Daniels, an independent, was leader until the election and recently survived a no confidence vote.
