Plaid Cymru have taken the Llangennech seat on Carmarthenshire County Council from Reform UK in a by-election.
Plaid’s Iwan Griffiths won Thursday’s vote with 483 votes, a 41.4% share.
Labour’s Jordan Sargent came second on 338 votes (28.9%), with Reform UK’s Gavin Rashbrook third on 283 (24.2%).
The Conservatives’ Craig Griffiths took 38 votes, independent Sean Hogan 11, the Green Party’s Michael Willis eight and the Liberal Democrats’ Justin Griffiths seven.
Turnout was 28.1%, with 1,168 votes cast.
The result is a gain for Plaid Cymru, which now leads the Welsh Government, and a loss for Reform UK, the official opposition in the Senedd.
It marks a swift turnaround in the ward. Reform had only gained the seat last August, when Carmelo Colasanto won a by-election there with 694 votes.
That contest followed the death of long-serving Labour councillor Gary Jones, who had held the seat since 2022.
Notably, Reform won the seat last year on a turnout of 39.4% — well above the 28.1% who voted on Thursday.
Plaid’s vote held broadly steady between the two contests, slipping only slightly from 489 to 483. Reform’s fell from 694 to 283, and Labour’s from 380 to 338.
Colasanto went on to be elected to the Senedd for Sir Gaerfyrddin on 7 May, as Reform and Plaid took three of the constituency’s seats each.
Under the rules, he was required to give up his council seat on being elected to the Senedd — triggering Thursday’s by-election.
The vote was one of several held across Wales on the same day in seats vacated by councillors who had moved up to the Senedd.
It also caps an eventful month of by-elections closer to home.
Last week, Reform fell short in two Swansea contests, as the Conservatives took Mumbles and Labour held Morriston by 86 votes.
Reform UK had been widely seen as gaining ground across south-west Wales, having taken two Carmarthenshire seats from Labour in the Llanelli area within three months last year.
The party’s strong showing in the May Senedd election, when it won three Sir Gaerfyrddin seats, had added to that momentum.
The Llangennech result leaves Reform without the council seat it gained less than a year ago.
Carmarthenshire County Council’s next full elections are due in 2027.
