"An honour" says Labour's Ruth Jones as she wins new seat of Newport West & Islwyn

THE new member of Parliament for Newport West and Islwyn has been elected.

The Labour Party's Ruth Jones has won the seat in the new constituency of Newport West and Islwyn, with a landslide victory of 17,409 votes.

On her victory, Ms Jones said it was "an honour" to be elected to serve the people of Newport West and Islwyn.

The overall voter turnout for Newport West and Islwyn was lower this time around than the previous election in 2019.

This time around, the turnout was 55.57 per cent, with the total number of votes cast 42,113, out of a total electorate of 75,785.

Back in 2019 as two separate constituencies, Newport West had a turnout of 65.2 per cent, and Islwyn had 62.0 per cent.

After the exit polls predicted a major Labour landslide victory, that trend continued in this constituency, with Ruth Jones' nearest competitor, Paul Taylor of Reform, receiving 8,541 votes.

Mr Taylor, landlord of the Rock Inn, Blackwood, described himself as "just a man who cares" when asked about the election.

Reform's Paul Taylor came second in the Newport West and Islwyn results (Image: NQ)

He said: "It's been really great to come second - we'll take that. I've been running my pub for 17 years and I've watched the country go down the pan, so this is a really positive result for us."

Ruth Jones said she wasn't taking anything for granted during this election (Image: NQ)

As the result was met with resounding cheers from Ms Jones' supporters, she took to the stage for a speech, thanking everyone for coming out to vote at this election.

Ms Jones had said earlier in the evening that she wouldn't be "taking anything for granted" before the results were announced, despite exit polls predicting a Labour landslide.

She started by thanking her agents, team, and family, saying they had put so much time and effort in during this campaign. She paid tribute to her fellow candidates, praising them for their efforts, with particular praise for Reform.

She also thanked every member of the public who had voted in the polls.

She promised to represent everyone across  the constituency. She has promised to fight for cheaper energy bills and believes that politicians should be there to serve the public.

She ended by saying: "I am going to serve this constituency to the best of my ability."

She said what an "honour" it was to be duly elected as the member of Parliament for Newport West and Islwyn, and pledged to do her best for all constituents.