LABOUR politicians in Flintshire have been able to keep their Senedd seats following a victory at the polls.

After a tense election campaign, both Hannah Blythyn and Jack Sargeant kept their titles for Delyn and Alyn & Deeside respectively.

The first Labour victory came from the Delyn team – when Ms Blythyn was announced as the official winner by several thousand votes.

Moments after learning she would be returning to the Senedd, she said: “Thank you to the constituents of Delyn, the community where I grew up and still live, for putting your trust and faith in me once again in our Senedd

“When I was growing up I never thought I would be a politician, they simply didn’t look like me and were not like me. I never thought this could be possible.

“Politics at its heart is not about changing legislation, its about changing lives and being rooted in the community you serve, day in and day out. That is what I will continue to do for you.”

Ms Blythyn also praised those who ensured that the election counts took place both smoothly and safely.

At the last Senedd election for Delyn in February 2016, the Labour politician managed a sizable victory to keep her constituency in the red at the Senedd back when it was known as the National Assembly.

However, it has been difficult to predict which way the election would fall after the recent Conservative gains which took several seats across North Wales after the 2019 General Election.

Delyn opted for Conservative MP Rob Roberts just before Christmas 2019, de-seating the long-serving Labour MP David Hanson which led many to question what the outcome would be of the latest election.

The final voting numbers from Delyn were:

• LABOUR (H. Blythyn) – 12,846

• CONSERVATIVE (M. Isherwood) – 9,135

• PLAID CYMRU (P. Rowlinson) – 2,097

• LIBERAL DEMOCRATS (A. Parkhurst) – 1,094

• UKIP (M. Davies) – 862

• REFORM UK (A. Down) – 297

• WELSH INDEPDENCE PARTY (A. Williams-Gwlad) – 112

At the last Senedd election for Alyn & Deeside, in February 2018, Mr Sargeant managed a landslide victory to become the youngest ever politician to make what was then the National Assembly upon his election.

Over 11,200 voters backed him as their representative over the now Wrexham MP Sarah Atherton who convinced around 4,700 locals to back the Tories.

Fast forward to May 7 and, despite Abigail Mainon drawing in an extra 3,500 Conservative voters across Deeside, the victory went to Jack Sargeant.

This is how the final votes for Alyn and Deeside compared:

• LABOUR (J. Sargeant) – 12,622

• CONSERVATIVE (A. Mainon) – 8,244

• PLAID CYMRU (J. William Morris) – 1,886

• LIBERAL DEMOCRATS (C. Twells) – 1,584

• UKIP (F. Aubel) – 898

• REFORM UK (R. Purviss) – 401

• FREEDOM ALLIANCE (L. Davies) – 208

After securing his seat at the Senedd for the next five years, Mr Sargeant said: “Its been a difficult night for UK Labour but in Wales, under the leadership of Mark Drakeford, we have shown once again that Welsh Labour is the choice of the people.

“I look forward to the next five years, working hard and tirelessly for the community that I love and dad loved too.

“It is an honour once again to be re-elected by that community.”

Much like Delyn, the political seat of Alyn and Deeside has been part of the Senedd since 1999 and only ever been represented by Labour – and that didn’t change on May 7.

The campaign to election glory had been made much more difficult for political hopefuls than recent years with the added restrictions brought about due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Virtual campaigning took place initially however, once it was safe to do so, many were soon out knocking on doors across villages and towns to retain the red support for both Hannah and Jack.

Reflecting on her campaign, Ms Blythyn said her small team worked incredibly hard to get the result that was announced in Deeside on Friday afternoon and she was eternally grateful to them.

On a personal note, she also thanked her ‘long-suffering’ family including supportive parents as well as parents-in-law who have been leading the efforts on phone calls for Hannah.

She paid tribute to her supportive wife Laura, joking that the couple have made it through both an election campaign as well as the string of COVID lockdowns.

In his speech, Mr Sargeant added his gratitude to his campaign team, with special mentions to his partner and mum for supporting him.

More voters had their say than previous elections for both constituency areas:

Figures showed that 25,872 people took to the polls in Alyn & Deeside. This accounted for almost two fifths of eligible voters at 39.72 per cent.

This is an improvement from the 2018 election which saw 29.1 per cent of people cast their vote.

Over in Delyn, 26,564 went to polling stations armed with face masks and pens to have their say. This was almost half of the eligible voting population at 47.03 per cent.

This was a slight increase from the 43.3 per cent turnout reported in 2016’s election.