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Conservatives gain target seats Conservatives gain target seats
(40 minutes later)
Welsh Conservatives have gained two target seats from Labour - Vale of Glamorgan and Aberconwy - and Montgomeryshire from Lembit Opik.Welsh Conservatives have gained two target seats from Labour - Vale of Glamorgan and Aberconwy - and Montgomeryshire from Lembit Opik.
Labour emphatically regained their former stronghold Blaenau Gwent, which was lost in 2005 to an independent after an internal party row.Labour emphatically regained their former stronghold Blaenau Gwent, which was lost in 2005 to an independent after an internal party row.
The Liberal Democrats have held Ceredigion but failed to gain Swansea West, which was retained by Labour. The Lib Dems have held Ceredigion and Cardiff Central but failed to gain Swansea West from Labour.
Their hopes of taking Newport East and Wrexham from Labour were also dashed. Plaid Cymru has also had its fair share of disappointment.
Meanwhile, senior figures in Plaid Cymru said they were deeply disappointed at their failure to reclaim Ceredigion from the Lib Dems, and a big fall in their share of the vote on Ynys Mon, which was held by Labour. For the two main UK parties, the results in Wales were looking somewhat rosier.
They also failed to take Llanelli from Labour despite a high profile campaign. After his election to Aberconwy, Guto Bebb told BBC Wales how the Tories were making "very significant gains in Wales".
Peter Hain said Labour's results were much better than many predicted
"We have actually worked extremely hard. We have fought every single council seat that's been going over the last six or seven years and I think we have convinced the people of this seat that we are serious about representing this constituency," he added.
Asked about the possibility of cooperating with other parties in the event of a hung parliament, he said: "we have a duty if there is a hung parliament to see if a form of government can be put together which will serve the interests of the people of this country."
In defiant form, Peter Hain said Labour were doing well in view of the prediction of a trouncing in Wales and across the UK.
He said Labour's results in Wales were much better than many had predicted, particularly following what he called 'bad' county council elections in 2008, and 'dreadful' European election results last year.
He credited an "energetic and active" Labour campaign in Wales for Labour's performance.
2005 ELECTION IN WALES Labour: 29 seats (42.7%)Liberal Democrat: 4 (18.4%)Conservative: 3 (21.4%)Plaid Cymru: 3 (12.6%)Independent: 1Labour have a notional total of 30 at the 2010 election, with Aberconwy a new seat2005 ELECTION IN WALES Labour: 29 seats (42.7%)Liberal Democrat: 4 (18.4%)Conservative: 3 (21.4%)Plaid Cymru: 3 (12.6%)Independent: 1Labour have a notional total of 30 at the 2010 election, with Aberconwy a new seat
Cardiff North Labour candidate Julie Morgan has said she could lose if the exit poll is right - but she was not accepting defeat. In what will surely come as a huge blow to the Lib Dems, Lembit Opik reacted to losing his seat saying: "I cannot really analyse it just after the announcement, but I have been surprised.
"Credit to my opponent - he won fair and square. If you stand in elections you have to be willing to accept defeat as well as victory and this was my time.
"Perhaps it was my brand of politics which people weren't to keen on. Perhaps it was a big surge to the Conservatives."
Speaking to BBC Wales after his defeat of Mr Opik, Glyn Davies said: "It's something of a shock, really. But it's a great result for me, and a great result for the team that's been working for me, and we are pretty thrilled about it."
Meanwhile, senior figures in Plaid Cymru have also had their fair share of disappointment at their failure to reclaim Ceredigion from the Lib Dems, and a big fall in their share of the vote on Ynys Mon, which was held by Labour.
They also failed to take Llanelli from Labour despite a high profile campaign.
One of the most eagerly awaited seats to call is Cardiff North where Labour candidate Julie Morgan has said she could lose to the Tories if the exit poll is right although she said she was was not yet accepting defeat.
"We have certainly had a very warm reception wherever we've been in the constituency," she said. "But it's very difficult to go against a swing that's against you. I've always had to fight the seat like a marginal.""We have certainly had a very warm reception wherever we've been in the constituency," she said. "But it's very difficult to go against a swing that's against you. I've always had to fight the seat like a marginal."
In Llanelli, a Plaid target seat, Labour candidate Nia Griffith retained her seat with a 4,701 majority.
Conservatives have won the Vale of Glamorgan from Labour, held Clwyd West, and hope to take Cardiff North.
At a UK level, Plaid will also be hoping for a hung parliament - or a balanced parliament as they put it - where they can team up with the SNP to gain concessions for Wales and Scotland from a minority government.