Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire has gone blue.

Simon Hart, the Welsh Conservative Party, ousted longstanding Labour MP Nick Ainger in last Thursday's General Election.

Mr. Hart won the seat with a 3,423 majority.

He polled 16,649 votes, while Mr. Ainger, who has represented the ward for the last 18 years, was second with 13,226.

Welsh Liberal Democrats candidate, John Gossage, was third choice with 4,890 votes, while John Dixon, representing Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales, was just 658 behind him with 4,232.

Other candidates, Raymond Clarke, of the UK Independence Party, had 1,146 votes, and Henry Langen, Independent, had 364.

The turnout was 70.24 per cent.

Speaking after being elected, Mr. Hart said: "It would be churlish of me not to mention Nick Ainger's long and significant service as our MP. He has never been the enemy, but the opposition.

"If I do a job half as well as he has done, I will consider I have made a good impact. I wish him well."

This week, Mr. Hart told the Observer: "It was a wonderful honour to be elected MP for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire last week.

"Thank you to everyone involved in the campaign, but especially the 16,649 voters who made it possible.

"We increased our vote by more than 4,000 and achieved a swing from Labour to the Conservative of more than six per cent.

"However, I want all voters, non-voters and residents to know that my job is to serve everyone, not just those who voted for me, so whatever query or problem you may have, please do not hesitate to contact me."

Mr. Hart can be contacted via [email protected]">[email protected] or on (01834) 860102.

Preseli Pembrokeshire

One of Mr. Hart's party colleagues in Westminster will be Preseli Pembrokeshire representative Stephen Crabb.

He retained his seat with a 4,605 majority.

He had 16,944 votes, while others results were: Mari Rees (Labour Party) - 12,339; Nick Tregoning (Welsh Liberal Democrats) - 5,759; Henry Jones-Davies (Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales) - 3,654; Richard Lawson (UK Independence Party) - 906.