Nick Ramsay has been re-elected as Assembly Member for Monmouth. The close-fought race between the top two parties saw strong support for both, but Conservative Mr Ramsay kept hold of the seat he has had since 2007.

He took the opportunity to thank his supporters, his team, and his fiancé for help with what he admitted had been a tough campaign. He said: “I am really grateful to you Jennifer for listening to me and for putting up with me”.

Catherine Fookes received the second largest number of votes for Labour, followed by UKIP’s Tim Price, and then Independent candidate Debby Blakebrough.

She said: “It’s not too shoddy a result coming fourth as the first Independent candidate to stand in Monmouth for Assembly election.

“I’ll be staying on as a county councillor, and I’ll still be working on local issues and projects.

“I’d certainly do it all again. I’m pleased to have raised awareness of standing in politics as an Independent, and I hope I’ve inspired others to do the same.

“I’m so pleased to have kept up the fight to get to the finish line.

“This has been a tough journey, as my mother died of a brain tumour recently and I’m so grateful for the support I’ve had to keep me going.

“I’ve certainly learned a mental toughness, and I’d urge people: if you want to do something, don’t put it off, because you don’t know what you’re capable of achieving.”

The voting figures are as follows:

Nick Ramsay 13,585

Catherine Fookes 8,438

Tim Price 3,092

Debby Blakebrough 1,932

Jonathan Clark 1,824

Veronica German 1,474

Chris Were 910

Stephen Morris 146