HOURS after announcing to the BBC that he though he had lost his Monmouthshire seat at Westminster, David Davies had his worst fears confirmed when his Labour rival romped to victory with a 3,338 majority.

Describing himself as he arrived at the count in the early hours of the morning as just a ‘middle-aged, unemployed guy’ Mr Davies seemed resigned to his defeat from the moment the polls closed, telling the BBC, “I’ll be the first to acknowledge there’s going to be a massive Labour victory and I certainly won’t be in Parliament at the end of the evening and I’ll put that on the record.” 

With many of his Conservative colleagues seemingly bemused and disappointed by his words and the early counting appearing to run neck and neck between Mr Davies and his Labour challenger, it wasn’t until after the dawn broke that his air of dejection finally hit the rank and file Tories with many choking back tears as they began to accept what he had predicted as the inevitable.

Speaking from the podium after a rousing victory speech from the constituency’s first ever woman MP Catherine Fookes, in which she paid tribute to him for his 25 years of service to the people of Monmouthshire, Mr Davies said the people had spoken and he was proud to live in a democracy in which their voices had been heard.

“We live in a democracy and I absolutely accept the results that have come out tonight across the country, including in Monmouthshire,” said Mr Davies.

Mr Davies also paid tribute to his fellow candidates and thanked his family and Conservative Association colleagues for their support over the past 25 years and for putting up with his ‘little foibles’.

He also praised ‘the journalists of Wales’ saying that while he often complained about them, they did a sterling job in holding ‘each and every’ politician to account.

“We’re lucky to have journalists of the calibre that we do in Wales,” said Mr Davies as his mobile phone began to ring, with doubtless the first of many calls from journalists asking him what he would be doing on Monday morning.