OUTSIDER Leanne Wood has been elected as the new leader of Plaid Cymru.

Following the elimination of Lord Elis-Thomas in the first round of voting, the contest became all female affair - with the peer's second and third preference votes being split between the two remaining candidates.

Mother-of-one Miss Wood triumphed after polling 3,326 - compared to Elin Jones's 2,494.

She said: "This campaign has not been about individuals. It has been about a vision - a programme, a set of connected politics.

"Our task now is to build on the work of all of those who have gone before us.

"We may be small, as a party and as a country, but we can stand tall if we stand together and we stand up for our principles.

"The election is over, now the real work begins. I may not be the leader of the official opposition, but I intend to lead the official proposition, the proposition that another Wales is possible.

"So here's my message today to the people of Wales: we are your party, the people's party, of Wales, for Wales.

"Join us. Help us to re-build your community. Help us to re-build our economy.

"Together we'll build a new Wales that will be fair, a new Wales that will flourish and a new Wales that will be free."

Leanne Wood was regarded by many as the rank outsider, given her more junior position within the party.

Not only was the 40-year-old the youngest candidate, but the regional Assembly Member had not held top political positions like former cabinet member Elin Jones and former presiding officer Lord Elis-Thomas.

But the Tonypandy Comprehensive School product soon struck a chord with many party members, particularly the younger generation.

As well as being well-known for her strong anti-war and socialist beliefs, staunch republican Miss Wood is famed for being the first AM to be ordered out of the Siambr in the Senedd.

In 2004, she was accused of "insulting" the Queen when she referred to the monarch during an official visit as "Mrs Windsor".

She later said: "I don't recognise the Queen. I called her that because that's her name." And three years later she was arrested during an anti-nuclear demonstration in Faslane, Scotland.

But despite her brush with controversy, and the fact she is not a fluent Welsh speaker, Miss Wood has continued to remain a popular figure within her party.

After joining Plaid in 1991, the former Probation Service and Women's Aid worker was elected to the National Assembly in 2003 and has held on to her South Wales Central seat ever since.

One of the cornerstones of her appeal, her supporters say, is that she remains down-to-earth and is "a woman of the people", still living on the same street where she grew up.

In recent months, the mother of one has been vocal in her criticism of the UK Government and the banking sector, accusing them both of betraying the working classes.