NORTHERN Ireland secretary Paul Murphy won again in Torfaen but with a slight reduction in his majority.

Mr Murphy, who has held the seat since 1987, told the Argus he was delighted with "an excellent result".

He added: "I am very pleased with the majority - it's slightly down, but only just.

"Once again, the people of Torfaen have put their faith in a Labour government - it's one of the most loyal Labour constituencies in the UK." After a long night in Cwmbran, Mr Murphy paid tribute to the party's achievement of an historic third term.

And he said the new government would be reviewing the key issues of pensions and the council tax.

"Ultimately people decided to stick with a Labour government in Torfaen." For the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats it was a nail-biting run-in for second place, which in the end, came down to just three votes in favour of Tory Nicholas Ramsay.

"I think we are definitely turning a corner nationally, and I think overall it's encouraging for the future of the Conservatives in Wales," he said.

Liberal Democrat candidate Veronica Watkins also viewed the result positively. She might have narrowly missed coming second, but overall her party had taken a sizeable increase of the vote compared to last year. "We are on the way up now," she told supporters.

And despite a slight drop in support, Plaid's Aneurin Preece remained upbeat.

"Watch this space - it may take another few years, but we are whittling down Labour's majority," he said.