Gareth Lewis: 'Can anything describe the scale of Labour's defeat?'

How to put this in to words?

What adjective adequately describes the sheer and utter scale of Labour's collapse in Wales?

The symbol of the party's defeat might well be the failure of First Minister Eluned Morgan to win a seat, but it is bigger than that.

Perhaps it is best described in terms of things you thought you'd never see in your life.

As someone born and brought up in Bridgend with a wider family from Cynon Valley - traditional south Wales Labour heartlands - this fits in that category.

Labour themselves have not been short of words.

"Disastrous", "catastrophic" and "devastating" have all been thrown around.

Perhaps most devastating of all have been the words in dramatic black and white in a Welsh Labour press release sent out at 13:25 on Friday.

It read: "It is looking like Welsh Labour will return a group of around 10 MSs - which will at least allow a vocal Labour opposition, even though we are deeply disappointed about not being able to lead a government."

Ouch.

Let's break it down.

That is 10 of 96 seats compared to 30 of 60 in 2021.

"Vocal opposition" is scant consolation after 27 years of running a government and more than a century of winning elections in Wales.

And "deeply disappointed".

It is the most understated euphemism for despair I've seen today.

What has caused this monumental defeat?

There are plenty of words to write about that, including the Welsh party's own record, voters' disillusionment, the unpopularity of Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a desire for change for many people.

On the basis of what we have been hearing today three words stand out.

They are "two horse race".

Those are the words Plaid Cymru has used throughout the campaign, pitching the fight as Plaid v Reform.

It appears voters who want to keep Reform out have been convinced.

It might be enough to have given Labour a drubbing, we still don't know if Plaid has done enough to beat Reform.