David Deans
BBC Wales political reporter

Powell came second tonight. He didn't give a speech at the podium but he did speak to a scrum of media, where he said he was proud of the campaign his party had run.

"Our ground campaign is going to get better," he said.

Referencing next year's Welsh Parliament election, he said: "I think next May we're going to form a Reform government.

"We've got more people turning out to vote now when they've got a party they believe in."

Oliver Slow
BBC Wales

Image source, PA Media

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said the people of Caerphilly have "spoken loud and clear", saying they had backed his party’s “positive, pro-Wales vision”.

"This result shows that Plaid is no longer just an alternative," he said in a statement.

He described Lindsay Whittle as a "tireless local champion".

"[He] knows every community in this constituency inside out and will deliver real change for the people of Caerphilly," ap Iorwerth said.

Mark Palmer
Assistant editor, BBC Wales

Image source, Mark Lewis/BBC

It's 14th time lucky for Lindsay Whittle.

The Plaid candidate has stood time and time again in the constituency at elections for Westminster and Cardiff Bay since 1983.

He now has the chance to shape the town that he was born in.

Mark Palmer
Assistant editor, BBC Wales

Lindsay Whittle pays tribute to Hefin David saying he will be a "hard act to follow".

"I will never fill his shoes but I assure you I will walk the same path that he did."

He urges Cardiff and Westminster to listen saying he wants a "better deal" for every corner of Wales.

"The big parties need to sit up and take notice.

"We are at the dawn of a new beginning”.

Huge cheers as Plaid victory announcedpublished at 02:19 BST

02:19 BST

Gareth Lewis
BBC Wales political editor

There are huge cheers in the hall and chants of "Wales, Wales" as Lindsay Whittle’s victory is announced.

He cracks a joke to start his acceptance speech saying he’s not used to speaking first.

This is a win in the Caerphilly constituency for Whittle at the 14th time of asking.

He nearly breaks down in tears paying tribute to the constituency's late MS Hefin David as he warns Westminster and Cardiff Bay that Wales needs a better deal.

"This is the start of a new dawn," he adds.

Here’s the final number of votes for each candidate:

• Steve Aicheler - Welsh Liberal Democrats - 497
• Anthony Cook – Gwlad - 117
• Gareth Hughes - Green Party - 516
• Gareth Potter - Welsh Conservatives - 690
• Llyr Powell - Reform UK – 12,113
• Roger Quilliam – UKIP - 79
• Richard Tunnicliffe - Welsh Labour – 3,713
• Lindsay Whittle - Plaid Cymru – 15,961

Lindsay Whittle is Caerphilly's new Member of the Senedd.

Candidates are on the stage.

We're about to hear the result.

Oscar Edwards
BBC Wales

The candidates are being called over to the count's returning officer.

The result appears to be imminent.

Mark Palmer
Assistant editor, BBC Wales

Alex-Barros-Curtis says the party needs to "reflect on the lessons" that the party has to learn following a damaging night for the party in Caerphilly.

Multiple Labour sources say the party will lose and he admits it has been a "tough night".

The Cardiff West MP says the party needs to have the "humility to listen to what voters have said".

On the doorstep, he says Labour faced "a strange cocktail of local issues and national issues".

Labour's candidate Richard Tunnicliffe has arrived, with the result expected in a few minutes.

The party is expected to come third, with Plaid optimistic that they've clinched it.

David Deans
BBC Wales political reporter

Image source, PA Media

It's a sign of how Plaid are feeling that they're willing for Rhun ap Iorwerth to be seen in front of cameras in the counting hall.

He is the only party leader here. Labour's candidate Richard Tunnicliffe has been absent for much of the night.

Speaking to a press huddle, Rhun ap Iorwerth put the contest in the context of the election to come next year, saying his party was "set on leading government next May".

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth has arrived at the count, telling BBC Wales’ Teleri Glyn Jones that things are looking "positive" for his party.

"Things are looking positive but I’ve been through enough of these counts to wait until the result comes," he said.

While he wouldn’t be drawn on tonight’s result, he said his party’s campaign aimed to show they would bring "positive change" to Wales.

Gareth Lewis
BBC Wales political editor

Reform candidate Llyr Powell has looked tense, but it is that kind of night.

I asked him how it was going, and he too said he needed to look at the data, just as one of his officials did earlier.

Nothing is shifting the impression here that, even allowing for the positivity from Plaid candidate Lindsay Whittle and Reform's councillor Jason O'Connell, that this could be tight.

Oliver Slow
BBC Wales

Image source, Matthew Horwood

Llyr Powell has arrived and has been speaking to BBC Wales’ Teleri Glyn Jones, saying he has been subjected to "attacks" on his property and office during the campaign.

"It’s quite sad that our democratic process has come under attack from a militant group out there," the Reform candidate said, adding that he was “proud” of the campaign he and his team has run.

He was also asked about a moment during the by-election debate, when an audience member said the party’s "rhetoric" had made her family feel "unwelcome" in the town.

Powell said he was "surprised" by the remark, because his campaign "has been about government policies and where best to put money".

Oscar Edwards
BBC Wales

Image source, Mark Lewis/BBC

Speaking at the count Delyth Jewell, deputy leader of Plaid Cymru, said she is "excited and frightened".

"I think it’s been a really energetic campaign.

"I wish there were a word for those things together, because there are two very starkly different scenarios ahead of us."

Jewell said it has been "obvious the whole time" that it is a race between her party and Reform.

"The momentum is with us, so no matter what happens in this by-election tonight, I think people’s minds will be focused," she added.

Voter turnout could prove significantpublished at 00:53 BST 24 October

00:53 BST 24 October

Gareth Lewis
BBC Wales political editor

Image source, Mark Lewis/BBC

There were a few gasps in the hall when the turnout was announced and what this means for the by-election.

The working assumption is that the higher the turnout, the better for Reform.

That's something that has already been mentioned to me by two senior Reform figures tonight.

But Plaid are pushing back against that with candidate Lindsay Whittle telling me that they've been "blown away" by the turnout of younger voters.

Mark Palmer
Assistant editor, BBC Wales

Reform UK’s Jason O'Connell says he’s feeling “pretty positive".

O’Connell is a county councillor in Torfaen and was one of the party’s first councillors in Wales.

"We know we are in a tight battle, there is a lot of excitement down there and we are optimistic about a good result."

He said people were coming to Reform because "nothing has changed and that’s what people are frustrated with".

"It doesn’t matter who they vote for, if they vote for Plaid or Labour or anybody else. That’s the frustration of the people that we talk to, the outcomes do not change," he said.

"That’s the gap that Reform are filling now - we are the change candidate."

David Deans
BBC Wales political reporter

And now we're into the second phase - who won what.

The staff here are splitting the ballot papers into separate piles according to which party voters had supported.

There's been talk of a result here around 2 or 3 in the morning - although nothing concrete.

David Deans
BBC Wales political reporter

The Caerphilly by-election has seen 50.43% of voters take part.

That's pretty good for a Senedd election, let alone a by-election. There's never been a national turnout for a Senedd election above 50%.