Neil Hamilton, the disgraced former Conservative minister, is one of Ukip’s first Welsh assembly members. The party gained seven seats as it took votes from traditional Labour voters in the south. Its other members include Mark Reckless, also a Tory defector.
Mr Hamilton, who lost his parliamentary seat 20 years ago after the cash-for-questions controversy, said that he could put aside his differences with Nigel Farage, the party leader, who had opposed him standing.
Despite Ukip advances, Labour lost only one assembly seat and is still the major party. It holds 29 of the 60 assembly seats and is expected to rule as a minority administration. However, it lost Rhondda, one of its heartland seats, to Leanne Wood, the leader of Plaid Cymru, and suffered a fall in its vote share.
Carwyn Jones, the first minister, said that the campaign had been hindered by Labour troubles elsewhere. Asked about the divisions within the national party, including the row over antisemitism, he said: “It’s not helped. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. The lesson is that it’s really important for politicians in London not to say things that are not helpful to colleagues in the UK.”