A week is a long time politics so they say - it certainly is in Carmarthenshire.

Plaid Cymru’s Jonathan Edwards has been re-elected to serve as MP for the Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency.

The result came as no surprise and Mr Edwards’ increased majority only served to recognise the sterling work he has done for the region at Westminster.

The Guardian has no doubt he will continue to put Carmarthenshire front and centre on the national stage and tackle head-on the major issues for both county and country.

Closer to home, Cllr Kevin Madge was ousted as the head of the county’s Labour Group in a secret ballot on Monday.

Labour insiders deny he was the victim of a coup, but it is hard to come up with any other description when a party turns on its leader while still in power.

Cllr Madge has been in local politics a long, long time and he knows only too well how the axe swings and no one who has spent more than 30 years in the raging sea survives without collecting their fair share of friends and enemies.

There are some who will welcome his departure, others may shed a tear.

Undoubtedly he has made mistakes as leader of the county council, but there have been successes too.

Like him or loathe him however, what none can deny is that Kevin Madge has always worn his heart on his sleeve and done everything in his power to promote and support this valley.

In these toughest of times, the Amman Valley has just lost its biggest and most powerful advocate.

That is something everyone – lovers and haters – should be deeply concerned about.