Chris Fearne has pledged loyalty to the Labour Party and its values, one day after he was beaten to the party leadership by underdog Robert Abela. 

In his first public statement since the shock result, Mr Fearne did not mention his rival by name or make any mention of working alongside him. 

Instead, he thanked the “thousands” who had voted for him in Saturday’s election. 

“I promise you I will be loyal to the party and our values,” he continued, posting on Twitter.

Dr Abela, who is set to take his oath of office as prime minister on Monday, has said that he wants to keep Mr Fearne as health minister, saying he has done a very good job in that role. 

Mr Fearne began the leadership race as the clear frontrunner and quickly secured endorsements from the vast majority of his cabinet colleagues. 

The stage appeared set for him to take over from Joseph Muscat uncontested, until Dr Abela leapt forward and said he would be running for leader because he did not want to play a part in any “diabolical pact”. 

Despite that, Mr Fearne appeared to have an unassailable lead, with internal party polls taken towards the end of December finding he had around 65% of the vote. 

But Dr Abela steadily made inroads, with his charismatic style winning over more Labour hearts and minds than the more measured and stiff Mr Fearne. 

In the end, Dr Abela obtained 9,342 votes while Mr Fearne could only manage 6,798.