BBC NEWS | VOTE 2003


CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	%	+/-%
Brian Gibbons	LAB	11137	59.4	8.1
Geraint Owen	PC	3324	17.7	-4.6
Claire Waller	LD	1840	9.8	-3.8
Myr Boult	CON	1732	9.2	2.3
Robert Williams	SALT	608	3.2	3.2
Gwenno Saunders	IND	114	0.6	0.6

	MAJORITY	7813	41.7
	TURNOUT	18901	37.7	-9.4

DESCRIPTION: Aberavon

If there is a typical Labour seat in Wales, it is Aberavon. Largely industrial and working class, it was held by Labour's first prime minister, Ramsay Macdonald, between 1922-1929. It has been in the party's hands ever since. Its MP between 1959-2001 was the former Attorney General John Morris. He was succeeded by Hywel Francis. In 1999 Aberavon elected a Labour AM, Dr Brian Gibbons, who became the assembly's deputy health minister. It has had to cope with major industrial change. Its main town, Port Talbot, is still dominated by its huge steelworks but the workforce has shrunk to less than a quarter of the 12,500 once employed. The petro-chemical plant at Baglan Bay once employed 2,000 but now only about 50. Visitor attractions include the 850 acre Margam Country Park. The Upper Afan Valley also boasts the Afan Forest Park, a popular spot for walking.

In 1997 the Neath Port Talbot local authority recorded the highest level of support in the devolution referendum. Local heroes include Aberavon RFC, whose Talbot Athletic Ground is also known as The World of Hurt, and Port Talbot-born actor Sir Anthony Hopkins - though he ruffled feathers when he became an US citizen. In 2002, Aberavon beach entered the Guinness Book of Records for hosting the world's longest Mexican wave.

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