BBC NEWS | VOTE 2003

DESCRIPTION: Caernarfon

Caernarfon does not switch political allegiances lightly but when change comes, it is long-standing. It was staunchly Liberal in the first half of the 20th century, thanks mainly to the World War I Prime Minister David Lloyd George, its MP for 55 years from 1890. In 1945 Labour's Goronwy Roberts took over, holding on until 1974. Then came the turn towards Plaid Cymru, and specifically Dafydd Wigley. He represented Caernarfon first in Parliament, and then in the assembly, for almost 30 years. A former president of Plaid, he is standing down from the assembly for health reasons. Although Hywel Williams held on to Mr Wigley�s former parliamentary seat for the party in 2001, Plaid's majority dropped from 21.6% to 12.1%, with Labour the main challenger.

Agriculture and tourism are the dominant industries. It has the largest proportion of Welsh-speakers in Wales, with almost four in five people able to speak the language. The area includes the Llyn peninsula and parts of Snowdonia. Caernarfon Castle was the scene of Prince Charles�s investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969. Caernarfon forms part of the Gwynedd local authority area, whose electors voted strongly in favour of devolution in the 1997 referendum. Gwynedd County Council was the first local authority to be controlled by Plaid Cymru. One of Gwynedd�s Plaid councillors, Seimon Glyn, has been at the centre of controversy over his criticism of the impact of �incomers� on Welsh-speaking areas. Alun Ffred Jones, the leader of Gwynedd council, is Plaid�s assembly candidate here.

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