BBC NEWS | VOTE 2003


CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	%	+/-%
Edwina Hart	LAB	10334	43.6	8.2
Stephen James	CON	4646	19.6	5.5
Sian Caiach	PC	3502	14.8	-9.2
Nicholas Tregoning	LD	2775	11.7	-0.1
Richard Lewis	UKIP	2444	10.3	10.3

	MAJORITY	5688	24
	TURNOUT	24143	39.9	-7.7

DESCRIPTION: Gower

Few areas of Wales are more attractive than the Gower peninsula, which makes up the bulk of this seat. In 1956 it became the first part of the UK to be made an area of outstanding natural beauty, and lush coastline and beaches such as Rhossili and Oxwich attract many thousands of tourists. It also provides a home for many well-off Swansea commuters. But this has not made Gower a Conservative area. Although the Tories were a close second at the height of their Welsh success in 1983, Labour has maintained a grip here; and while Plaid Cymru were runners-up in 1999, the Tories continue to come in second at Westminster.

The seat takes in inland industrial communities in the Lliw Valley such as Gorseinon and Pontardawe, which have a high proportion of Welsh-speakers. Job losses in manufacturing, particularly the clothing sector, have hit hard as a result of the transfer of jobs to areas such as the far east. In 1999 Edwina Hart became the AM and has been in the assembly cabinet ever since. She has an influential role in relation to all aspects of policy, as the minister in charge of both finance and local government. Gower's most famous daughter is the Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta Jones, who grew up in the village of Mumbles.

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