BBC NEWS | VOTE 2003

DESCRIPTION: Monmouth

Monmouth was the only one of the 40 first-past-the-post Welsh constituencies to vote a Conservative into the assembly in 1999. This was a return to tradition for this most anglicised of Welsh constituencies, which for many years was at the centre of a dispute over whether it was in Wales at all, because although Monmouth has had a Labour MP since 1997, it had usually been Tory in the past. Labour has had previous success here: in 1991 the current MP, Huw Edwards, won a famous by-election victory - only to lose the seat and then win it back again in subsequent general elections. Before that, the only time Labour had won here was in 1966. The Conservative AM, David Davies, is also one of the most outspoken and prominent politicians in Cardiff Bay. All this makes the battle here one of the most interesting of this election.

Monmouth has a very small number of Welsh-speakers, delivered the highest proportion of No votes in the devolution referendum and many of its residents work over the border in England. It is a largely prosperous, rural area which includes the towns of Monmouth, Abergavenny and Usk. The picturesque Wye and Usk valleys are home to many seeking a countryside idyll in Wales. Despite its lush countryside and striking castles and abbeys, tourism is under-developed in the area and most major employers are situated outside the constituency boundaries.

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