Pontypridd LAB Hold

Welsh assembly election

constituency

	Pontypridd	LAB Hold

	CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	%	+/-%
	Jane Davidson	LAB	12206	50.0	11.4
	Delme Bowen	PC	5286	21.7	-11.6
	Michael Powell	LD	3443	14.1	-3.1
	Jayne Cowan	CON	2438	10.0	1.5
	Peter Gracia	UKIP	1025	4.2	4.2
		MAJORITY	6920	28.4
		TURNOUT	24520	38.8	-6.9

ELECTORATE	63204

Top-up region: South Wales Central

DESCRIPTION: Pontypridd

Pontypridd’s claims to fame include a rugby team with passionate support from inside and outside the town boundaries, a rugby ground at Sardis Road known as the House of Pain, and a record as the birthplace of musical legends: Tom Jones, and Evan James and James James, who wrote the national anthem, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau. The constituency includes towns such as Llantrisant, home to the Royal Mint and several large foreign employers nearby, like L’Oreal and Bosch. Pontypridd borders Cardiff, and much of the constituency has become an overspill area for the capital. This has helped house prices soar, with one recent survey naming Pontypridd as one of the top three property hotspots in Britain with a 65% rise in one year. The town has a substantial student population, thanks to the University of Glamorgan.

Labour has maintained a grip here, although Plaid Cymru has performed well. In the first assembly election it came within 2,000 votes of Labour’s Jane Davidson, who has had a high profile as the Welsh education minister. Plaid also control Rhondda Cynon Taff Council, which covers Pontypridd. However, many of Plaid’s council seats are in the Rhondda, and Labour holds most of the wards in Pontypridd.

PREVIOUS RESULTS

	1999 WELSH ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS		LAB WIN
	PARTY	VOTES	%
	LAB	11330	38.6
	PC	9755	33.2
	LD	5040	17.2
	CON	2485	8.5
	IND	436	1.5
	CPB	280

	2001 GENERAL ELECTION		LAB WIN
	PARTY	VOTES	%
	LAB	22963	59.9
	PC	5279	13.8
	CON	5096	13.3
	LD	4152	10.8
	UKIP	603	1.6
	PLA	216	0.6