Aberconwy
Apr 9, 2020 20:08:08 GMT
Devil Wincarnate, Disgusted Of Tunbridge Wells, and 1 more like this
Post by Lord Twaddleford on Apr 9, 2020 20:08:08 GMT
The constituency of Aberconwy covers the western half of the Conwy County Borough authority, this is co-terminous with the former district level authority of the same name that existed between the years of 1974-1996. A coastal seat with a substantial rural hinterland, the principal settlements are the coastal resort towns of Llandudno and Conwy; further inland the seat covers the settlements along the banks of the river Conwy, of which the market town of Llanrwst is the largest settlement, and incorporates some of Snowdonia National Park within its boundaries.
Most (~70%) of the seat's population lives near the coast, and along with the neighbouring seat of Clwyd West, houses a substantial retiree population, many of whom moved to the area from England. In contrast with the predominantly Anglophone coastal towns, the rural settlements further up the Conwy Valley tend to be more Welsh speaking.
As so goes for the entirety of the Conwy CBC area, the local economy is dominated by tourism & hospitalty, especially along the coast; further inland is more agricultural, predominantly pastoral farming, though even here there is a not insubstantial tourism sector due to the presence of sites such as the Surf Snowdonia leisure facility near Dolgarrog, Bodnant Gardens, and the proximity of Snowdonia National Park and Blaenau Ffestiniog (the latter situated in the neighbouring authority of Gwynedd, and is one terminus of the Ffestiniog Railway heritage line).
This seat exists in two different legislative bodies: the national Parliament in Westminster, and the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff. The Assembly seat first came into being in 2007, and the Westminster seat in 2010; in both bodies this seat is ostensibly a continuation of the former constituency of Conwy. Despite occupying the exact same geographical area, both versions of this constituency have exhibited different electoral dynamics, albeit with one common property in that both are (at time of writing) held by the Conservative party; the principal difference being who the main challengers are.
The Westminster seat is more of a classic Conservative/Labour marginal, with the Conservative majority ranging from a high of 13.3% in 2015 to a low of 2% (in 2017). The Conservative majority in 2019 was 6.4%. Since creation this seat has had two MPs, both elected as Conservatives:
The Assembly seat is more of a three-way marginal; here the second placed party is Plaid Cymru, who held the seat between 2007-2011, with Labour in a strong third. Its two AMs have been:
Most (~70%) of the seat's population lives near the coast, and along with the neighbouring seat of Clwyd West, houses a substantial retiree population, many of whom moved to the area from England. In contrast with the predominantly Anglophone coastal towns, the rural settlements further up the Conwy Valley tend to be more Welsh speaking.
As so goes for the entirety of the Conwy CBC area, the local economy is dominated by tourism & hospitalty, especially along the coast; further inland is more agricultural, predominantly pastoral farming, though even here there is a not insubstantial tourism sector due to the presence of sites such as the Surf Snowdonia leisure facility near Dolgarrog, Bodnant Gardens, and the proximity of Snowdonia National Park and Blaenau Ffestiniog (the latter situated in the neighbouring authority of Gwynedd, and is one terminus of the Ffestiniog Railway heritage line).
This seat exists in two different legislative bodies: the national Parliament in Westminster, and the Welsh Assembly in Cardiff. The Assembly seat first came into being in 2007, and the Westminster seat in 2010; in both bodies this seat is ostensibly a continuation of the former constituency of Conwy. Despite occupying the exact same geographical area, both versions of this constituency have exhibited different electoral dynamics, albeit with one common property in that both are (at time of writing) held by the Conservative party; the principal difference being who the main challengers are.
The Westminster seat is more of a classic Conservative/Labour marginal, with the Conservative majority ranging from a high of 13.3% in 2015 to a low of 2% (in 2017). The Conservative majority in 2019 was 6.4%. Since creation this seat has had two MPs, both elected as Conservatives:
- Guto Bebb (2010-2019), who notably was one of the 21 Tory Brexit rebels who lost the whip. Bebb did not get the whip back.
- Robin Millar (2019-pres), previously a councillor on the West Suffolk D.C. and Suffolk C.C.
The Assembly seat is more of a three-way marginal; here the second placed party is Plaid Cymru, who held the seat between 2007-2011, with Labour in a strong third. Its two AMs have been:
- Gareth Jones, Plaid Cymru (2007-2011), a member of the Conwy CBC for the Craig-y-Don division prior and subsequent to his stint as an AM, and was also AM for the old Conwy seat during the Assmembly's inaugural term between 1999-2003
- Janet Finch-Saunders, Conservative (2011-pres), also previously a member of the Conwy CBC, also for Craig-y-Don funnily enough
