Post by Lord Twaddleford on May 5, 2020 22:27:31 GMT
The Vale of Clwyd covers the northern end of the modern incarnation of Denbighshire, and appropriately enough encompasses most of the lower end of the River Clwyd right down to its estuary, where it forms part of this constituency's boundary with the neighbouring seat of Clwyd West. The principal settlements of this seat are the coastal resort towns of Rhyl and Prestatyn, but also covered are the cathedral town of St. Asaph (whose Welsh name, Llanelwy, roughly translates as "Parish on the River Elwy", a tributary of the Clwyd), Rhuddlan (a small town located on the banks of the River Clwyd and of quite substantial significance in Welsh history), Dyserth, Bodelwyddan, Denbigh, and Trefant, amongst others.
A standard feature of all Welsh constituencies, the Vale of Clwyd exists in both the national parliament at Westminster, and the devolved Welsh Assembly at Cardiff Bay. This seat has existed since 1997, having been created from the now defunct seats of Clwyd North West and Clwyd South West, as well as taking in some territory previously covered by the neighbouring Delyn constituency (Prestatyn). This seat has only undergone minor boundary changes since creation, accquring the village of Llandyrnog from Clwyd West in 2007/2010 in the Welsh Assembly and Westminster, respectively.
In terms of voting patterns this seat is a typical Labour/Conservative marginal, with the town of Rhyl providing the bulk of the Labour vote, Prestatyn being significantly more Conservative leaning but with a not insubstantial Labour presence the closer you get to Rhyl (the net result being that the town essentially serves as the constituency's swing vote, in a manner of speaking). The Conservative party also tends to lead in the seat's more rural areas, albeit with some scattered pockets of Labour support to be found here & there.
In terms of partisan representation, it is currently a split with the Conservatives holding the Westminster seat and Labour representing the area in the Welsh Assembly.
The Westminster seat has had 2 MPs:
The Assembly seat has only had 1 AM since the body's creation in 1999, Labour's Ann Jones, who is currently serving as Deputy Presiding Officer for the Assembly's 2016-2021 term.
A standard feature of all Welsh constituencies, the Vale of Clwyd exists in both the national parliament at Westminster, and the devolved Welsh Assembly at Cardiff Bay. This seat has existed since 1997, having been created from the now defunct seats of Clwyd North West and Clwyd South West, as well as taking in some territory previously covered by the neighbouring Delyn constituency (Prestatyn). This seat has only undergone minor boundary changes since creation, accquring the village of Llandyrnog from Clwyd West in 2007/2010 in the Welsh Assembly and Westminster, respectively.
In terms of voting patterns this seat is a typical Labour/Conservative marginal, with the town of Rhyl providing the bulk of the Labour vote, Prestatyn being significantly more Conservative leaning but with a not insubstantial Labour presence the closer you get to Rhyl (the net result being that the town essentially serves as the constituency's swing vote, in a manner of speaking). The Conservative party also tends to lead in the seat's more rural areas, albeit with some scattered pockets of Labour support to be found here & there.
In terms of partisan representation, it is currently a split with the Conservatives holding the Westminster seat and Labour representing the area in the Welsh Assembly.
The Westminster seat has had 2 MPs:
- Chris Ruane, Labour (1997-2015), inaugural MP
- James Davies, Conservative (2015-2017)
- Chris Ruane, Labour (2017-2019), (again) regained seat
- James Davies, Conservative (2019-pres), (again!) regained seat
The Assembly seat has only had 1 AM since the body's creation in 1999, Labour's Ann Jones, who is currently serving as Deputy Presiding Officer for the Assembly's 2016-2021 term.
