National Assembly for Wales constituencies and electoral regions

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National Assembly for Wales constituencies and electoral regions were first used for the 1999 elections. New boundaries came into use for the 2007 elections. The total numbers of constituencies and regions (40 constituencies and five regions) remained the same.[1]

The constituencies of the National Assembly for Wales (or Welsh Assembly) (Welsh: Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru) were created with the boundaries of the Welsh constituencies of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), as they were in 1999. The new boundaries were also used for the 2010 United Kingdom general election. Therefore, between the 2007 Assembly election and the 2010 United Kingdom general election, the two sets of constituencies, Assembly and Westminster, had differing boundaries.

Three constituency names, Conwy, Caernarfon, and Meirionydd Nant Conwy, have become historic, and the new boundaries define three constituencies with new names: Arfon, Dwyfor Meirionnydd, and Aberconwy. Generally, the new boundaries define each constituency taking account local government ward boundaries, and define constituencies close to equal in terms of the sizes of their electorates.

Unlike Westminster constituencies, Assembly constituencies are grouped into electoral regions, and an additional member system is used to elect four additional Assembly Members (AMs) (Welsh: Aelodau y Cynulliad) from each region, in addition to the AMs elected by the constituencies. At each general election of the Assembly, each elector has two votes, one constituency vote and one regional party-list vote. Each constituency elects one AM by the first past the post (single-member district plurality, SMDP) system, and the additional Assembly seats are filled from regional closed party lists, under the d'Hondt method, with constituency results being taken into account, to produce a degree of proportional representation for each region. Altogether, 60 AMs are elected from the 40 constituencies and five electoral regions, creating an Assembly of 40 constituency AMs and 20 additional AMs. Every constituent is represented by one constituency AM and four regional AMs.

From 2007

Constituency Region
Aberavon South Wales West
Aberconwy North Wales
Alyn and Deeside North Wales
Arfon North Wales
Blaenau Gwent South Wales East
Brecon and Radnorshire Mid and West Wales
Bridgend South Wales West
Caerphilly South Wales East
Cardiff Central South Wales Central
Cardiff North South Wales Central
Cardiff South and Penarth South Wales Central
Cardiff West South Wales Central
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Mid and West Wales
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Mid and West Wales
Ceredigion Mid and West Wales
Clwyd South North Wales
Clwyd West North Wales
Cynon Valley South Wales Central
Delyn North Wales
Dwyfor Meirionnydd Mid and West Wales
Gower South Wales West
Islwyn South Wales East
Llanelli Mid and West Wales
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney South Wales East
Monmouth South Wales East
Montgomeryshire Mid and West Wales
Neath South Wales West
Newport East South Wales East
Newport West South Wales East
Ogmore South Wales West
Pontypridd South Wales Central
Preseli Pembrokeshire Mid and West Wales
Rhondda South Wales Central
Swansea East South Wales West
Swansea West South Wales West
Torfaen South Wales East
Vale of Clwyd North Wales
Vale of Glamorgan South Wales Central
Wrexham North Wales
Ynys Môn North Wales

1999 to 2007

ConstituencyRegion
AberavonSouth Wales West
Alyn and DeesideNorth Wales
Blaenau GwentSouth Wales East
Brecon and RadnorshireMid and West Wales
BridgendSouth Wales West
CaernarfonNorth Wales
CaerphillySouth Wales East
Cardiff CentralSouth Wales Central
Cardiff NorthSouth Wales Central
Cardiff South and PenarthSouth Wales Central
Cardiff WestSouth Wales Central
Carmarthen East and DinefwrMid and West Wales
Carmarthen West and South PembrokeshireMid and West Wales
CeredigionMid and West Wales
Clwyd SouthNorth Wales
Clwyd WestNorth Wales
ConwyNorth Wales
Cynon ValleySouth Wales Central
DelynNorth Wales
GowerSouth Wales West
IslwynSouth Wales East
LlanelliMid and West Wales
Meirionnydd Nant ConwyMid and West Wales
Merthyr Tydfil and RhymneySouth Wales East
MonmouthSouth Wales East
MontgomeryshireMid and West Wales
NeathSouth Wales West
Newport EastSouth Wales East
Newport WestSouth Wales East
OgmoreSouth Wales West
PontypriddSouth Wales Central
Preseli PembrokeshireMid and West Wales
RhonddaSouth Wales Central
Swansea EastSouth Wales West
Swansea WestSouth Wales West
TorfaenSouth Wales East
Vale of ClwydNorth Wales
Vale of GlamorganSouth Wales Central
WrexhamNorth Wales
Ynys MônNorth Wales

Notes and references

  1. The Parliamentary Constituencies and Assembly Electoral Regions (Wales) Order 2006, OPSI website

See also

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