Cardiff West (Assembly constituency)

Coordinates: 51°29′10″N 3°12′50″W / 51.486°N 3.214°W

Cardiff West
National Assembly for Wales borough constituency

Cardiff West shown within the South Wales Central electoral region and the region shown within Wales
Current National Assembly for Wales borough constituency
Created 1999
Party Labour
AM Mark Drakeford
Preserved county South Glamorgan

Cardiff West (Welsh: Gorllewin Caerdydd) is a constituency of the National Assembly for Wales. It elects one Assembly Member by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the South Wales Central electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to eight constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Boundaries

The constituency was created for the first election to the Assembly, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of the Cardiff West Westminster constituency. It is entirely within the preserved county of South Glamorgan.

The other seven constituencies of the region are Cardiff Central, Cardiff North, Cardiff South and Penarth, Cynon Valley, Pontypridd, Rhondda and Vale of Glamorgan.

Voting

In general elections for the National Assembly for Wales, each voter has two votes. The first vote may be used to vote for a candidate to become the Assembly Member for the voter's constituency, elected by the first past the post system. The second vote may be used to vote for a regional closed party list of candidates. Additional member seats are allocated from the lists by the d'Hondt method, with constituency results being taken into account in the allocation.

Assembly Members

From the Assembly's inception in 1999, until his retirement at the 2011 election, former First Minister Rhodri Morgan was AM for Cardiff West.

PeriodMemberParty
1999 - 2011 Rhodri Morgan Labour
2011 - present Mark Drakeford Labour

Elections in the 2010s

Welsh Assembly Election 2011: Cardiff West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mark Drakeford 13,067 47.1 +8.5
Conservative Craig Williams 7,166 25.8 +1.0
Plaid Cymru Neil John McEvoy 5,551 20.0 −1.2
Liberal Democrats David Morgan 1,942 7.0 −8.2
Majority 5,901 21.3
Turnout 27,726 43.8
Labour hold Swing +3.8

Elections in the 2000s

Welsh Assembly Election 2007: Cardiff West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rhodri Morgan 10,390 38.6 −10.4
Conservative Craig Williams 6,692 24.9 +7.1
Plaid Cymru Neil John McEvoy 5,719 21.3 +5.8
Liberal Democrats Miss Alison R. Goldsworthy 4,088 15.2 +1.6
Majority 3,698 13.8 −17.5
Turnout 26,889 41.6
Labour hold Swing −8.8
Welsh Assembly Election 2003: Cardiff West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rhodri Morgan 10,420 50.3 −11.3
Conservative Mrs. Heather Douglas 3,583 17.3 +2.5
Liberal Democrats Jacqui Gasson 2,914 14.1 +5.2
Plaid Cymru Mrs. Eluned M. Bush 2,859 13.8 −0.8
UKIP Frank Roger Wyn Hughes 929 4.5 N/A
Majority 6,837 33.0 −13.8
Turnout 21,413 35.4 −5.1
Labour hold Swing −6.9

Elections in the 1990s

Welsh Assembly Election 1999: Cardiff West
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rhodri Morgan 14,305 61.6 N/A
Conservative Mrs. Myr A. Boult 3,446 14.8 N/A
Plaid Cymru Mrs. Eluned M. Bush 3,402 14.7 N/A
Liberal Democrats Dewi H. Garrow-Smith 2,063 8.9 N/A
Majority 10,859 46.8 N/A
Turnout 23,216 40.3 N/A
Labour win (new seat)