# Aberavon (Senedd constituency)

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

## History

Having only elected Labour MSs with huge majority this can be considered a Labour safe seat. Plaid Cymru are Labour's main opposition in the constituency and have been since its creation.
Party averages from 5 elections: Labour – 54.9, Plaid Cymru – 18.4, Conservative – 9.3, Lib Dem – 8.6,
UKIP stood for the first time in this constituency in the 2016 election and finished third with 15.0% of the vote.

## Boundaries

The constituency was created for the first election to the Assembly, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of the Aberavon Westminster constituency, and it is entirely within the preserved county of West Glamorgan. Boundaries were unchanged by the review whose proposals come into effect for the 2007 Welsh Assembly election.
The constituency is composed of the Neath Port Talbot electoral divisions: Aberavon, Baglan, Briton Ferry East, Briton Ferry West, Bryn & Cwmavon, Coedffranc Central, Coedffranc North, Coedffranc West, Cymmer, Glyncorrwg, Gwynfi, Margam, Port Talbot, Sandlands East, Sandlands West, and Tai-bach.
The other six constituencies of the region are Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Swansea East and Swansea West.

## Voting

In general elections for the Senedd, each voter has two votes. The first vote may be used to vote for a candidate to become the Member of the Senedd 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 and members of the Senedd

| Election | Election | Member | Party | Portrait |
| | 1999 | Brian Gibbons | Labour | |
| | 2011 | David Rees | Labour | |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

2021 Senedd election: Aberavon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Rees | 10,505 | 47.4 | -3.3 | 10,081 | 45.4 | -0.5 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Victoria Griffiths | 4,760 | 21.5 | +1.5 | 4,987 | 22.5 | +1.2 |
| | Conservative | Liz Hill O'Shea | 2,947 | 13.3 | +6.9 | 3,141 | 14.1 | +7.9 |
| | Independent | Scott Jones | 1,357 | 6.1 | New | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Ceri Clarke | 953 | 4.3 | -1.7 | 670 | 3.0 | -2.4 |
| | Abolish | Sarah Allen | 646 | 2.9 | New | 789 | 3.6 | ±0.0 |
| | Independent | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | 519 | 2.3 | New |
| | UKIP | Timothy Jenkins | 407 | 1.8 | -13.2 | 395 | 1.8 | -12.7 |
| | Gwlad | Ceri Golding | 386 | 1.7 | New | 279 | 1.3 | New |
| | Reform UK | Dennis May | 208 | 0.9 | New | 208 | 0.9 | New |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 659 | 3.0 | +1.2 |
| | Propel | Propel | Propel | Propel | Propel | 195 | 0.9 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 170 | 0.8 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 78 | 0.4 | +0.1 |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 42 | 0.2 | -0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,745 | 25.9 | −4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,688 | 42.3 | −0.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| Notes |||||||||
Regional Ballot void votes: 150. Want of an Official Mark (0), Voting for more than ONE party or individual candidate (38), Writing or mark by which the Voter could be identified (1), Unmarked or Void for uncertainty (111)

### Elections in the 2010s

Welsh Assembly Election 2016: Aberavon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Rees | 10,578 | 50.7 | −13.4 | 9,556 | 45.9 | -11.3 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Bethan Jenkins | 4,176 | 20.0 | +5.2 | 4,446 | 21.3 | +8.5 |
| | UKIP | Glenda Davies | 3,119 | 15.0 | New | 3,019 | 14.5 | +10.6 |
| | Conservative | David Jenkins | 1,342 | 6.4 | −7.9 | 1,298 | 6.2 | -4.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Ceri Clarke | 1,248 | 6.0 | −0.8 | 1,128 | 5.4 | +0.8 |
| | Green | Jonathan Tier | 389 | 1.9 | New | 370 | 1.8 | ±0.0 |
| | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | 742 | 3.6 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 115 | 0.6 | +0.3 |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | 111 | 0.5 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 54 | 0.3 | ±0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,402 | 30.7 | −18.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,852 | 42.5 | +5.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −9.3 | |
Welsh Assembly Election 2011: Aberavon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Rees | 12,104 | 64.1 | +14.8 | 10,671 | 57.2 | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Paul Nicholls-Jones | 2,793 | 14.8 | −2.5 | 2,391 | 12.8 | |
| | Conservative | T. Morgan | 2,704 | 14.3 | +4.6 | 2,030 | 10.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen Ceri Clarke | 1,278 | 6.8 | −0.3 | 860 | 4.6 | |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 627 | 3.4 | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 719 | 3.9 | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 669 | 3.6 | |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 340 | 1.8 | |
| | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | 174 | 0.9 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 113 | 0.6 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 61 | 0.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,311 | 49.3 | +17.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,879 | 37.0 | −2.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +8.7 | |
Regional ballots rejected at the count: 134

### Elections in the 2000s

Welsh Assembly Election 2007: Aberavon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Brian Gibbons | 10,129 | 49.3 | −10.1 | 9,303 | | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Linett Purcell | 3,558 | 17.3 | −0.4 | 3,610 | | |
| | Independent | Andrew Tutton | 2,561 | 12.5 | New |
| | Conservative | Daisy Meyland-Smith | 1,990 | 9.7 | +0.5 | 2,058 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Waller | 1,450 | 7.1 | −2.7 | 1,775 | | |
| | New Millennium Bean Party | Captain Beany | 840 | 4.1 | New |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 1,185 | | New |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 663 | | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 653 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 423 | 0. | New |
| | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | 230 | | New |
| | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | 196 | | New |
| | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | 146 | | New |
| | Respect | Respect | Respect | Respect | Respect | 73 | 0. | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 66 | 0. | New |
| | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | 37 | 0. | New |
| | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | 26 | | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,571 | 32.0 | −9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,528 | 39.8 | +2.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −11.3 | |
Welsh Assembly Election 2003: Aberavon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Brian Gibbons | 11,137 | 59.4 | +8.1 | 9,769 | | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Geraint D. Owen | 3,324 | 17.7 | −4.6 | 3,242 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Claire Waller | 1,840 | 9.8 | −3.8 | 1,934 | | |
| | Conservative | Myr A. Boult | 1,732 | 9.2 | +2.2 | 1,599 | | |
| | Independent | Robert Williams | 608 | 3.2 | New |
| | Independent | Gwenno M. Saunders | 114 | 0.6 | New |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 678 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 572 | | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 509 | | |
| | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | 217 | | |
| | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | 58 | 0. | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,813 | 41.7 | +12.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 18,755 | 37.7 | −9.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.4 | |
2003 Electorate: 50,208 Regional ballots rejected: 348

### Elections in the 1990s

Welsh Assembly Election 1999: Aberavon :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Brian Gibbons | 11,941 | 51.3 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | Janet Davies | 5,198 | 22.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Keith Davies | 3,165 | 13.6 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Mary E. Davies | 1,624 | 7.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Captain Beany | 849 | 3.6 | N/A |
| | Independent | David Pudner | 517 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,743 | 29.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,294 | 46.9 | N/A |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |