# Gower (Senedd constituency)

Gower (Welsh: Gŵyr) is a constituency of the Senedd. It elects one Member of the Senedd by the first past the post method of election. It is also 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

The constituency has elected a Labour member since the assembly was created in 1999. However in 2007 and 2016 the party won narrow majorities. The AM from 1999 to 2016 Edwina Hart was Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science from 2011 to 2016.

## Boundaries

The constituency was created for the first election to the Assembly, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of the Gower Westminster constituency. It is entirely within the preserved county of West Glamorgan.
The other six constituencies of the region are Aberavon, Bridgend, 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.

## Members of the Senedd

| Election | Election | Member | Party | Portrait |
| | 1999 | Edwina Hart | Labour | |
| | 2016 | Rebecca Evans | Labour | |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

2021 Senedd election: Gower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rebecca Evans | 15,631 | 47.1 | +7.4 | 13,401 | 40.4 | +6.2 |
| | Conservative | Myles Langstone | 10,836 | 32.7 | -0.9 | 9,380 | 28.3 | +1.1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | John Davies | 3,946 | 11.9 | +2.0 | 5,079 | 15.3 | +1.9 |
| | Green | Anne Leonie Pigott | 1,088 | 3.3 | +0.9 | 1,501 | 4.5 | +1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael John Sheehan | 869 | 2.6 | -0.8 | 950 | 2.9 | -2.9 |
| | Reform UK | Byron John | 547 | 1.6 | New | 275 | 0.8 | New |
| | Gwlad | Wayne Erasmus | 247 | 0.7 | New | 159 | 0.5 | New |
| | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | 1,337 | 4.0 | -1.3 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 412 | 1.2 | -9.2 |
| | Independent | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | 241 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 206 | 0.6 | New |
| | Propel | Propel | Propel | Propel | Propel | 137 | 0.4 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 55 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 47 | 0.1 | -0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,795 | 14.4 | +8.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,164 | 52.66 | +2.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
Regional Ballot void votes: 182. Want of an Official Mark (0), Voting for more than ONE party or individual candidate (48), Writing or mark by which the Voter could be identified (1), Unmarked or Void for uncertainty (133)

### Elections in the 2010s

Welsh Assembly Election 2016: Gower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Rebecca Evans | 11,982 | 39.7 | -8.4 | 10,310 | 34.2 | -4.0 |
| | Conservative | Lyndon Jones | 10,153 | 33.6 | +3.7 | 8,220 | 27.2 | -0.7 |
| | UKIP | Colin Beckett | 3,300 | 10.9 | New | 3,128 | 10.4 | -6.1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Harri Roberts | 2,982 | 9.9 | -2.2 | 4,044 | 13.4 | +0.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sheila Kingston-Jones | 1,033 | 3.4 | -6.5 | 1,738 | 5.8 | -1.8 |
| | Green | Abi Cherry-Hamer | 737 | 2.4 | New | 799 | 2.6 | -0.6 |
| | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | 1,609 | 5.3 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | 189 | 0.6 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 82 | 0.3 | -0.2 |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 71 | 0.2 | ±0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,829 | 6.1 | −12.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,187 | 49.8 | +6.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Welsh Assembly Election 2011: Gower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwina Hart | 12,866 | 48.1 | +13.9 | 10,234 | 38.2 | |
| | Conservative | Caroline Jones | 8,002 | 29.9 | +0.1 | 7,479 | 27.9 | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Darren Price | 3,249 | 12.1 | -6.4 | 3,369 | 12.6 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter May | 2,656 | 9.9 | -0.7 | 2,027 | 7.6 | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 1,147 | 4.3 | |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 867 | 3.2 | |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 638 | 2.4 | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 556 | 2.1 | |
| | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | 302 | 1.1 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 134 | 0.5 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 62 | 0.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,864 | 18.2 | +17.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,773 | 43.1 | −1.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Regional ballots rejected: 188

### Elections in the 2000s

Welsh Assembly Election 2007: Gower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwina Hart | 9,406 | 34.2 | -9.4 | 7,643 | | |
| | Conservative | Byron Davies | 8,214 | 29.8 | +10.2 | 7,393 | | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Darren Price | 5,106 | 18.5 | +3.8 | 4,610 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas J. Tregoning | 2,924 | 10.6 | -1.1 | 2,622 | | |
| | UKIP | Alex R. Lewis | 1,895 | 6.9 | -3.4 | 695 | | |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 1,478 | | |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 1,369 | | New |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 302 | 0. | New |
| | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | 283 | | New |
| | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | 160 | | New |
| | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | 137 | | New |
| | Respect | Respect | Respect | Respect | Respect | 74 | 0. | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 71 | 0. | New |
| | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | 57 | 0. | New |
| | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | 21 | | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,192 | 4.4 | −19.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,545 | 44.8 | +5.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
Welsh Assembly Election 2003: Gower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwina Hart | 10,334 | 43.6 | +8.2 | 7,972 | | |
| | Conservative | Stephen R. James | 4,646 | 19.6 | +5.5 | 4,967 | | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Sian M. Caiach | 3,502 | 14.8 | -9.2 | 3,825 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas J. Tregoning | 2,775 | 11.7 | -0.1 | 2,857 | | |
| | UKIP | Richard D. Lewis | 2,444 | 10.3 | New | 1,788 | | |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 1,406 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 458 | | |
| | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | 206 | | |
| | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | 62 | 0. | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,688 | 24.0 | +12.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 24,143 | 39.9 | −7.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
2003 Electorate: 60,523 Regional ballots rejected: 335

### Elections in the 1990s

Welsh Assembly Election 1999: Gower :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Edwina Hart | 9,813 | 35.4 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | Dyfan Rhys Jones | 6,653 | 24.0 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Aled D. Jones | 3,912 | 14.1 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Howard W. Evans | 3,260 | 11.8 | N/A |
| | Independent | Richard D. Lewis | 2,307 | 8.3 | N/A |
| | Independent | Ioan M. Richard | 1,755 | 6.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,160 | 11.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,700 | 47.5 | N/A |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |