Neath (Senedd constituency)
# Neath (Senedd constituency)

Neath (Welsh: Castell-nedd) 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

Since the creation of the assembly the constituency has returned a Labour AM, with varying majorities, from 7.7% to 26.8%. The current incumbent Jeremy Miles is one of the first openly gay elected Members of the Senedd. Plaid Cymru are Labour's main opposition in the seat.

In the election in 2016 the constituency got the highest vote share from an Independent in Steve Hunt with 8.1% of the vote. Hunt was the only independent to save his deposit.

## Boundaries

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

The other six constituencies of the region are Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, 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 | Gwenda Thomas | Labour | |
| | 2016 | Jeremy Miles | Labour | |

## Elections

### Elections in the 2020s

2021 Senedd election: Neath :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jeremy Miles | 11,666 | 42.2 | +4.9 | 11,221 | 40.8 | +3.0 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Sioned Williams | 6,445 | 23.3 | -2.5 | 7,265 | 26.4 | -0.2 |
| | Conservative | Mathew Williams | 4,107 | 14.8 | +6.2 | 4,486 | 16.3 | +8.1 |
| | Independent | Steve Hunt | 2,418 | 8.8 | New | | | |
| | Green | Megan Lloyd | 1,038 | 3.8 | +1.5 | 1,098 | 4.0 | +1.3 |
| | Abolish | Simon Rees | 751 | 2.7 | New | 1,000 | 3.6 | -0.4 |
| | Propel | James Henton | 443 | 1.6 | New | 283 | 1.0 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Iain Clamp | 395 | 1.4 | -1.5 | 528 | 1.9 | -2.5 |
| | Reform UK | Sean Prior | 315 | 1.1 | New | 262 | 1.0 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 466 | 1.7 | -13.4 |
| | Independent | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | Caroline Jones | 433 | 1.6 | New |
| | Gwlad | Gwlad | Gwlad | Gwlad | Gwlad | 183 | 0.7 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 181 | 0.7 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 71 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 59 | 0.2 | -0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,221 | 18.93 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,578 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

Regional Ballot void votes: 174. Want of an Official Mark (23), Voting for more than ONE party or individual candidate (44), Writing or mark by which the Voter could be identified (0), Unmarked or Void for uncertainty (107)

### Elections in the 2010s

Welsh Assembly Election 2016: Neath :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Jeremy Miles | 9,468 | 37.3 | −16.1 | 9,570 | 37.8 | -10.3 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Alun Llewellyn | 6,545 | 25.8 | −0.8 | 6,736 | 26.6 | +2.6 |
| | UKIP | Richard Pritchard | 3,780 | 14.9 | New | 3,810 | 15.1 | +11.5 |
| | Conservative | Peter Crocker-Jaques | 2,179 | 8.6 | -3.1 | 2,067 | 8.2 | -2.6 |
| | Independent | Steve Hunt | 2,056 | 8.1 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Frank Little | 746 | 2.9 | −1.2 | 1,040 | 4.1 | +0.1 |
| | Green | Lisa Rapado | 589 | 2.3 | New | 682 | 2.7 | +0.8 |
| | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | Abolish | 1,012 | 4.0 | New |
| | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | Monster Raving Loony | 194 | 0.8 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 122 | 0.5 | +0.1 |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 74 | 0.3 | ±0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,923 | 11.5 | −15.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,363 | 45.8 | +4.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.65 | |

Welsh Assembly Election 2011: Neath :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gwenda Thomas | 12,736 | 53.4 | +10.0 | 11,514 | 48.1 | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Alun Llewellyn | 6,346 | 26.6 | −9.1 | 5,733 | 24.0 | |
| | Conservative | Alex Powell | 2,780 | 11.7 | 0.0 | 2,578 | 10.8 | |
| | BNP | Michael Green | 1,004 | 4.2 | New | 845 | 3.5 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mathew McCarthy | 983 | 4.1 | −5.1 | 948 | 4.0 | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 869 | 3.6 | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 504 | 2.1 | |
| | Welsh Green Party | Welsh Green Party | Welsh Green Party | Welsh Green Party | Welsh Green Party | 457 | 1.9 | |
| | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | 290 | 1.2 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 105 | 0.4 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 78 | 0.3 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,390 | 26.8 | +19.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23849 | 41.1 | −2.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +9.6 | |

Regional ballots rejected: 126

### Elections in the 2000s

Welsh Assembly Election 2007: Neath :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gwenda Thomas | 10,934 | 43.4 | −7.7 | 9,388 | | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Alun Llewellyn | 8,990 | 35.7 | +6.9 | 7,297 | | |
| | Conservative | Andrew Sivertsen | 2,956 | 11.7 | +2.6 | 2,519 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sheila Ramsay-Waye | 2,320 | 9.2 | 0.0 | 1,799 | | |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 1,222 | | New |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 860 | | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 802 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 387 | 0. | New |
| | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | Welsh Christian | 292 | | New |
| | Respect | Respect | Respect | Respect | Respect | 94 | 0. | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 86 | 0. | New |
| | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | Keith James - Independent | 83 | 0. | New |
| | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | Socialist Alternative (UK) | 78 | 0. | New |
| | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | 63 | 0. | New |
| | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | Joel Jenkins - Independent | 45 | 0. | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,944 | 7.7 | -14.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,200 | 43.5 | +4.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −7.3 | |

Welsh Assembly Election 2003: Neath :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Gwenda Thomas | 11,332 | 51.1 | +5.6 | 10,286 | | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Alun Llewellyn | 6,386 | 28.8 | −7.0 | 5,740 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Helen C. Jones | 2,048 | 9.2 | −0.6 | 1,891 | | |
| | Conservative | Chris B. Smart | 2,011 | 9.1 | +2.0 | 1,903 | | |
| | Welsh Socialist Alliance | David Pudner | 410 | 1.9 | 0.0 | | | |
| | Green | Green | Green | Green | Green | 1,001 | | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 510 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 405 | | |
| | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | Cymru Annibynnol | 212 | | |
| | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | ProLife Alliance | 88 | 0. | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,946 | 22.3 | +12.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,187 | 39.1 | −8.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.3 | |

2003 Electorate: 56,759 Regional ballots rejected: 381

### Elections in the 1990s

Welsh Assembly Election 1999: Neath :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Gwenda Thomas | 12,234 | 45.5 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | Trefor Jones | 9,616 | 35.8 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | David R. Davies | 2,631 | 9.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Jill F. Chambers | 1,895 | 7.1 | N/A |
| | Socialist Alliance | Nicholas Duncan | 519 | 1.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,618 | 9.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,895 | 48.0 | N/A |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
