Our Campaigns - Race Detail Page



New User Account

"A collaborative political resource."

UK Parliament - Dwyfor Meirionnydd

RACE DETAILS

Parents

> United Kingdom > Wales > Wales > Dwyfor Meirionnydd

Office

Parliament

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

00, 0000 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

May 06, 2010 - 01:00am

Polls Close

May 06, 2010 - 04:00pm

Term Start

May 17, 2010 - 12:00pm

Term End

May 17, 2015 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Ralphie

Last Modified

Ralphie May 06, 2010 09:05pm

Data Sources

[Link]

Description

BBC Profile:
Meirionnydd and the Llyn peninsula are combined as the new constituency of Dwyfor Meirionydd for the 2010 general election. Meirionnydd had been a Liberal seat from 1945 until 1966, when Labour won it. Plaid Cymru's Dafydd Elis-Thomas took the seat in February 1974 and held it in revised forms as Meirionnydd from 1974-83 and Meirionnydd Nant Conwy from 1983-92, when he became Lord Elis Thomas. Elfyn Llwyd held the seat in 1992 for Plaid Cymru and also won in 1997, 2001 and 2005. His 2005 advantage over second-placed Labour was 6,614. The Llyn peninsula was formerly part of the Caernarfon constituency, also held by Plaid Cymru at every general election between February 1974 and 2005.

At the last general election Meirionnydd Nant Conwy had the smallest number of constituents of any seat in England and Wales, just 32,000. To create this new seat, the Boundary Commission opted to wed the Llyn peninsula from the old Caernarfon seat to Meirionnydd. The parts of the old seat that were taken from the county of Conwy have moved into the new Aberconwy seat. The electorate of the new Dwyfor Meirionnydd seat is still small at around 49,000, but is much nearer the UK average.

While Meirionnydd Nant Conwy took parts of the Conwy, the new Dwyfor Meirionnydd seat is entirely within Gwynedd.

To find out what might have happened had this boundary change been in force at the last election, see a notional - or estimated - result below.

This seat is in many ways the spiritual home of Welsh nationalism and the Welsh language. Owain Glyndwr assembled the last Welsh Parliament here in 1404 in Dolgellau. He also held a parliament in Harlech in 1405. Harlech is the more important of the two and was Glyndwr's seat of government. The fall of Harlech Castle in 1409 and the capture of Glyndwr's family marked the end of the war.

The principal towns are Pwllheli and Porthmadog in Dwyfor and Dolgellau, Bala and Blaenau Ffestiniog in Meirionydd. However, the seat is largely rural. It takes in a large part of the Snowdonia National Park, Snowdon itself is on the northern border with the new Arfon constituency.

The traditional heavy industry of slate mining is largely a thing of the past. However, the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff was constructed with Welsh slate. Tourism and hill farming are the main activities.

The Llyn peninsula is a popular holiday destination. The Welsh Language and Heritage Centre is on the north coast and the peninsular is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Other tourist destinations in the constituency include the magnificent castle at Harlech.

Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
PC 15,228 (50.77%)
Lab 6,522 (21.74%)
C 4,253 (14.18%)
LD 3,284 (10.95%)
UKIP 709 (2.36%)

PRIMARY/OTHER SCHEDULE

KEY RACE? 0.0000000000 Average