Bridgend (Assembly constituency)

Coordinates: 51°30′25″N 3°34′52″W / 51.507°N 3.581°W

Bridgend

Welsh Assembly county constituency
Bridgend shown as one of the 40 Welsh Assembly constituencies
Created:	1999
Electoral region:	South Wales West
AM:	Carwyn Jones
Party:	Labour
Preserved counties:	Mid Glamorgan and West Glamorgan

Bridgend 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 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

Bridgend can be considered a relatively safe Labour seat. The Current First Minister Carwyn Jones has been the AM since the creation of the assembly. The current Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns contested the seat in 1999 and 2003.

Boundaries

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

The other six constituencies of the region are Aberavon, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Swansea East and Swansea West.

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

The member for the constituency since 1999 has been Carwyn Jones, who became First Minister of Wales in 2009.

Period		Member	Party
	1999	Carwyn Jones	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

Welsh Assembly Election 2016: Bridgend

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Carwyn Jones	12,166	45.3	−10.9
	Conservative	George Jabbour	6,543	24.4	−3.6
	UKIP	Caroline Jones	3,919	14.6	+14.6
	Plaid Cymru	James Radcliffe	2,569	9.6	+1.0
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Pratt	1,087	4.0	−3.2
	Green	Charlie Barlow	567	2.1	+2.1
Majority			5,623	20.9	-7.3
Turnout				44.6	+3.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.6

Welsh Assembly Election 2011: Bridgend^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Carwyn Jones	13,499	56.2	+15.9
	Conservative	Alex Williams	6,724	28.0	−1.9
	Plaid Cymru	Tim Thomas	2,706	8.6	−6.0
	Liberal Democrats	Briony Davies	1,736	7.2	−8.0
Majority			6,775	28.2	+17.8
Turnout			24,035	40.8	−0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+8.9

Elections in the 2000s

Welsh Assembly Election 2007: Bridgend

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Carwyn Jones	9,889	40.3	−2.5
	Conservative	Emma L. Greenow	7,333	29.9	−2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Warren	3,730	15.2	+1.7
	Plaid Cymru	Nick H. Thomas	3,600	14.7	+5.9
Majority			2,556	10.4	−0.5
Turnout			24,552	41.2	+5.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Welsh Assembly Election 2003: Bridgend

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Carwyn Jones	9,487	42.8	+5.6
	Conservative	Alun Cairns	7,066	31.9	+11.7
	Liberal Democrats	Cheryl A. Green	2,980	13.5	−2.2
	Plaid Cymru	Keith Parry	1,939	8.8	−10.9
	UKIP	Tim C. Jenkins	677	3.1	N/A
Majority			2,421	10.9	−6.1
Turnout			22,113	35.4	−6.4
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.1

Elections in the 1990s

Welsh Assembly Election 1999: Bridgend

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Carwyn Jones	9,321	37.2	N/A
	Conservative	Alun Cairns	5,063	20.2	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Jeff R. Canning	4,919	19.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Rob O. Humphreys	3,910	15.6	N/A
	Independent	Allan Jones	1,819	7.3	N/A
Majority			4,258	17.0	N/A
Turnout			25,032	41.6	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

References

1. "BBC News: Election 2011: Bridgend". 6 May 2011.