2007 National Assembly for Wales election


The 2007 National Assembly election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the National Assembly for Wales. It was the third general election. On the same day local elections in England and Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament election took place. This election was preceded by the previous Assembly election in 2003.
The election saw Plaid Cymru make gains at the expense of Labour, although Labour remain the largest party in the Assembly, as they have since it began. Plaid stated they would make a referendum on devolving further powers to the National Assembly a condition for a coalition. Wales reported that senior civil servants before the election were preparing for three possible coalition administrations: Labour/Liberal Democrat, Labour/Plaid Cymru or Plaid Cymru/Liberal Democrat/Conservative.
Discussions between Plaid Cymru, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to form a "Rainbow" Coalition broke down, and a coalition was eventually agreed between Labour and Plaid Cymru.

Major parties

The Welsh Labour Party before the election had 29 seats, Plaid Cymru had 12, the Welsh Conservative Party 11, the Welsh Liberal Democrats 6, Forward Wales 1, with 1 independent. Mrs Law won her seat at a 2006 by-election, the seat having been won by Labour in the 2003 election. The one Forward Wales Assembly Member was elected as an independent before forming the party. Otherwise, the standings represent the 2003 results.

Electoral method

In general elections for the National Assembly for Wales, each voter has two votes in a mixed member system. 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. The overall result is approximately proportional.

Pre-election forecasts

Predictions for the seat distribution were made by a number of polls before the election:
Forecast byDatesLabPlaidConLDother
Institute of Welsh Affairs2007-01-1325131372
NOP/ITV2007-04-0625121472
Western Mail2007-04-2725151082

Electoral results

Constituency nominations

NB: candidates in BOLD text were incumbent assembly members before the election
ConstituencyConservativeLabourLiberal DemocratsPlaid CymruOthers
AberavonDaisy Meyland-SmithBrian GibbonsClaire WallerLinett Purcell
AberconwyDylan Jones-EvansDenise Idris JonesEuron HughesGareth Jones
Alyn and DeesideWill GallagherCarl SargeantPaul BrightonDafydd PasseWilliam Crawford
ArfonGerry FrobisherMartin EaglestoneMel Ab OwainAlun Ffred JonesElwyn Williams
Blaenau GwentBob HaywardKeren BenderGareth LewisNatasha AsgharTrish Law
Brecon and RadnorshireSuzy DaviesNeil StoneKirsty WilliamsArwel Lloyd
BridgendEmma GreenowCarwyn JonesPaul WarrenNick Thomas
CaerphillyRichard FoleyJeff CuthbertHuw PriceLindsay WhittleRon Davies
Cardiff CentralAndrew MurphySue LentJenny RandersonThomas WhitfieldFrank Hughes
Cardiff NorthJonathan MorganSophie HoweEd BridgesWyn JonesDai Llewellyn
Cardiff South and PenarthKaren RobsonLorraine BarrettDominic HanniganJason Toby
Cardiff WestAlun Craig WilliamsRhodri MorganAlison GoldworthyNeil McEvoy
Carmarthen East and DinefwrHenrietta HensherKevin MadgeIan WaltonRhodri Glyn Thomas
Carmarthen West and South PembrokeshireAngela BurnsChristine GwytherJohn GossageJohn Dixon
CeredigionTrefor JonesLinda GraceJohn DaviesElin JonesDafydd Morgan
Clwyd SouthJohn BellKaren SinclairFrank BiggsNia DaviesDavid Rowlands
Clwyd WestDarren MillarAlun PughSimon CroftPhil EdwardsWarwick Nicholson
Cynon ValleyNeil JohnChristine ChapmanMargaret PhelpsLiz Walters
DelynAntoinette SandbachSandy MewiesIan MatthewsMeg ElisDerek Bigg
Dwyfor MeirionnyddMike WoodDavid PhillipsSteve ChurchmanDafydd Elis-Thomas
GowerByron DaviesEdwina HartNick TregoningDarren PriceAlex Lewis
IslwynPaul WilliamsIrene JamesMark J MaguireAlan PritchardKevin Etheridge
LlanelliAndrew MorganCatherine ThomasJeremy TownsendHelen Mary Jones
Merthyr Tydfil and RhymneyGiles HowardHuw LewisAmy KitcherGlyndwr Cennydd JonesClive Tovay, Jeff Edwards
MonmouthNick RamsayRichard ClarkJacqui SullivanJonathan T ClarkEd Abrams
MontgomeryshireDan MunfordRachel MaycockMick BatesDavid Thomas Bruce Lawson
NeathAndrew SilvertsenGwenda ThomasSheila WayeAlun Llewelyn
Newport EastPeter FoxJohn GriffithsEd TownsendTrefor PuwAndrew Constantine
Newport WestMatthew EvansRosemary ButlerNigel FlanaganBrian HancockMike Blundell & James Harris
OgmoreNorma Lloyd NeslingJanice GregoryMartin PlantSian Caiach
PontypriddJanice CharlesJane DavidsonMike PowellRichard Rhys Grigg
Preseli PembrokeshirePaul DaviesTamsin DunwoodyHywel DaviesJohn Osmond
RhonddaHoward ParsonsLeighton AndrewsKaren RobertsJill Evans
Swansea EastBob DowdleValerie LloydHelen Ceri ClarkeDanny Bowles
Swansea WestHarri Lloyd DaviesAndrew DaviesPeter MayIan TitheringtonRichard Lewis
TorfaenGraham SmithLynne NeaglePatrick LeggeRhys ab ElisIan Williams
Vale of ClwydMatt WrightAnn JonesMark YoungMark Jones
Vale of GlamorganGordon KempJane HuttMark HooperBarry ShawKevin Mahoney
WrexhamFelicity ElphickLesley GriffithsBruce RobertsSiôn Aled OwenJohn Marek, Peter Lewis
Ynys MônJames RoachJonathan AustinMandi AbrahamsIeuan Wyn JonesFrancis Wykes, Peter Rogers

Mid and West Wales

British National PartyChristian Peoples AllianceCommunist Party of BritainConservative PartyGreen Party of England and WalesIndependentIndependentLabour PartyLiberal DemocratsPlaid CymruSocialist Labour PartyUKIPVeritasWelsh Christian Party
1.Ian Si'reeJoseph Antony BiddulphRick NewnhamNick BourneLeila KierschCaroline EvansGwynoro JonesAlun DaviesCllr. Bill PowellNerys EvansAlun DaviesClive EastonIain SheldonAdam Bridgman
2.Chris Edwards-HarrillElaine BlakeGlyn DaviesTimothy John FosterJoyce WatsonJulianna HughesDavid SeniorLuke HumeNick PowellM. Williams
3.Lloyd Thomas MorganGraham MorganLisa FrancisMarilyn ElsonAlun Wyn RichardsCllr. Ken HarrisDelyth RichardsPatricia Ann BowenDennis TaylorJ. Morgan
4.Marie MurrayClive EliassenO. J. WilliamsJohn JenningsRhiannon StoneSelwyn RunnettMrs. Liz Saville-RobertsMaggie DaviesVirginia WhinnyatesM. Davies
5.Richard MinshullChris SimpsonDr. Parvaiz AliCllr. David PeterMartin Wiltshire
6.M.J.H. JefferiesEmma Hayes
7.Alexander Viol

In South Wales West, there are also party lists from the Communist Party of Britain, Christian Peoples Alliance, RESPECT, Socialist Labour Party, Welsh Christian Party and two independents.

New members

Thirteen of the members elected to the Assembly in the election were not members of the previous Assembly; they include Gareth Jones, who sat in the Assembly from 1999 to 2003 but lost his seat in that election.
Nine sitting AMs were defeated at the polls.
Four sitting AMs did not offer themselves for re-election.
Due to boundary changes the composition of the outgoing Assembly will not reflect the Assembly that was elected in May 2003. The main changes are in the North west of Wales where the constituencies of Conwy, Caernarfon, and Meirionydd nant Conwy are replaced by Aberconwy, Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd.