Aberavon (electoral ward)

The electoral ward of Aberavon electoral ward includes the communities of Baglan and Baglan Bay, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.[1] Baglan falls within the parliamentary constituency of Aberavon.

Aberavon

Location of Aberavon ward within
Neath Port Talbot County Borough
Principal area
Ceremonial county
CountryWales
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
UK Parliament
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament
Councillors
  • Scott Bamsey (Plaid Cymru)
  • vacant
  • Nigel Hunt (Plaid Cymru)

Overview

It is based upon the historic town of Aberavon. Aberavon Ward is bounded by the wards of Sandfields West and Sandfields East to the south-west; Baglan to the north; Port Talbot to the east and Margam to the south. The ward boundaries are defined by the roads surrounding it: the M4 Motorway to the north east; the A4241 to the north-west; Afan Way to the south-west and the River Afan to the south-east.

The Aberavon Ward can be roughly divided into two parts. There is the residential area to the southeastern part of the ward beside the River Afan. The north western area consists of areas of industrial estate land called the Baglan Industrial Park which includes a number of out of town retail premises as well as business and manufacturing premises.

Aberavon is currently a ward for the purposes of Neath Port Talbot unitary authority elections. Since 1995 it has been represented by Labour, Social Democrat and Plaid Cymru councillors.

County council elections

21st century

In the 2017 local council elections, the results were:[2]

Candidate Party Votes Status
Scott BamseyPlaid Cymru543Plaid Cymru gain
Steffan ap DafyddLabour500Labour hold
Nigel HuntPlaid Cymru491Plaid Cymru gain
Diane ThomasPlaid Cymru485
Colin ClementLabour475
Keith PriddleLabour442
Ceri GoldingIndependent376
John DaviesIndependent313
Mark JonesIndependent307
Marian LewisIndependent265
Cen PhillipsLiberal Democrats260

In July 2020, Labour councillor, Steffan ap Dafydd, passed away.[3] The by-election for his replacement was planned for 6 May 2021.

In the 2012 local council elections, the electorate turnout for Aberavon was 35.84%. The results were:

Candidate Party Votes Status
Ceri GoldingLabour751Labour gain
Mark JonesLabour740Labour gain
Anthony TaylorSocial Democratic Party702Social Democratic Party hold
Barbara TraharLabour613
John SullivanSocial Democratic Party556
Jeff DinhamSocial Democratic Party550
Paul Nicholas-JonesPlaid Cymru185

Following the election all three elected councillors left their respective parties and sat as unaffiliated councillors. Jones and Golding were deselected as candidates prior to the following May 2017 election, and decided to stand as Independents.[4]

History 1889-1974

Aberavon first became an electoral ward in the late nineteenth century with the formation of Glamorgan County Council.

Glamorgan County Council, 1889-1974

In 1889, Richard Jenkins, a local tinplate manufacturer became the first Liberal member for Aberavon, defeating John Morgan Smith.

Aberavon 1889
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Jenkins 401 53.5
Conservative John Morgan Smith 348 46.5
Majority 53 7.0

Following Jenkins's elevation to the aldermanic bench, Smith won the seat.

Aberavon by-election 1889
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative John Morgan Smith 418
Liberal Evan Davies 347
Majority 71

Smith held the seat at the elections of 1892, 1895, 1898, 1901, 1904 and 1907.

Aberavon Borough Council

Aberavon was also an electoral ward of the Aberavon Borough Council which was reformed and extended in 1861. In 1921, the old borough was merged with Margam Urban District Council, formed in 1894 to create the Port Talbot Municipal Borough.

References
  1. "Aberavon Ward Profile" (PDF). Neath Port Talbot Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  2. "Election results for Aberavon: County Borough Council - Ordinary Elections - Thursday, 4th May, 2017". Neath Port Talbot Council. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  3. "Sadness and shock as much loved former Cefn Hengoed teacher and Neath Port Talbot county councillor Steffan ap Dafydd dies suddenly". Wales Online. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. Gemma Parry (14 March 2017). "Councillors deselected for "not being Labour enough"". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
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