Cardiff Central (Senedd Cymru constituency)

Cardiff Central (Welsh: Canol Caerdydd) 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 eight constituencies in the South Wales Central electoral region, which elects four additional members, in addition to eight constituency members, to produce a degree of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Not to be confused with Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency).

Cardiff Central
Senedd Cymru borough constituency
Cardiff Central shown within the South Wales Central electoral region and the region shown within Wales
Current Senedd Cymru borough constituency
Created1999
PartyLabour
MSJenny Rathbone
Preserved countySouth Glamorgan

History

From 1999 Cardiff Central was a safe seat for the Liberal Democrats. However the seat was lost to Labour in 2011 with a huge 14.7% swing. In 2016 this was the Liberal Democrats target seat with their candidate Eluned Parrott a current regional AM for South Wales Central. The result actually saw a very slight increase in Labour's majority in a very disappointing night for the Liberal Democrats. The seat remains one of the most marginal in the assembly.

Furthermore in 2016 two former Big Brother (UK) participants were the candidates for Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives.

Boundaries

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

The other seven constituencies of the region are Cardiff North, Cardiff South and Penarth, Cardiff West, Cynon Valley, Pontypridd, Rhondda and Vale of Glamorgan.

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
ElectionMemberPartyPortrait
1999Jenny RandersonLiberal Democrat
2011 Jenny Rathbone Labour
2018 Independent
2019 Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s
Welsh Assembly Election 2016: Cardiff Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jenny Rathbone 10,016 38.4 +0.5
Liberal Democrats Eluned Parrott 9,199 35.3 −2.4
Conservative Joel Williams 2,317 8.9 −6.2
Plaid Cymru Glyn Wise 1,951 7.5 +0.3
UKIP Mohammed Islam 1,223 4.7 +4.7
Green Amelia Womack 1,150 4.4 +4.4
Independent Jane Croad 212 0.8 +0.8
Majority 817 3.1 +2.9
Turnout 26,068 45.6 +7.6
Labour hold Swing +1.7
Welsh Assembly Election 2011: Cardiff Central[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jenny Rathbone 8,954 37.9 +16.0
Liberal Democrats Nigel Howells 8,916 37.7 −13.4
Conservative Matt Smith 3,559 15.1 +1.1
Plaid Cymru Chris Williams 1,690 7.2 −1.1
Independent Mathab Khan 509 2.2 N/A
Majority 38 0.2
Turnout 23,628 38.0 +2.0
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +14.7

Elections in the 2000s
Welsh Assembly Election 2007: Cardiff Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jenny Randerson 11,462 51.2 −3.4
Labour Sue Lent 4,897 21.9 +2.0
Conservative Andrew Murphy 3,137 14.0 +2.5
Plaid Cymru Thomas Whitfield 1,855 8.3 −0.4
UKIP Frank Hughes 1,046 4.7 N/A
Majority 6,565 29.3 −5.4
Turnout 22,397 36.0 +3.0
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
Welsh Assembly Election 2003: Cardiff Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jenny Randerson 11,256 54.6 +12.4
Labour Geoff M. Mungham 4,100 19.9 −10.1
Conservative Craig S. Piper 2,378 11.5 −0.2
Plaid Cymru Owen John Thomas 1,795 8.7 −6.0
Independent Raja G. Raiz 541 2.6 N/A
Independent Captain Beany 289 1.4 N/A
Independent Madeleine E. Jeremy 239 1.2 N/A
Majority 7,156 34.7 +22.4
Turnout 21,052 33.7 −11.3
Liberal Democrats hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s
Welsh Assembly Election 1999: Cardiff Central
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jenny Randerson 10,937 42.3 N/A
Labour Mark Drakeford 7,769 30.0 N/A
Plaid Cymru Owen John Thomas 3,795 14.7 N/A
Conservative Stephen Jones 3,034 11.7 N/A
Socialist Alliance Julian Goss 338 1.3 N/A
Majority 3,168 12.3 N/A
Turnout 25,873 44.8 N/A
Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

References
  1. "Wales elections > Cardiff Central". BBC News. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 7 March 2011.
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