The 2007 National Assembly for Wales 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, as well as 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, Trish Law. Law had won her seat at a 2006 by-election. The one Forward Wales Assembly Member was elected as an independent before forming the party. The standings were otherwise identical to 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:
Electoral results
- Overall turnout – 43.7%
(source:)
Votes summary
Constituency nominations
NB: candidates in BOLD text were incumbent assembly members before the election
- Trish Law had defended the seat she won in the 2006 by-election. Then and now, she was standing as an independent, but was affiliated with the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group.
- Ron Davies and John Marek stood as independents, but were members of and continued to play an active role in Forward Wales. Marek was the party's leader, while Davies was their Policy Director. Neither was elected on 3 May.
Regional lists
Mid and West Wales
- RESULT: Labour – 2 seats; Plaid Cymru – 1 seat; Conservative – 1 seat
North Wales
- RESULT: Conservative – 2 seats; Plaid Cymru – 1 seat; LibDem – 1 seat
South Wales Central
- RESULT: Conservative – 2 seats; Plaid Cymru – 2 seats
South Wales East
- RESULT: Plaid Cymru – 2 seats; Conservative – 1 seat; LibDem – 1 seat
- Mohammad Asghar was the first ethnic minority member of the Assembly for Plaid Cymru but on 8 December 2009, he switched to the Conservatives
- Veronica German succeeded Mike German as the Liberal Democrat AM following his appointment to the House of Lords.
South Wales West
In South Wales West, there were also party lists from the Communist Party of Britain, Christian Peoples Alliance, Respect Party, Socialist Labour Party, Welsh Christian Party in addition to two independents, Keith James and John Hudson Jenkins.
New members
Thirteen of the members elected to the Assembly in the election were not members of the previous Assembly, including Gareth Jones, who sat in the Assembly from 1999 to 2003 and lost his seat in that year's election.
- Mohammad Asghar, Plaid Cymru, South Wales East
- Angela Burns, Welsh Conservative, Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
- Alun Davies, Welsh Labour, Mid and West Wales
- Andrew R. T. Davies, Welsh Conservative, South Wales Central
- Paul Davies, Welsh Conservative, Preseli Pembrokeshire
- Nerys Evans, Plaid Cymru, Mid and West Wales
- Chris Franks, Plaid Cymru, South Wales Central
- Lesley Griffiths, Welsh Labour, Wrexham
- Bethan Jenkins, Plaid Cymru, South Wales West
- Gareth Jones, Plaid Cymru, Aberconwy (previously represented Conwy, 1999–2003)
- Darren Millar, Welsh Conservative, Clwyd West
- Nick Ramsay, Welsh Conservative, Monmouth
- Joyce Watson, Welsh Labour, Mid and West Wales
Defeated members
Nine sitting AMs were defeated at the polls.
- Glyn Davies, Welsh Conservative, Mid and West Wales
- Tamsin Dunwoody, Welsh Labour, Preseli Pembrokeshire
- Lisa Francis, Welsh Conservative, Mid and West Wales
- Christine Gwyther, Welsh Labour, Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
- Denise Idris Jones, Welsh Labour, Conwy (defeated in Aberconwy)
- Laura Anne Jones, Welsh Conservative, South Wales East
- John Marek, Independent, Wrexham
- Alun Pugh, Welsh Labour, Clwyd West
- Catherine Thomas, Welsh Labour, Llanelli
Retiring members
Four sitting AMs did not offer themselves for re-election.
- David Davies, Welsh Conservative, Monmouth
- Janet Davies, Plaid Cymru, South Wales West
- Sue Essex, Welsh Labour, Cardiff North
- Owen John Thomas, Plaid Cymru, South Wales Central
National election, 2003
Due to boundary changes, the composition of the outgoing Assembly did not reflect the Assembly that was elected in May 2003 (see National Assembly for Wales constituencies and electoral regions). The main changes were in northwestern Wales, where the constituencies of Conwy, Caernarfon, and Meirionydd nant Conwy were replaced by Aberconwy, Arfon and Dwyfor Meirionnydd.
See also
- 2007 Scottish Parliament election and 2007 United Kingdom local elections the same day
- One Wales, the resultant coalition agreement.
References
External links
- Results page from BBC News Online
- The Press Association's boundary change site
- Wales@Westminster newslog – BBC Wales' Parliamentary correspondent David Cornock's diary on political life
- BBC Wales Politics page
- Betsan Powys, BBC Wales' political editor, blogsite
- Blamerbell Briefs (Welsh Assembly blogger)
- Wales Elects blogsite
