Election 2011: Cardiff Turns Red
Q. What’s black and white and red all over?
A. A violent panda.
And so is Cardiff this morning as voters in all four Welsh Assembly constituencies in the capital elected Labour candidates.
In Cardiff South & Penarth Vaughan Gething, with a majority of 22.8%, becomes the first ever black Assembly Member, while in Cardiff West Cardiff University academic Mark Drakeford faces the tough task of following in the footsteps of former assembly leader Rhodri Morgan. Both of these seats were Labour before the election.
But change has swept through Cardiff North and Cardiff Central. In the former, Julie Morgan defeated Jonathon Morgan with a majority of 5.2%, a 9.8% swing from Conservative to Labour, while Cardiff Central, a Liberal Democrat stronghold thanks to the high proportion of students in the area, saw a tight race go Labour’s way after a recount. Jenny Rathbone defeated Councillor Nigel Howells by just 38 votes, a majority of 0.2%, a swing of 14.7% from Lib Dem to Labour.
It was a bad night for Liberal Democrats across Wales (and the UK), with them losing Montgomeryshire to the Conservatives and the BNP polling ahead of them in Blaenau Gwent, Islwyn, Neath and Torfaen.
The majority of North Wales has yet to declare so the anatomy of the Welsh Assembly is not known at this time, thought the possibility of a Labour-led Assembly, rather than the Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition that has been in place for the past four years, remains.
What does this all mean for Cardiff? I haven’t the foggiest. But what do you reckon about last night’s results?
P.S. The results of the AV Referendum (also voted on yesterday) should be announced by 8pm tonight.
Info » World, Europe, UK & Wales » Politics » Welsh Politics
IMAGES: Have you? by Olivander & bilingual by charmingman
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