Aberconwy
Notional 2005 Results:
Labour: 9119 (31.5%)
Conservative: 8875 (30.6%)
Liberal Democrat: 5733 (19.8%)
Plaid Cymru: 4186 (14.4%)
Other: 1080 (3.7%)
Majority: 243 (0.8%)
Actual 2005 result
Conservative: 9398 (27.9%)
Labour: 12479 (37.1%)
Liberal Democrat: 6723 (20%)
Plaid Cymru: 3730 (11.1%)
Green: 512 (1.5%)
UKIP: 298 (0.9%)
Other: 517 (1.5%)
Majority: 3081 (9.2%)
2001 Result
Conservative: 8147 (23.7%)
Labour: 14366 (41.8%)
Liberal Democrat: 5800 (16.9%)
Plaid Cymru: 5665 (16.5%)
UKIP: 388 (1.1%)
Majority: 6219 (18.1%)
1997 Result
Conservative: 10085 (24.3%)
Labour: 14561 (35%)
Liberal Democrat: 12965 (31.2%)
Plaid Cymru: 2844 (6.8%)
Referendum: 760 (1.8%)
Other: 345 (0.8%)
Majority: 1596 (3.8%)
Boundary changes: underwent major changes in the boundary review to bring it in line with the preserved Welsh county boundaries. Conwy lost Bangor to the new
Profile: Aberconwy consists of the town of Conwy itself, the Victorian seaside resort of Landudno and the Conwy Valley, including Llanrwst and Betws-Y-Coed. Prior to 1997 the seat had been held by the Conservative party for 27 years. After the retirement of Wyn Roberts in 1997 Labour won it from third place. In the 1999 Welsh assembly elections the seat was a surprise win for Plaid, but was won again by Labour in 2003, with Plaid a close second. The removal of Labour voting Bangor under the new boundaries once again makes the seat a prime target for the Tories.
Current MP: Betty Williams(Labour) born 1944 in Bangor. Married with 2 children. Educated at the University of Wales. Former freelance media researcher and charity worker. Elected 1997. Was a long standing councillor in the Gwynedd part of the old Conwy constituency and was mayor of Arfon from 1990-1991. Rebelled against the government on foundation hospitals and the war in Iraq. Hobbies include opera and sheepdog trials. Will retire at the next election (more information at They work for you)
Candidates: 
Guto Bebb (Conservative) born 1968, Wrexham. Educated at the University of Wales. Partner in an Economic Development Consultancy. A former Plaid Cymru constituency chairman he defected after being ousted as local chair for his opposition to the single currency. Contested Ogmore by-election 2002, Conwy in 2003 Welsh Assembly elections, Conwy 2005.
Ronnie Hughes (Labour) Conwy councillor and former leader of the council. Former Aberconwy councillor.
Mike Priestley (Liberal Democrat) Born 1966, Colwyn Bay. Educated at Ysgol Aberconwy. Royal mail delivery office manager. Conwy councillor.
Phil Edwards (Plaid Cymru) Educated at Ysgol Y Gader. Former policeman. Contested Clwyd West in 2007 Welsh Assembly elections.
2001 Census Demographics
Total 2001 Population: 55388
Male: 48.1%
Female: 51.9%
Under 18: 20.3%
Over 60: 28.8%
Born outside UK: 3.3%
White: 99%
Asian: 0.3%
Mixed: 0.4%
Other: 0.2%
Christian: 77.6%
Full time students: 2.5%
Graduates 16-74: 18.8%
No Qualifications 16-74: 30.7%
Owner-Occupied: 73.2%
Social Housing: 12% (Council: 7.7%, Housing Ass.: 4.3%)
Privately Rented: 11.3%
Homes without central heating and/or private bathroom: 16%
I am in favour of forcing by-elections in ANY ward or constituency where a sitting representative elected under one party label then goes off and joins another party label. This practice is an insult to all those people that supported them and should be discouraged.
And yes, that includes when people cross the floor to join my party too-although the argument at the moment is ‘well if such and such isn’t going to resign, neither am I’. There should be a legal requirement to have an immediate test of public opinion when a representative defects.
Having said that, I do think that if someone elected for a party decides to become an independent, thats ok because they are not going against everything they previously said to get elected in doing so.
I would also say that it would be difficult to argue that there should be any sanctions on a representative for a top up regional seat who defects-because there is no provision for by-elections in such constituencies. For a regional member to resign would merely allow their former party to appoint a replacement.
There is of course an obvious answer to that-abolish the regional top up seats and go back to genuine FPTP!
There can be circumstances in which a person stops being a member of the party group on the council, while still being a member of the party. In a small group, there could be a “clash of personalities” were two people just could not work together. Then there are cases were the Local Party bans a councillor from party membership because they have accepted an invitation to be in the County Cabinet. That has happened several times in Denbighshire over the last ten years.
Absolutely, and in those circumstances no sanctions should be imposed. As I said above, those people would sit as independents anyway.
But the moment they go off and join another political party-then they betray those that elected them and tose that worked for them. That is the moment when a by-election must be held.