Neath

Boundary changes: insignificant. Neath loses 11 voters to Gower due to an adjustment in the border between Neath Port Talbot and Swansea.

Profile: a former coal mining area and Labour stronghold in the South Wales valleys, Neath is a mixture of industrial and rural areas covering the Neath and Dulais valleys and some of upper Swansea valley, running up to the foothills of the Brecon Beacons. Around a quarter of the population are Welsh-speaking, and Neath and Port Talbot had the highest proportion in favour of devolution in the 1997 referendum – Plaid Cymru have come second in the last two elections, albeit a exceptionally long way behind Labour.

Current MP: Peter Hain(Labour) born 1950, Nairobi, Kenya. Educated at Emanuel School, Wandsworth and Queen Mary College. Former researcher for the CWU. Peter Hain has one of the most colorful backgrounds on the Labour benches. He was born to South African parents who were prominent anti-apartheid activists, jailed under the South African regime. The Hain family feld South Africa in 1966 and settled in London, where Peter Hain headed the attempted disruption of the South African cricket team`s 1970 tour. In 1976 he was tried and aquitted for bank robbery in a case of mistaken identity, possibly arranged by the South African secret service. Originally a member of the Liberal party and President of the Young Liberals, Hain switched to Labour in 1977. He was first elected to Parliament as MP for Neath in the 1991 by-election, and served as an opposition whip during the last Conservative government. In 1997 he became a junior minister in the Welsh office and was promoted to Minister of State in 1999, serving in the Foreign Office, DTI and as Minister for Europe. In 2002 he entered the cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales, in 2003 he gained the additional role of Leader of the House of Commons. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales 2005-2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2007-2008. Stood in the Labour deputy leadership election in 2007 and was forced to resign from government after the electoral commission referred to the police his failure to report some of the donations to his campaign. He returned to government as Secretary of State for Wales in 2009 (more information at They work for you)

2010 election candidates:
Emmeline Owens (Conservative)
Peter Hain(Labour) born 1950, Nairobi, Kenya. Educated at Emanuel School, Wandsworth and Queen Mary College. Former researcher for the CWU. Peter Hain has one of the most colorful backgrounds on the Labour benches. He was born to South African parents who were prominent anti-apartheid activists, jailed under the South African regime. The Hain family feld South Africa in 1966 and settled in London, where Peter Hain headed the attempted disruption of the South African cricket team`s 1970 tour. In 1976 he was tried and aquitted for bank robbery in a case of mistaken identity, possibly arranged by the South African secret service. Originally a member of the Liberal party and President of the Young Liberals, Hain switched to Labour in 1977. He was first elected to Parliament as MP for Neath in the 1991 by-election, and served as an opposition whip during the last Conservative government. In 1997 he became a junior minister in the Welsh office and was promoted to Minister of State in 1999, serving in the Foreign Office, DTI and as Minister for Europe. In 2002 he entered the cabinet as Secretary of State for Wales, in 2003 he gained the additional role of Leader of the House of Commons. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales 2005-2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2007-2008. Stood in the Labour deputy leadership election in 2007 and was forced to resign from government after the electoral commission referred to the police his failure to report some of the donations to his campaign. He returned to government as Secretary of State for Wales in 2009 (more information at They work for you)
Frank Little (Liberal Democrat) born 1941. Educated at Oldershaw Grammer. Former civil servant, now a semi-retired freelance IT consultant. Neath Port Talbot councillor. Contested Neath 1997, South Wales West in 2007 Welsh Assembly election.
Alun Llywelyn (Plaid Cymru) born 1961, Swansea. Educated at Ysgol Gyfun Ystalyfera and the University of Wales. Director of Support Services for a housing association. Neath Port Talbot councillor.
James Bevan (UKIP)
Michael Green (BNP)