Charles III
49-577: Dowlais ( Welsh pronunciation: [ˈdɔu̯lai̯s] ) is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil , in Wales . At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlais is notable within Wales and Britain for its historic association with ironworking ; once employing, through
98-483: A net gain of one seat in Wales. On 6 May 2016 , Welsh Labour won 29 of the 60 seats in the Assembly elections and secured a fifth term in government, in a minority coalition with the sole remaining Welsh Lib Dem member, Kirsty Williams . In 2017 cabinet was reshuffled with Dafydd Elis-Thomas joining it. Plaid Cymru also participated in an alliance with the party from 2016 to 2017. Welsh Labour supported remain at
147-645: A similar announcement in England). In 2002, free bus passes were introduced in Wales, differently to England. Welsh Labour achieve 40% the Assembly election vote in 2003. In 2004, the Richard Commission suggested increasing the legislative powers of the Assembly. In 2006, the Government of Wales Act 2006 granted the Assembly new powers. The assembly formed the Welsh Assembly government, which
196-561: Is a division of land in Wales that forms the lowest tier of local government in Wales . Welsh communities are analogous to civil parishes in England but, unlike English parishes, communities cover the whole of Wales. There are 878 communities in Wales. Until 1974 Wales was divided into civil parishes . These were abolished by section 20 (6) of the Local Government Act 1972 , and replaced by communities by section 27 of
245-465: Is separate from the legislature. In 2007, Welsh Labour introduced free prescriptions in Wales. In the 2007 elections , Welsh Labour's share of the vote fell to 32.2 per cent, its second lowest since the UK general election of 1923 . Its seat number fell by four to 26: 11 more than the second largest party, Plaid Cymru. On 25 May Rhodri Morgan was again nominated as First Minister. On 27 June, Morgan concluded
294-448: The 2016 EU membership referendum , though most Welsh voters in that referendum ultimately chose leave. Labour won a plurality of votes and majority of seats in Wales at the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, with the overall trend of the party's fortunes broadly mirroring its results across Britain; gaining seats and vote share in 2017 and losing both in 2019. I think it is [...] really important and fascinating that after 22 years
343-601: The 2021 Senedd election on the New Statesman podcast, Known Unknowns In the 2021 Senedd election , Welsh Labour's share of the vote rose by about 5 per cent and the party won half the seats in the Senedd, equalling its best-ever result in 2003. A few months later the party formed an agreement with Plaid Cymru over a wide range of policy including included free-at-the-point-of-use social care , expanding services for children and restrictions on second homes. The deal
392-577: The Dowlais Iron Company , over 7,000 people, the works being the largest in the world at one stage. The name is derived from the Welsh du meaning 'black' and glais meaning 'stream'. Dowlais came to prominence in the 18th and 19th centuries because of its iron and steelworks . By the mid-1840s there were between 5000 and 7000 men, women and children employed in the Dowlais works. During
441-528: The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 and the Local Government (Wales) Measure 2011 . Welsh Labour Social democracy Socialism Communism Northern Ireland Scotland Wales Other Welsh Labour ( Welsh : Llafur Cymru ), formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales ( Welsh : Y Blaid Lafur yng Nghymru ), is an autonomous section of
490-577: The Mabinogion . The Guest Memorial Library (1863); commissioned by Lady Guest and designed by Charles Barry , still stands. St John's Church , a Grade II listed building , contains the tombs and burial places of several notable people, including Sir John Guest who had the church built in 1827. St John's closed in 1997 but has received several hundred thousand pounds of Welsh Government money to preserve it. In its heyday, Dowlais had numerous nonconformist chapels. Almost all have disappeared although
539-654: The One Wales agreement with Plaid Cymru, which was approved by Labour rank and file on 6 July. On 1 December 2009, Carwyn Jones became the new leader of Welsh Labour. In March 2010, Welsh Labour twice refused to cross the PCS union picket line , leading to strong criticism for not doing so from the Welsh Conservatives and the Welsh Liberal Democrats . Carwyn Jones argued that this refusal
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#1732773010434588-591: The Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in the House of Commons , where it also has its own whip . Since 2016, Welsh Labour's whip in the PLP has been Jessica Morden MP. The Welsh Executive Committee contains representatives of each section of the party – government, MPs , MSs , MEPs , councillors , trade unions and Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs – the basic unit of organisation throughout
637-632: The United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics . Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922, every Assembly and Senedd election since 1999, and all elections to the European Parliament in the period 1979–2004 and in 2014. Welsh Labour holds 27 of the 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament , 30 of
686-471: The 1950s, the swing against Labour in Britain was matched in Wales, where voters showed themselves just as unwilling to endorse Michael Foot 's markedly more left-wing manifesto. The Labour Party in Wales polled a mere 37.5 per cent of the popular vote, yielding 20 seats. A rampant Conservative Party, by contrast, captured 14 seats (including three of the four Cardiff constituencies) and exceeded 30 per cent of
735-645: The 1970s, but it and the Conservatives gained ground in Welsh-speaking and coastal Wales respectively, where Labour's roots were shallower. By the 1979 general election , the Labour Party in Wales held 22 of the 36 parliamentary seats, albeit with a 48 per cent share of the vote. This relative decline was eclipsed by a dramatic fall in Labour support at the 1983 General Election . In contrast to
784-689: The 60 seats in the Welsh Senedd and 576 of the 1,264 councillors in principal local authorities including overall control of 10 of the 22 principal local authorities. Welsh Labour is formally part of the Labour Party, not separately registered with the Electoral Commission under the terms of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act . In 2016, the Labour Party Conference voted to institute
833-477: The Conservatives' Welsh representation and polling 55 per cent. The stage was set for another devolution referendum , this time won by the narrowest of margins. In 1998, the leader of the Labour Party in Wales Ron Davies , resigned. In 1999, Wales voted in its first Assembly members; Plaid Cymru achieve 28% of the vote but Labour won with 38% and governed as a minority government. In February 2000,
882-479: The Crown . In Wales, all town councils are community councils. There are now three communities with city status: Bangor , St Asaph and St Davids . The chair of a town council or city council will usually have the title mayor (Welsh: maer ). However, not every community has a council. In communities with populations too small to sustain a full community council, community meetings may be established. The communities in
931-781: The Labour Party). All Wales's 32 CLPs are registered as accounting units with the Electoral Commission. Welsh Labour headquarters in Cardiff organises the party's election campaigns at all levels of government Community Councils , Unitary Authorities , the Senedd and Westminster , supports the CLPs and branches in membership matters and performs secretarial functions for the Senedd Labour Party (SLP) and
980-471: The Labour party collapsed to just 52 seats the 16 seats it won in the southern Welsh valleys constituted its largest regional stronghold anywhere in Britain. After difficult years in the 1920s and '30s, following World War II there was keen desire in Wales like elsewhere in the UK to avoid a return to the conditions of the interwar era and the Labour victory at the 1945 general election was strongly endorsed by
1029-667: The Opposition Andrew RT Davies MS ( C ) Shadow Cabinet ( current ) Prime Minister Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP ( L ) Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP (L) Principal councils ( leader list ) Corporate Joint Committees Local twinning see also: Regional terms and Regional economy United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections (1979–2020) Local elections Police and crime commissioner elections Referendums A community ( Welsh : cymuned )
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#17327730104341078-567: The Welsh Labour Party is still going to be an essential component of the next Welsh Government. London has become a Labour heartland, Scotland is very much not a Labour heartland, seats that had reliably voted Labour up until 2010 have massively trended towards the Conservatives and yet the Welsh Labour party; the dude abides... Political reporter Stephen Bush discusses the long running success of Welsh Labour shortly before
1127-445: The Welsh electorate. In 1947, an all Wales unit was formed within the Labour Party for the first time with the merger of South Wales Regional Council of Labour and the constituency parties of north and mid Wales. This change was based on the Labour Party's support for central planning in the Welsh economy and was not at that stage any kind of endorsement of the idea of devolution. Labour expanded its dominance of Welsh politics in
1176-466: The Welsh vote and won 28 seats . The Wilson government gave the Labour Party in Wales the chance to enact its promise (following the Conservative government's appointment of a Minister of Welsh Affairs in the mid-1950s) to create the post of Secretary of State for Wales and a Welsh Office . At the 1966 United Kingdom general election , Labour's support in Wales reached a peak, winning 61% of
1225-593: The Wilson government to establish the Kilbrandon Commission , causing the Labour Party in Wales to consider once more the case for devolution – this time in its favour. Labour victory in the February 1974 general election pushed devolution onto the political agenda, culminating in a decisive vote against a Welsh Assembly in a 1979 referendum. Plaid Cymru's threat in the industrial heartland fell away in
1274-732: The buildings of Bethania (Independent) and Hebron (Calvinistic Methodist) are now used by evangelical congregations. Others have been demolished including Bryn Seion and Gwernllwyn. Dowlais is home to rugby union club, Dowlais RFC . Community (Wales) Heir Apparent William, Prince of Wales First Minister ( list ) Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS ( L ) Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies MS ( L ) Counsel General-designate – Elisabeth Jones Chief Whip and Trefnydd – Jane Hutt MS (L) Permanent Secretary Sixth Senedd Llywydd (Presiding Officer) Elin Jones MS ( PC ) Leader of
1323-772: The community boundaries within their area every fifteen years. The councils propose changes to the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales , which prepares a report and makes recommendations to the Welsh Government . If the Welsh Government accepts the recommendations, then it implements them using a statutory instrument . For example, in 2016 four new communities were created in the City and County of Cardiff . The legislation surrounding community councils in Wales has been amended significantly in
1372-456: The damage the conflict caused to the Liberals reputation contributed to a major shift in support towards Labour in industrial areas. In the 1922 general election , Labour won half the Welsh parliamentary seats. After 1922, Labour maintained consistent electoral dominance in Wales winning between 40% and 45% their at general elections for the rest of the interwar period. In 1931 , when
1421-477: The early 1950s, extending its influence in rural and Welsh speaking areas beyond its traditional industrial heartlands. Though Labour went into opposition after 1951, the Labour Party in Wales polled over 50 per cent of the popular vote at each general election, winning seemingly impregnable majorities in the valleys of south Wales. Aneurin Bevan , for example, was routinely returned for Ebbw Vale with 80 per cent of
1470-405: The early to mid 1800s the ironworks were operated by Sir John Josiah Guest and (from 1833) his wife Lady Charlotte Guest . Charlotte Guest introduced welfare schemes for the ironworkers. She provided for a church and a library. The school (dating from 1819) was improved and extended, becoming "probably the most important and most progressive not only in the industrial history of South Wales, but of
1519-545: The first assembly leader, Alun Michael resigned following a vote of no confidence on the matter of European funding for Wales. The new leader, Rhodri Morgan , rebranded the Labour Party in Wales as Welsh Labour, and in October that year, Welsh Labour and the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition lasting three years. In April 2001 the Welsh government announced free entry for museums and galleries (8 months after
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1568-603: The first leader of the Independent Labour Party , was elected as member for Merthyr Tydfil in 1900. When the National Union of Mineworkers affiliated to the party in 1908, their four sponsored Welsh MPs became Labour MPs. Over the next few years, there was a steady rise in the number of Labour councillors and MPs in Wales. Particularly after the First World War , an expanded electorate and
1617-409: The new Labour leader, Neil Kinnock . At the 1987 General Election the Welsh party polled 45 per cent, winning 24 seats and winning another two from the Conservatives at by-elections in 1989 and 1991. However, Conservative policy in Wales could be said to have helped to break the traditional compact between the Labour Party in Wales and the Welsh electorate. The party was ineffective when faced with
1666-539: The office of leader of Welsh Labour, a position currently held by Eluned Morgan . Welsh Labour has autonomy in policy formulation for the areas now devolved to the Senedd and in candidate selection for it. Party objectives are set by the Welsh Executive Committee (WEC), which plays a similar function to the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) in devolved responsibilities . Welsh Labour also has its own parliamentary group within
1715-423: The parish of Merthyr Tydfil . In 1872 the population was 15,590. Its total population at the 2011 census was 6,926. Dowlais was an electoral ward to Mid Glamorgan County Council from 1973 to 1996. Since 1996 Dowlais has been a ward to Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council . In 2003 Dowlais was represented by an independent councillor, John Pritchard, who was also Mayor of Merthyr Tydfil . Little remains of
1764-572: The party's association with various other radical causes including improving the welfare of the working classes. In 1893, the Independent Labour party was founded, it established branches in Wales, but did not initially gain mass appeal. In 1900, the Labour Representation Committee was founded by socialist societies and trade unions, the organisation from which the Labour Party would evolve. Keir Hardie ,
1813-587: The party's policy-making process. It also organises the annual conference – the sovereign decision-making body of the party in Wales – provides legal and constitutional advice and arbitrate on certain disciplinary matters. By the end of the 19th century, most of Wales' adult male population were able to vote. They predominantly supported the Liberal Party partially due to the influence of the Nonconformist religious movement on Welsh society as well as
1862-474: The post-World War II era. In the 2017 general election, the decline in parliamentary elections was reversed – Labour raised its vote share to 48.9 per cent, its highest in a general election in Wales since 1997, winning 28 of the 40 Welsh seats in Westminster. However, the 2019 general election saw the party again achieve a fairly poor result by historic standards. Contrastingly, the 2021 Senedd election saw
1911-459: The psychological trauma of restructuring and de-industrialising the Welsh economy. Meanwhile, the seemingly perpetual Conservative rule, based on its electoral power outside Wales, reignited debate within the Labour Party in Wales on devolution. Under John Smith , Labour committed itself to devolution for Wales and Scotland , a commitment that survived his early death. By 1997 , the Labour Party in Wales captured 34 of Wales's 40 seats, wiping out
1960-487: The same Act. The principal areas of Wales are divided entirely into communities. Unlike in England, where unparished areas exist, no part of Wales is outside a community, even in urban areas . Most, but not all, communities are administered by community councils , which are equivalent to English parish councils in terms of their powers and the way they operate. Welsh community councils may call themselves town councils unilaterally and may have city status granted by
2009-566: The swing in Wales were repeated across the UK, the Conservatives would have won a landslide victory of over 100 seats; in some, such as Pontypridd , Welsh Labour lost over 16 per cent of its vote. In the 2011 Welsh Assembly elections, Labour regained half the seats in the National Assembly. In the 2014 European Parliament election , Labour topped the poll in Wales with a swing of 7.9 percentage points. The 2015 general election saw Labour achieve its second lowest vote share in Wales during
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2058-551: The urban areas of the cities of Cardiff , Swansea and Newport do not have community councils. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census , there were 869 communities in Wales. 84 percent, or more than 730, have a council. They vary in size from Rhayader with an area of 13,945 hectares (34,460 acres) to Cefn Fforest with an area of 64 hectares (160 acres). They ranged in population from Barry with 45,053 recorded inhabitants to Baglan Bay with no permanent residents. The twenty-two principal area councils are required to review
2107-512: The vote and all but four of Wales's 36 parliamentary constituencies. Within three months, however, Gwynfor Evans sensationally captured Carmarthen for Plaid Cymru at a by-election and his party came close to victory at the 1967 Rhondda West and 1968 Caerphilly by-elections , achieving swings against Labour of 30 and 40 per cent respectively. The emergence of Plaid Cymru (and the Scottish National Party ) prompted
2156-401: The vote for the second election in succession. The Labour Party in Wales's problems were compounded by a strong SDP–Liberal Alliance performance, gaining 23 per cent of the vote, though few seats, at what was to be the height of its success. The miners' strike of 1984–1985 appeared to offer the Labour Party in Wales an electoral opportunity, despite the invidious position in which it placed
2205-408: The vote. The pattern was similar in some 15 other seats in the region. Through its actions in local government and proposals for central government the Labour Party in Wales was perceived to be a modernising party committed to investing in infrastructure and serious about providing jobs and improving public services. In the 1964 general election , the Labour Party in Wales polled some 58 per cent of
2254-522: The whole of Britain". In the 1850s, after Sir John's death, the works became under the control of a board of trustees. In 1865 the Bessemer steel making process was introduced to Dowlais, with £33,000 being spent on a new steelworks. Steel production at Dowlais eventually ceased in 1936 due to the Great Depression , although the iron foundry continued until 1987. Dowlais was originally part of
2303-518: The works that once sustained the community throughout the Victorian era until the 1930s, the two notable buildings that remain are the Engine House, now used a community centre and the stable block which is now social housing. Dowlais House, which has now been demolished, was once home to Sir John Josiah Guest and Lady Charlotte Guest , and it was at Dowlais House that Lady Guest translated
2352-493: Was ingrained in Labour's thinking At the 2010 UK general election which ended Labour's long period of government across the UK, Labour also lost seats and vote share in Wales mainly to the conservatives. At the end of the One Wales agreement in 2011 , Labour gained seats in the Welsh assembly at the expense of their Non-Conservative opponents. At the 2015 UK general election , Labour saw a slight uptick in vote share and made
2401-502: Was the third time the two parties had agreed to work together in the era of devolution. In recent years, there has been some decline for Labour in Wales. The 2009 European Parliament election saw the party fail to come first in an election in Wales for the first time since 1918 (finishing second behind the Conservatives ) and in the 2010 general election Labour had its worst general election result in Wales in its history. If
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