Vale voters to decide on next Welsh government (From Barry And District News)

Vale voters to decide on next Welsh government

VALE of Glamorgan voters will soon decide just who they want to represent them in the Welsh Government for the next four years.

On May 1, polling stations around Wales open for the second National Assembly elections, with the Vale offering four candidates to chose from. For Labour, Jane Hutt is standing for re-election.

She is the Health Minister for the National Assembly as well as the constituency Member for the Vale.

Married with two children, Jane lives in the Parade.

David Melding is the candidate representing the Conservative party in the Vale.

Single, David lives in Marine Drive and is the Health and Social Services Spokesperson for the Welsh Conservative Party's National Assembly Group.

He is a member of the Health and Social Services Committee and the Committee on Equality of Opportunity.

Standing for Plaid Cymru is Dinas Powys resident Chris Franks.

A father of three, Chris lives in Highwalls Avenue.

He is the Chairman of the Lifelong Learning scrutiny committee, a governor of local schools and a member of Barry Action.

And for the Welsh Liberal Democrats, Nilmini Priyanga De Silva is standing for her party in the elections.

The 30-year old from Swindon works as a parliamentary researcher for the Brecon and Radnor MP Roger Williams in Westminster.

She has two children and is looking to move into the Vale of Glamorgan very soon.

Labour currently holds sway with Rhodri Morgan as First Minister.

While there was a 46 percent voter turnout in 1999, Welsh bookies reckon this year will be a total flop, with a 15 to 20 percent drop.

Jack Brown Bookmakers say voter apathy is all important.

Their favourite is 3/1 odds on 37 to 38 percent, 4/1 on 41 to 42 percent and 5/1 on 33 to 34 percent turnouts.

Jack Brown is betting on the Vale of Glamorgan turning blue this May.

Spokesman Karl Williams said: "The Vale is one of the 'piping hot' areas for this election, where anything could happen.

Jane Hutt and David Melding, both spokesmen for Health are against each other.

So we are offering odds of 8/11 David Melding, even money on Jane Hutt, 10/1 on Chris Franks for Plaid Cymru and 100/1 for Nilmim De Silva and the Welsh Liberal Democrats.

And we're giving 2/1 on Labour not getting an overall majority, with 6/4 against them getting between 25 and 27 seats."

But what is the background to the Welsh Assembly?

Why do we need it and more importantly, why should we bother to vote?

The Assembly is still relatively young.

It came about after the Government published the White Paper 'A Voice for Wales', in July 1997.

This outlined proposals for devolution in Wales, which were then endorsed in a referendum in September that same year.

Parliament passed two acts which enabled the transfer of the devolved powers and responsibilities from the Secretary of State for Wales to the Assembly to take place on July 1, 1999.

Within its powers, the Assembly develops and implements policies, which should reflect the particular needs of the people of Wales.

Decisions about these issues are made by politicians who are accountable, through the ballot box, to voters in Wales.

Wales remains part of the UK and the Secretary of State for Wales and MPs from Welsh constituencies continue to have seats in Westminster.

Laws passed by Parliament in Westminster still apply to Wales.

The elections for the first Assembly were held on May 6, 1999, with future elections held every four years.

The Assembly has 60 elected Members and each voter has two votes.

The first vote is used to elect a local or constituency member in the same way as MPs are elected to the House of Commons.

Forty Assembly Members are elected on this 'first past the post' basis, one from each constituency in Wales.

The second vote is used to elect 20 additional members, on a regional basis, to ensure that the overall number of seats for each political party reflects the share of the vote they receive.

This is known as the additional member system (AMS), a form of proportional representation.

There are five electoral regions, based on the European Parliamentary Constituencies created in 1994, and each region returns four members to the Assembly.