Conwy

Conwy is a sparsely populated area in North Wales, over 40% of its land lies within the Snowdonia National Park. Llandudno and Colwyn Bay lie on the coast and it is a popular retirement area for people not only from Wales, but from Liverpool and Manchester too. Meirionydd Nant Conwy, one of the constituencies which falls partly within the area has more second homes than any other constituency in England and Wales (9.3%) and there is some tension between the need for development to serve the rural communities and conservation of the natural environment. The area is heavily dependent on tourism which has been encouraged by the re-building and expansion of the A55 coastal road which links the area with the conurbations of the north west of England.

Politically the area is mixed; no one party has a majority in the county council. Labour has 19 councillors, the Liberal Democrats 18, while the Independents have 10, Conservatives 9 and Plaid Cymru 4. Of the constituencies that fall partly or wholly within its boundaries, Clwyd South is a safe Labour seat while Clwyd West and Conwy were held by the Conservatives until the 1997 general election, when they fell to Labour. Meiryonnydd Nant Conwy which just reaches into Conwy, is a Plaid Cymru seat.

Results of 1979 referendum:

		Yes		No		Turnout
All Wales		20%		80%		58.3%
Gwynedd		34%		66%		63.4%
Clywd		21%		79%		51.1%

Beaufort Research/Western Mail poll published on 2 July 1997:

		Agree		Disagree		Don't know
All Wales		43%		29%		28%
North Wales		42%		33%		29%