Flintshire

Flintshire is in North East Wales and is one of the most English areas in the Principality. It lies along the Dee Estuary, opposite the Wirral. At the foot of the estuary, it shares a border with Cheshire, and includes the area of Saltney which is effectively a suburb of Chester. The A55 expressway connects Flintshire with North West England and many of the small villages along the motorway are being developed into houses for commuters working in England The main urban centres are Mold, Flint, Holywell, Deeside and Buckley. The area around Shotton, Queensferry and Connah's Quay is highly industrial in contrast to the rural areas in the north and west. Strong links with England could produce a low 'yes' vote or a low turnout here in the referendum in September.

The constituencies of Delyn and Alyn & Deeside lie within this area. The level of Welsh speaking in Alyn & Deeside which borders Cheshire is low at 9.6%. In Delyn it is 17.8%, closer to the national average of 18.7%. Both constituencies are Labour seats, though Delyn was represented by a Conservative until 1992. Labour has a majority on the council, winning 46 of 72 seats in the 1995 elections. On the council there are 16 Independents,. 5 Liberal Democrats, 3 Conservatives and one representative from both Plaid Cymru and the Green party.

Results of 1979 referendum:

		Yes		No		Turnout
All Wales		20%		80%		58.3%
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%