The Vale of Glamorgan is one of the most prosperous seats in Wales, and also includes the urban area and traditional Labour stronghold of Barry. In May 1989 John Smith won the seat for Labour in a by-election with a 6,000 majority. This was reversed by the Conservatives in the 1992 general election but only just. Between 1992 and 1997 the Vale of Glamorgan had the distinction of having the smallest majority in Britain, 19 votes. In 1995 the Labour Party easily won control of the new Vale of Glamorgan unitary authority, and it was no surprise when Smith regained his old position as MP in 1997 with a majority of more than 10,000.

Recent electoral fortunes in the Vale have indicated the start of a Conservative recovery. In the council elections of May 1999 the Conservatives won some 16 seats and now govern in coalition with Plaid Cymru. In the Assembly election, the Conservatives' share of the vote actually decreased from 1997, and though the Labour vote fell more dramatically (54% to 35%), they held on to the seat. At the same time Plaid Cymru's vote went up from 6 to 24%, leaving the seat close to becoming a three-way marginal. In May 2000 a council by-election was held in Plaid Cymru's Vale seat which saw a 12.2% rise in the Conservative vote, while the other parties saw their support fall. Although Plaid Cymru held the seat, it did provide an indication to both Labour and the Conservatives that the key to winning the Vale of Glamorgan is in securing the Plaid Cymru vote.

Parliamentary Statistics pre-Election 2001

Labour majority 10,532 (19.5%)  Conservative target 153  Labour marginal
MP John Smith
1997 (Turnout 80.0%)
Labour	29,054	53.9%
Conservative	18,522	34.3%
Liberal Democrat	4,945	9.2%
Plaid Cymru	1,393	2.6%

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For Vale of Glamorgan 2001 Election result - click here.