North Wales local elections 2017: Ynys Mon constituency profile

The last council election on Anglesey was held in 2013 – 12 months after the rest of Wales.

The council had been run by Welsh Government commissioners appointed by Cardiff Bay in 2011, following years of political infighting.

But councillors were given back control after AM’s were confident the authority had “turned a corner.”

Since 2013 the island has been split into 11 multi-member wards, with the 40 former wards replaced by larger divisions of two or three members apiece.

These changes had been imposed by the Welsh Government, who were accused at the time by some Independents of “gerrymandering” in favour of candidates standing for certain political parties.

This time there will be 65 candidates fighting for one of the 30 available seats – significantly down from the 107 that stood in 2013.

The main issues on the island include the National Grid’s controversial plans to build pylons across Anglesey instead of using underground linking to the new Wylfa Newydd power plant.

Cuts in local council spending is also a concern to many voters, with some schools on the island considering the possibility of making redundancies to make ends meet.

Current make up of the council:

Plaid Cymru – 12

Independent – 10

Labour – 2

Revolutionist Group – 2

Unaffiliated – 2

Lib Dem – 1

Vacant – 1

European referendum

In total, 19,333 islanders opted to leave the EU, while 18,618 voted to remain, making it one of the closest results in Wales.

Election of a Member of Parliament, 2015

Albert Owen MP, Labour, 10,871

John Rowlands, Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales 10,642

Michelle Willis, Welsh Conservative Party Candidate, 7,393

Nathan Gill UKIP Wales / UKIP Cymru 5121

Mark Geoffrey Thomas Rosenthal Welsh Liberal Democrats 751

Liz Screen Socialist Labour Party 148

National Assembly for Wales Election Results 2013

Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru – The Party of Wales, 12,601

Stephen William Churchman, Welsh Liberal Democrats, 309

Neil Fairlamb, Welsh Conservative Party Candidate, 1,843

Nathan Gill, UKIP Wales, 3,099

Kathrine Jones, Socialist Labour Party, 348

Tal Michael, Welsh Labour, 3, 435

Welsh language

38,568 people on the island say they can speak Welsh, 28,835 say they cannot speak the language.

Population

Anglesey had a population of 69,913 at the 2011 census, making it the smallest county in North Wales.

Candidates

There are 60 candidates running for 30 seats in next week’s election.