LABOUR will be defending a majority of 2,218 votes after holding onto the Islwyn seat since 2003 with Irene James.

But despite Ms James not standing for re-election this time, the Welsh Labour Party say they are confident they will retain the seat.

It hasn’t always been a safe Labour seat, though, with Islwyn producing a shock result at the first Assembly elections in 1999 when Plaid Cymru took the seat.

This was after Brian Hancock beat the Labour candidate by 600 votes.

But Ms James, who worked as a special needs teacher at Risca Primary School and was formerly an election agent for former Islwyn MP Don Touhig, claimed the seat for Labour in 2003.

She held onto it in 2007 with 8,883 votes of the total 23,564 votes cast.

But Independent Kevin Etheridge wasn’t far behind, claiming 6,665 votes.

The turnout for Islwyn in 2007 was 43 per cent, up from 37.5 per cent in 2003.

Created in 1983, Islwyn was originally part of the Bedwellty ward.

Previously a mining district, the borough forms part of Caerphilly, comprising Risca as well as the towns of Blackwood, Newbridge, Pontllanfraith and Oakdale.

The parliamentary seat is currently held by Labour’s Chris Evans, who won the seat with 17,069 votes last year, 49.2 of the total votes cast. The majority was 12,215.

Mr Evans took over from outgoing MP Don Touhig, for whom he was a researcher after Mr Touhig announced his retirement in January last year. Mr Touhig was made a Lord in June 2010.