TODAY’S the big day, with voters in Newport West going to the polls in a by-election to choose their new MP.
*Follow our live blog covering the election count and results through the night. Use the hashtag #NewportWestByElection to get involved.*
The vote was called following the death of Labour's Paul Flynn, who had represented the consistency on Westminster since 1987, last month.
And voters have a bumper crop of 11 candidates all vying for their votes.
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NEWPORT WEST BY-ELECTION: Hear from your candidates
The usual suspects of Labour, the Conservatives, Ukip, the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party are all standing. But voters will also be able to cast their vote for Renew, the Social Democrats Party (SDP), For Britain, the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party or the Democrats and Veterans Party.
Although this is a local by-election, it is being seen by many as a key test of opinion in the midst of the Brexit negotiations. When it was called it appeared it would be the first time voters had the chance to make their voices heard at the ballot box after the UK left the European Union. But Brexit has since been delayed past the original date of March 29 - how and if this will affect the by-election result remains to be seen.
In 2016 56 per cent of voters in Newport voted to leave the European Union - although it votes were counted by local government area rather than constituency meaning it is impossible to say with certainty how Newport West voted - and the by-election result will demonstrate whether attitudes have changed over the past nearly three years.
A victory for one of the pro-Brexit candidates would suggest Eurosceptic views have not changed since June 2016, but one of the parties calling for a second referendum or outright opposing Brexit coming out on top would suggest opinions have shifted.
Although Labour’s Ruth Jones has remained the bookies’ favourite throughout the campaign, and was 1/12 to win at Ladbrokes as the Argus went to press, it’s been a hotly contested by-election, with many of the parties putting significant resources into campaigning.
The Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport, where votes will be counted and the result declared tonight
Perhaps more surprisingly, Conservative Matthew Evans is third at 16/1, behind Ukip’s Neil Hamilton, who is at 8/1.
Meanwhile, Plaid Cymru candidate Jonathan Clark, June Davies of Renew, Liberal Democrat Ryan Jones and Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack are all at 100/1.
And anyone fancying a flutter on Hugh Nicklin of For Britain, Ian McLean of the SDP, Richard Suchorzewski of the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, or Phillip Taylor of the Democrats and Veterans Party can get odds of 250/1.
Paul Flynn’s majority never dropped below 2,700 in his almost 32 years in Parliament - and rose to 5,658 in 2017. But many have said a large part of this was a personal vote for him rather than Labour. The result of today’s vote will show how true this is.
Polls will be open from 7am until 10pm, with counting beginning shortly afterwards at the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales. Everyone living in Newport West who is registered to vote should have received a polling card with details of their nearest polling station - and many will have already cast their votes by post.
The result is expected in the early hours of Friday morning - visit southwalesargus.co.uk for full live coverage.
Full list of Newport West candidates:
- Ryan Jones, Liberal Democrats
- Ian McLean, Social Democratic Party
- Richard Suchorzewski, Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party
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