Pontardawe is an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot

Neath Port Talbot

Neath Port Talbot is a county borough and one of the unitary authority areas of Wales. Neath Port Talbot is the 8th most populous county in Wales and the third most populous county borough....

 county borough, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. It is a division of the Pontardawe

Pontardawe

Pontardawe is a town of some 5,000 inhabitants in the Swansea Valley in south Wales...

 community and falls within the parliamentary constituency of Neath

Neath (UK Parliament constituency)

Neath is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election and one Assembly Member by the first past the post system of election.- The Constituency of Neath :The constituency...

.

Pontardawe is bounded by the wards of Glanamman

Glanamman

Glanaman is a small town lying on the River Amman in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It has a population of around 2,000 people...

 of Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...

, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen

Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is a village in Neath Port Talbot, south Wales. Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen is also a parish made up of the electoral wards of Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen and Lower Brynamman.-Location:...

 and Cwmllynfell

Cwmllynfell

Cwmllynfell is the name of a village, community and electoral ward in Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.- Amenities :Cwmllynfell has its own local rugby union team - Cwmllynfell RFC. Also, a Welsh Primary School, CK's Supermarket, Post Office, village hall, church, chapel and a grooming parlour...

 to the north; Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera is a former industrial village in the upper Swansea Valley, on the River Tawe, about north-east of Swansea. It is an electoral ward and a community in the unitary authority of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, comprising a resident population of just over 3,000 people, approximately 60% of whom...

 and Godre'r Graig

Godre'r Graig

Godre'r Graig is village and an electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough, Wales.The village developed alongside the coal workings at the Tarenni Colliery, which closed in 1949....

 to the east; Rhos

Rhos, Neath Port Talbot

Rhos is a village in the Swansea Valley, located between Neath and Pontardawe, in Neath Port Talbot county borough, South Wales.-History:Originally part of the Cilybebyll estate, the Primrose Colliery was developed from the mid-1800's, close to the village. On 13 October 1858, when owned by Morgan...

 to the southeast; Allt-Wen and Trebanos

Trebanos

Trebanos is a village in the Swansea Valley, Wales. It forms, together with Craig Trebanos and a part of Pontardawe, the Trebanos electoral ward of Neath Port Talbot county borough....

 to the south; and Mawr

Mawr

Mawr is both an electoral ward and a community of the City and County of Swansea, in south Wales, U.K. Mawr has its own elected community council.Mawr falls within in the parliamentary constituency of Gower...

 and Clydach

Clydach (electoral ward)

Clydach is the name of an electoral ward, a community and a town in the City and County of Swansea, Wales, UK. The town has its own elected community council serving the community....

 of Swansea

Swansea

Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

 to the west.

The ward consists mostly of mountainous grassland and open moorland with a scattering of farms. The urbanised area in the southeast of the ward is part of the town of Pontardawe.

In the 2008 local council elections

United Kingdom local elections, 2008

The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....

, the electorate turnout was 26.48%. The results were:

Candidate	Party	Votes	Status
Michael James	Labour	819	Labour hold
Linet Purcell	Plaid Cymru	718	Plaid Cymru hold
Robert Williams	Plaid Cymru	705
Martha Lambourne	Labour	666