Wales · 75,785Boundary · 2023

Newport West & Islwyn

Follow⇄ Compare

Created in the 2023 boundary review, replacing Newport West.

Dispatch
Apr 2026

A new constituency created in the 2023 boundary review. Won by Lab in its first election in 2024. Covers Newport (Newport), Risca and Blackwood. Population 93,367. Recorded crime is 100% below the national average.

Ruth Jones has been making headlines through her chairmanship of the Welsh Affairs Committee, which in March 2026 published a report calling on the government to pause expansion of HMP Parc following the deaths of 17 inmates -- a significant intervention on a major local institution. She has also broken with her party on a handful of notable occasions: voting against government regulations expanding the Public Order Act to criminalise infrastructure interference, and acting as a teller on multiple assisted dying amendments in June 2025, consistently pushing for tighter safeguards against the voluntary stopping of eating and drinking being used to meet eligibility criteria. Away from the chamber, she has championed a Fur Imports Bill backed by 1.5 million petition signatures and raised concerns over delays to the Ajax armoured vehicle programme and its impact on local jobs.

At 87% voting participation and 96.9% party alignment, Jones is a broadly loyal Labour MP with slightly above-average engagement. Her stance profile shows strong support for workers' rights and progressive taxation, but notably low alignment on pro-business and tough-on-crime measures. She deviates from her Labour colleagues most clearly on end-of-life autonomy -- voting more frequently in favour of assisted dying access and safeguards -- and less frequently in support of armed forces welfare measures. Her 86 parliamentary contributions span economy, health, social care, and defence, reflecting a generalist rather than narrowly specialist approach.

426
Commons votes
This parliament
£28k
Median income
HMRC · 2024
75.8k
Electorate
2024 GE

Recorded crime is 100% below the national average.

Current Member of Parliament

Ruth Jones

Ruth Jones

Labour Party

Ruth Jones is the Labour MP for Newport West and Islwyn, and has been an MP continually since 4 April 2019.

Notable Votes

MPs voted on new regulations expanding the Public Order Act 2023 to criminalise interference with key national infrastructure, such as energy, transport, and water systems. This extends powers introduced to tackle disruptive protest tactics used by groups like Just Stop Oil.

MP voted NoAgainst party majorityLikely whipped

MPs voted on the Third Reading of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — the final Commons vote on whether to pass the assisted dying legislation in its amended form. Passing Third Reading sends the Bill to the House of Lords.

MP voted NoAgainst party majority

Vote on whether to prevent someone from qualifying as 'terminally ill' under the assisted dying bill solely because they have voluntarily stopped eating and drinking. The amendment aimed to close a potential loophole where a person might use self-starvation to meet the terminal illness criteria they would not otherwise meet.

MP voted NoAgainst party majority

Sign up free to read the full briefing on Ruth Jones.

Sign up free

Voting at a Glance

A new constituency created in the 2023 boundary review. Won by Lab in its first election in 2024. Covers Newport (Newport), Risca and Blackwood. Population 93,367. Recorded crime is 100% below the national average.

2024 General Election

§ 06This week in Westminster.Live · today’s sittingOrder Paper · refreshed daily

Jones’s scheduled Commons activity this week — whipped divisions, oral questions, debates — drawn from the House of Commons Order Paper.

§ 07The record, at a glance.441 divisions voted

Two readings of the same data. Issue volume shows where Jones has cast the most ballots — a proxy for engagement, not direction. Notable votes are the moments where the whip was free or where they broke ranks.

Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted · cumulative this Parliament
Economy
84
Taxation
79
Employment
46
Crime & Policing
45
Education
39
Welfare and Benefits
30
Notable votes
Free votes and rebellions — moments the MP’s own judgment matters more than the whip
Draft Public Order Act 2023 (Interference With Use or Operation of Key National Infrastructure) Regulations 202514 Jan 2026
No
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Third Reading20 Jun 2025 · free vote
No
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Amendment 9420 Jun 2025 · free vote
No
§ 08The local picture.17 wards

Constituencies are not uniform. Below — the local council make-up, key facts worth knowing, and the neighbouring seats on either side.

WardCouncillorVotesParty
AbercarnAndy Whitcombe743Labour P
AbercarnDenver Preece653Labour P
Allt Yr YnDavid Thomas Fouweather1,253Conserva
Allt Yr YnMatthew Evans1,324Conserva
Allt Yr YnPat Drewett1,366Labour P
ArgoedWalter Williams356Labour P
BlackwoodAndrew Farina-Childs1,695Independ
BlackwoodKevin Etheridge1,877Independ
BlackwoodNigel Stuart Dix1,634Independ
Cefn Fforest PengamMarina Chacon-Dawson856Labour P
Cefn Fforest PengamShane Williams929Labour P
Cefn Fforest PengamTeresa Heron886Labour P
Population (2021 Census)
93,367
Electorate 75,785 · 2024 register
Median income
£27,700
HMRC SPI 2024
Households renting privately
12.2%
England average 20.0%
Schools
42
0 primary · 0 secondary
Next · dig deeperEvery division, question, speech and committee record

Mine the full
record → Data view

Filter divisions, search written questions, read every speech since the election. Sortable, searchable, downloadable.

More constituency data is being added, including local issue analysis and historical trends. Learn about our methodology. View data sources & attribution.