This has been Rhodri Morgan's seat since 1987, and apart from the 1983 election, it had been a safe Labour seat since 1929.
The former Welsh secretary and speaker of the House of Commons George Thomas held the seat between 1945-83.
While Thomas was a fervent opponent of devolution, Rhodri Morgan has been consistently pro-devolution, and vacates the seat to focus on his role as Wales' first secretary, a position he’s held since February 2000.
The seat has a wide social mix, ranging from council estates, inner-city areas and prosperous suburbs.
It includes the wealthy areas of Llandaff, Radyr and St Fagans, which, while socially middle class, politically at least, have tended to remain Labour.
The Museum of Welsh Life at St Fagans, and Llandaff Cathedral attract many tourists to these areas, but the constituency also includes the Ely area - undoubtedly one of the most socially deprived areas in Wales.
Perhaps one symptom of this social exclusion can be seen in Glan Ely High School - the only school in Wales that has twice been condemned as "failing."
Canton and Riverside - traditional late-Victorian terraced residential areas - continue to follow Pontcanna, in terms of undergoing major social changes.