Aberavon has been a traditionally Labour seat, now open to renewed competition following the retirement of the former Secretary of State for Wales and Attorney General, Sir John Morris. First elected to Parliament in October 1959, he was the longest serving MP in Wales.
The first Labour Prime Minister, Ramsay Macdonald also held this seat between 1922 and 1929.
In the 1997 General Election, it was the eighth safest seat in Wales - with the Lib Dems overtaking the Conservatives to take second place, with 11.3% of the vote. Plaid Cymru trailed in fourth place, with a mere 5.8%, but in the 1999 Assembly elections, leap-frogged into second place, with 22.3%.
In September 1997, the local authority area recorded the highest level of support in the Devolution Referendum.
Aberavon is an industrial constituency, with a skyline dominated by the smoking towers of the nearby steel works and petro-chemical complex at Baglan.
Overlooking this industrial belt, are the 850 acres of parklands at Margam Country Park, including the Margam Maze, the Orangery built in 1789, and the impressive gothic Mansion House.