Llanelli (UK Parliament constituency)

Llanelli is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[n 1] From 1918 to 1970 the official spelling of the constituency name was Llanelly. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Since 2005, it is currently represented by Nia Griffith of the Labour Party.

For other uses, see Llanelli (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Llanelli (Senedd constituency).

Llanelli
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Llanelli in Wales
Preserved countyDyfed
Electorate59,266 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsLlanelli, Burry Port, Llangennech
Current constituency
Created1918
Member of ParliamentNia Griffith (Labour)
SeatsOne
Created fromEast Carmarthenshire
Overlaps
SeneddLlanelli, Mid and West Wales

The Llanelli Senedd constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999 (as an Assembly constituency).

The constituency is to retain its name and gain wards, as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the next United Kingdom general election.[2]

Boundaries

1918 The constituency was established in 1918, as a division of Carmarthenshire, located in the south east of the county. This area had, until 1918, been the southern part of the constituency of East Carmarthenshire.

It consisted of the then local authority areas of the Municipal Borough of Llanelly; the Urban Districts of Ammanford, Burry Port and Cwmamman; the Rural Districts of Lanelly and part of Llandilofawr (namely the civil parishes of Betws, Llandybie and Quarter Bach, and Ward I of the civil parish of Llandilo Rural)[3]

The division bordered Carmarthen to the west and north, Brecon and Radnor to the north east, Neath to the east, Gower to the south east and the sea to the south.

1950 In the next redistribution of constituencies in Wales, which took effect in 1950, the northern boundary of the constituency was slightly altered. Llanelly no longer bordered Brecon and Radnor and Gower was extended north and took over the part of the 1918 Neath constituency that had previously adjoined Carmarthenshire. The constituency area continued to include the same local authorities as in 1918 (apart from a spelling change to Llandilo for the part RDC included):[4]

  • The borough of Llanelly;
  • The urban districts of Ammanford, Burry Port and Cwmamman;
  • The rural district of Llanelly and the parish of Bettws in the rural district of Llandilo.

At the 1970 general election the official spelling of the constituency name was altered to Llanelli.[5] This followed the change in name of both the borough and rural district in 1966.[6][7][8]

1974 The constituency appears to have been unchanged by the redistribution. The local authorities remained the same (apart from spelling changes):

  • The borough of Llanelli;
  • the urban districts of Ammanford, Burry Port and Cwmamman;
  • the rural district of Llanelli and the parish of Bettws in the rural district of Llandeilo.[9]

The substantial local government changes which took effect in 1974 did not affect this redistribution as it used the boundaries as they existed in November 1970 to construct parliamentary constituencies.[9]

1983 The redistribution altered the constituency by 8.4%. 96.2% of the new constituency had been in the old one. 3.8% of the electors came from the former Carmarthen constituency.

The area now formed part of the new county of Dyfed. The district level local government units contained in the constituency were the Borough of Llanelli and Wards 2–6 and 9 of the Borough of Dinefwr.

1997 In this redistribution the constituency was reduced so that it covered the same area as the Borough of Llanelli.

2010 After the United Kingdom general election in May 2010, the constituency has comprised the Carmarthenshire County electoral divisions of Bigyn, Burry Port, Bynea, Dafen, Elli, Felinfoel, Glanymor, Glyn, Hendy, Hengoed, Kidwelly, Llangennech, Llannon, Lliedi, Llwynhendy, Pembrey, Pontyberem, Swiss Valley, Trimsaran, Tycroes and Tyisha.

The constituency includes the whole of 9 Carmarthenshire communities (Kidwelly; Llanedi; Llanelli; Llanelli Rural; Llangennech; Llannon; Pembrey and Burry Port Town; Pontyberem; and Trimsaran).

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[10]Party
1918Josiah Towyn JonesCoalition Liberal
1922John Henry WilliamsLabour
1936 by-electionJim GriffithsLabour
1970Denzil DaviesLabour
2005Nia GriffithLabour

History

Llanelli has traditionally been an ultra-safe Labour seat, with a Labour MP representing the constituency since 1922. It was represented by one-time deputy leader of the Labour Party, Jim Griffiths, from 1936 until his retirement in 1970. In recent years however Labour's majority had been somewhat eroded by Plaid Cymru, who as of 2021 have won the equivalent seat in the Senedd in two of the six Senedd elections to date. At the 2015 general election, however, the Labour majority increased once again.

Elections
Llanelli election results

Elections in the 1910s
Jones
General election 1918: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Liberal Josiah Towyn Jones 16,344 53.1 N/A
Labour John Williams 14,409 46.9 N/A
Majority 1,935 6.2 N/A
Turnout 30,753 68.9 N/A
Registered electors 30,753
Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s
General election 1922: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Williams 23,213 59.3 +12.4
National Liberal George Clark Williams 15,947 40.7 -12.4
Majority 7,266 18.6 N/A
Turnout 39,160 80.3 +11.4
Registered electors 49,795
Labour gain from National Liberal Swing +12.4
General election 1923: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Williams 21,603 55.1 -4.2
Liberal Richard Thomas Evans 11,765 30.7 -10.0
Unionist Lionel Beaumont-Thomas 5,442 14.2 N/A
Majority 9,298 24.4 +5.8
Turnout 38,810 76.8 -3.5
Registered electors 49,825
Labour hold Swing
General election 1924: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Williams 20,516 52.9 -2.8
Liberal Richard Thomas Evans 18,259 47.1 +16.4
Majority 2,259 5.8 -18.6
Turnout 38,775 75.7 -1.8
Registered electors 51,213
Labour hold Swing
General election 1929: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Williams 28,595 55.4 +2.5
Liberal Richard Thomas Evans 19,075 36.9 -10.2
Unionist James Purdon Lewes Thomas 3,969 7.7 N/A
Majority 9,520 18.5 +12.7
Turnout 51,639 79.1 +3.4
Registered electors 65,255
Labour hold Swing +6.3

Elections in the 1930s
General election 1931: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Williams 34,196 65.3 +9.9
Conservative Frank J. Rees 18,163 34.7 +27.0
Majority 16,033 30.6 +12.1
Turnout 52,359 78.1 -1.0
Registered electors 67,047
Labour hold Swing
General election 1935: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Williams Unopposed
Registered electors 70,380
Labour hold
1936 Llanelli by-election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 32,188 66.8 N/A
National Liberal William Albert Jenkins 15,967 33.3 N/A
Majority 16,221 33.5 N/A
Turnout 48,155 68.4 N/A
Registered electors 70,380
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s
General election 1945: Llanelly[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 44,514 81.1 N/A
Conservative G O George 10,397 18.9 N/A
Majority 34,117 62.2 N/A
Turnout 54,911 74.9 N/A
Registered electors 73,728
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s
General election 1950: Llanelly[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 39,326 70.8 -10.3
Liberal Huw Thomas 7,700 13.9 N/A
Conservative D P Owen 6,362 11.5 -7.4
Plaid Cymru David Eirwyn Morgan 2,134 3.8 N/A
Majority 31,626 56.9 -5.3
Turnout 55,522 80.9 +6.0
Registered electors 68,655
Labour hold Swing
General election 1951: Llanelly[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 39,731 72.5 +1.7
Conservative Henry Gardner 11,315 20.6 +9.1
Plaid Cymru David Eirwyn Morgan 3,765 6.9 +3.1
Majority 28,416 51.9 -5.0
Turnout 54,811 81.6 +0.7
Registered electors 67,157
Labour hold Swing
General election 1955: Llanelly[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 34,021 66.6 -5.9
Conservative Trevor Skeet 10,640 20.8 +0.2
Plaid Cymru David Eirwyn Morgan 6,398 12.5 +5.6
Majority 23,381 45.8 -6.1
Turnout 51,059 78.7 -2.9
Registered electors 64,858
Labour hold Swing
General election 1959: Llanelly[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 34,625 66.7 +0.1
Conservative Henry Gardner 10,128 19.5 -0.7
Plaid Cymru David Eirwyn Morgan 7,176 13.8 +1.3
Majority 24,497 47.2 -4.6
Turnout 51,929 81.1 +2.4
Registered electors 64,048
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s
General election 1964: Llanelly[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 32,546 65.9 +0.8
Conservative Philip A. Maybury 6,300 12.8 -6.7
Liberal Esyr G. Lewis 6,031 12.2 N/A
Plaid Cymru Pennar Davies 3,469 7.0 -6.8
Communist Robert E. Hitchon 1,061 2.2 N/A
Majority 26,246 53.1 +5.9
Turnout 49,407 79.4 -1.7
Registered electors 62,235
Labour hold Swing
General election 1966: Llanelly[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jim Griffiths 33,674 71.4 +5.5
Conservative Jeremy C. Peel 7,143 15.2 +2.4
Plaid Cymru Pennar Davies 5,132 10.9 +3.9
Communist Robert E. Hitchon 1,211 2.6 +0.4
Majority 26,531 56.2 +3.1
Turnout 47,160 76.2 -3.2
Registered electors 61,868
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s
General election 1970: Llanelli[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 31,398 62.8 -8.6
Plaid Cymru Carwyn James 8,387 16.8 +5.9
Conservative Mary A. Jones 5,777 11.6 -3.6
Liberal Donald Lewis 3,834 7.7 N/A
Communist Robert E. Hitchon 603 1.2 -1.4
Majority 23,011 46.0 -10.2
Turnout 49,999 77.3 +1.1
Registered electors 64,650
Labour hold Swing
General election February 1974: Llanelli[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 28,941 57.8 -5.0
Conservative G Richards 7,496 15.0 +3.4
Liberal E J Evans 7,140 14.3 +6.6
Plaid Cymru R Williams 6,060 12.0 -4.8
Communist Robert E. Hitchon 507 1.0 -0.2
Majority 23,011 46.0 ±0.0
Turnout 50,144 77.3 ±0.0
Registered electors 64,076
Labour hold Swing
General election October 1974: Llanelli[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 29,474 59.4 +2.6
Liberal Michael Willis Gimblett 7,173 14.5 +0.2
Plaid Cymru R Williams 6,797 13.7 +1.7
Conservative G Richards 6,141 12.4 -2.6
Majority 22,301 45.0 -1.0
Turnout 49,585 76.9 -0.4
Registered electors 64,495
Labour hold Swing
General election 1979: Llanelli[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 30,416 59.5 +0.1
Conservative G D J Richards 10,471 20.5 +8.1
Liberal K D Rees 5,856 11.5 -3.0
Plaid Cymru H Roberts 3,793 7.4 -6.3
Communist Robert E. Hitchon 617 1.2 N/A
Majority 19,945 39.0 -6.0
Turnout 51,153 79.4 +2.5
Registered electors 64,429
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1983: Llanelli[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 23,207 48.2 −11.3
Conservative N Kennedy 9,601 20.0 −0.5
Alliance (Liberal) K D Rees 9,076 18.9 +7.4
Plaid Cymru Hywel Teifi Edwards 5,880 12.2 +4.8
Communist Robert E. Hitchon 371 0.8 −0.4
Majority 13,606 28.3 −10.7
Turnout 48,135 75.4 −4.0
Registered electors 63,826
Labour hold Swing
General election 1987: Llanelli[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 29,506 59.2 +11.0
Conservative Philip Circus 8,571 17.2 −2.8
Alliance (Liberal) Martyn Shrewsbury 6,714 13.5 −5.4
Plaid Cymru Adrian Price 5,088 10.2 −2.0
Majority 20,935 42.0 +13.7
Turnout 49,879 78.1 +2.7
Registered electors 63,845
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1992: Llanelli[18][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 27,802 55.0 −4.2
Conservative Graham L. Down 8,532 16.9 −0.3
Plaid Cymru Marc Phillips 7,878 15.6 +5.4
Liberal Democrats Keith L. Evans 6,404 12.7 −0.8
Majority 19,270 38.1 -3.9
Turnout 50,616 77.8 −0.3
Registered electors 65,058
Labour hold Swing −2.0
General election 1997: Llanelli[20][21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 28,851 57.9 +2.9
Plaid Cymru Marc Phillips 7,812 19.0 +3.4
Conservative Andrew Hayes 5,003 12.1 −4.8
Liberal Democrats Nick Burree 3,788 9.2 −3.5
Socialist Labour John Willock 757 1.8 N/A
Majority 21,039 38.9 +0.9
Turnout 41,211 70.7 −7.1
Registered electors 58,293
Labour hold Swing −0.1

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2001: Llanelli[22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Denzil Davies 17,586 48.6 −9.3
Plaid Cymru Dyfan Jones 11,183 30.9 +11.9
Conservative Simon Hayes 3,442 9.5 −2.6
Liberal Democrats Ken Rees 3,065 8.5 −0.7
Green Jan Cliff 515 1.4 N/A
Socialist Labour John Willock 407 1.1 −0.7
Majority 6,403 17.7 -21.2
Turnout 36,198 62.3 −8.4
Registered electors 58,148
Labour hold Swing -10.6
General election 2005: Llanelli[24][25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nia Griffith 16,592 46.9 −1.7
Plaid Cymru Neil Baker 9,358 26.5 −4.4
Conservative Adrian Phillips 4,844 13.7 +4.2
Liberal Democrats Ken Rees 4,550 12.9 +4.4
Majority 7,234 20.4 +2.7
Turnout 35,344 63.5 +1.2
Registered electors 55,280
Labour hold Swing +1.4

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2010: Llanelli[26][27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nia Griffith 15,916 42.5 −4.4
Plaid Cymru Myfanwy Davies 11,215 29.9 +3.4
Conservative Christopher Salmon 5,381 14.4 +0.7
Liberal Democrats Myrddin Edwards 3,902 10.4 −2.5
UKIP Andrew Marshall 1,047 2.8 N/A
Majority 4,701 12.6 -7.8
Turnout 37,461 67.3 +3.8
Registered electors 55,637
Labour hold Swing −4.0
General election 2015: Llanelli[28][29][30]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nia Griffith[31] 15,948 41.3 −1.2
Plaid Cymru Vaughan Williams[32] 8,853 23.0 −6.9
UKIP Kenneth Rees 6,269 16.3 +13.5
Conservative Selaine Saxby[33] 5,534 14.3 -0.1
Liberal Democrats Cen Phillips[34] 751 1.9 −8.5
Green Guy Smith 689 1.8 N/A
People First Siân Caiach[35] 407 1.1 N/A
TUSC Scott Jones 123 0.3 N/A
Majority 7,095 18.3 +5.7
Turnout 38,574 64.5 -2.8
Registered electors 59,314
Labour hold Swing +2.9
General election 2017: Llanelli[36][37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nia Griffith 21,568 53.5 +12.2
Conservative Stephen Davies 9,544 23.7 +9.4
Plaid Cymru Mari Arthur 7,351 18.2 -4.8
UKIP Kenneth Rees 1,331 3.3 -13.0
Liberal Democrats Rory Daniels 548 1.4 -0.5
Majority 12,024 29.8 +11.5
Turnout 40,342 67.0 +2.5
Registered electors 60,185
Labour hold Swing +1.4
General election 2019: Llanelli[38][39]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nia Griffith 16,125 42.2 -11.3
Conservative Tamara Reay 11,455 30.0 +6.3
Plaid Cymru Mari Arthur 7,048 18.4 +0.2
Brexit Party Susan Boucher 3,605 9.4 N/A
Rejected ballots 152
Majority 4,670 12.2 -17.6
Turnout 38,233 63.2 -3.8
Registered electors 60,513
Labour hold Swing -8.8

Of the 152 rejected ballots:

  • 135 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[39]
  • 17 voted for more than one candidate.[39]

See also

Notes
  1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)

References
  1. "Beyond 20/20 WDS – Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
  3. Representation of the People Act 1918, Ninth Schedule, Part II, Parliamentary Counties: Wales and Monmouthshire.
  4. Schedule 1, Representation of the People Act 1948, c. 65.
  5. "Over 1,800 candidates for 630 seats in Commons". The Times. 9 June 1970. p. 10.
  6. The borough was renamed on 4 March 1966 and the rural district on 3 May 1966 Census of England and Wales 1961. County Report: Carmarthenshire. HMSO.
  7. "No. 43915". The London Gazette. 4 March 1966. p. 2444.
  8. Llanelli is the spelling Craig uses in his compilation of results from 1950–1973, despite the entry in his book on parliamentary boundaries for the 1950 redistribution following the statute in using Llanelly.
  9. The Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1970 (1970/1675).
  10. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
  11. Craig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-019. Page 552
  12. Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950-1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 9780900178023. Page 571
  13. "Politics Resources". Election February 1974. Politics Resources. 28 February 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  14. "Politics Resources". Election October 1974. Politics Resources. 10 October 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  15. "Politics Resources". Election 1979. Politics Resources. 3 May 1979. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  16. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  18. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  20. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  21. "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Llanelli". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  22. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  23. "BBC NEWS > Llanelli". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  24. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. "Llanelli parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  26. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  27. "Election 2010 – Llanelli". BBC News.
  28. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  29. "Llanelli result". The Newsroom. Carmarthenshire County Council. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  30. "Llanelli Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015 Results. BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  31. "Nia Griffith". 1 March 2010.
  32. "Local Llanelli members select Plaid Cymru's Williams as Westminster candidate". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  33. "Llanelli - Selaine Saxby". www.selainesaxby.com.
  34. "Cen Phillips". Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  35. Shipton, Martin (5 January 2015). "Maverick independent Sian Caiach to contest Llanelli at the General Election". walesonline.
  36. "Aberavon Parliamentary constituency". Election 2017 Results. BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  37. "2017 Results". Carmarthenshire County Council. Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  38. "Llanelli Parliamentary constituency". Election 2019 Results. BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  39. "Election-Results/General-Election-2019" (PDF). Carmarthenshire County Council. Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.

Further reading
  • Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885–1972, compiled and edited by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1972)
  • British Parliamentary Constituencies: A Statistical Compendium, by Ivor Crewe and Anthony Fox (Faber and Faber 1984)
  • Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3rd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

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