The 1966 Carmarthen by-election, was held in Carmarthen, Wales, on 14 July 1966. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of Gwynfor Evans, the first ever Plaid Cymru Member of Parliament. Plaid Cymru's victory in the Carmarthen constituency, a seminal moment for Welsh nationalism, was part of a wider process toward Welsh devolution which eventually led to the establishment of the Welsh Assembly in 1999.
The election was caused by the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament Megan Lloyd George.
Gwynfor Evans' surprise win is credited with laying the foundations for Winnie Ewing's victory for the Scottish National Party at the 1967 Hamilton by-election, an event of equal significance for Scottish nationalism.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Plaid Cymru | Gwynfor Evans | 16,179 | 39.0 | +22.8 | |
Labour | Gwilym Prys-Davies | 13,743 | 33.1 | −13.1 | |
Liberal | Hywel Davies | 8,650 | 20.8 | −5.3 | |
Conservative | Simon Day | 2,934 | 7.1 | −4.5 | |
Majority | 2,436 | 5.9 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 41,506 | 74.9 | −7.7 | ||
Registered electors | 55,407 | ||||
Plaid Cymru gain from Labour | Swing | +12.0 |
Plaid Cymru is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. It campaigns on a platform of social democracy and civic nationalism. The party is a supporter of the European Union and is a member of the European Free Alliance (EFA). The party holds 4 of 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, 12 of 60 seats in the Senedd, and 202 of 1,231 principal local authority councillors. Plaid was formed in 1925 under the name Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru and Gwynfor Evans won the first Westminster seat for the party at the 1966 Carmarthen by-election.
Gwynfor Richard Evans was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first member of Parliament to represent it at Westminster, which he did twice, from 1966 to 1970, and again from 1974 to 1979.
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Gwynoro Glyndwr Jones is a Welsh politician who served as a Labour Member of Parliament. He was a schools inspector for 18 years; he has also been a broadcaster, political commentator and journalist. As a politician, he is best remembered for his long struggle to hold the mainly Welsh-speaking constituency of Carmarthen for the Labour Party against Plaid Cymru leader Gwynfor Evans, about which he wrote a book in the Welsh language.
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