List of Parliamentary constituencies in Wales

Last updated

Map of the 40 constituencies of Wales, last used in the 2019 UK general election. 2010 Welsh Westminister constituencies map.svg
Map of the 40 constituencies of Wales, last used in the 2019 UK general election.

Wales is currently divided into forty Parliamentary constituencies which elect Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. After the General Election of December 2019, 22 of the Welsh constituencies are represented by Labour MPs, 14 by Conservative MPs, and 4 by Plaid Cymru MPs. [1]

On 8 September 2021, the boundary commission for Wales published its proposals for the new constituencies of Wales, reducing the number from 40 to 32. [2] As of September 2021, the same constituencies are used for elections to the Senedd, with the same boundaries used to make up the Senedd constituencies, however proposed changes to Westminster constituencies are not automatically applied to Senedd ones, and there are proposals to increase Senedd constituencies.

Constituencies

   ‡Labour    †Conservative    ₪Plaid Cymru    ¤Liberal Democrat    *Brexit Party/Reform UK    ȼIndependent

ConstituencyElectorate [3] Majority [4] Member of Parliament [4] Nearest opposition [4] Map
Aberavon 50,750 10,490 Stephen KinnockCharlotte Lang†
Aberavon2007Constituency.svg
Aberconwy 44,699 2,034 Robin MillarEmily Owen ‡
Aberconwy2007Constituency.svg
Alyn and Deeside 62,789 213 Mark TamiSanjoy Sen†
AlynDeeside2007Constituency.svg
Arfon 42,215 2,781 Hywel WilliamsSteffie Williams Roberts‡
Arfon2007Constituency.svg
Blaenau Gwent 50,739 8,647 Nick SmithRichard Taylor*
BlaenauGwent2007Constituency.svg
Brecon and Radnorshire 55,490 7,131 Fay Jones Jane Dodds¤
BreconRadnorshire2007Constituency.svg
Bridgend 63,303 1,157 Jamie Wallis Madeleine Moon
Bridgend2007Constituency.svg
Caerphilly 63,166 6,833 Wayne DavidJane Pratt†
Caerphilly2007Constituency.svg
Cardiff Central 64,037 17,179 Jo StevensMeirion Jenkins†
CardiffCentral2007Constituency.svg
Cardiff North 68,438 6,982 Anna McMorrinMo Ali†
CardiffNorth2007Constituency.svg
Cardiff South and Penarth 78,837 12,737 Stephen DoughtyPhilippa Broom†
CardiffSouthPenarth2007Constituency.svg
Cardiff West 68,508 10,986 Kevin BrennanCarolyn Webster†
CardiffWest2007Constituency.svg
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 57,4191,809 Jonathan EdwardsȼDavid Darkin†
CarmarthenEastDinefwr2007Constituency.svg
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 59,1587,745 Simon HartMarc Tierney‡
CarmarthenWestSouthPembrokeshire2007Constituency.svg
Ceredigion 56,2506,329 Ben LakeAmanda Jenner¤
Ceredigion2007Constituency.svg
Clwyd South 53,9191,239 Simon Baynes Susan Elan Jones
ClwydSouth2007Constituency.svg
Clwyd West 57,7146,747 David JonesJo Thomas‡
ClwydWest2007Constituency.svg
Cynon Valley 51,1348,822 Beth WinterPauline Church†
CynonValley2007Constituency.svg
Delyn 54,560865 Rob Robertsȼ David Hanson
Delyn2007Constituency.svg
Dwyfor Meirionnydd 44,3624,740 Liz Saville-RobertsTomos Davies†
DwyforMeirionnydd2007Constituency.svg
Gower 61,7621,837 Tonia AntoniazziFrancesca O'Brien†
Gower2007Constituency.svg
Islwyn 55,4235,464 Christopher James EvansGavin Chambers†
Islwyn2007Constituency.svg
Llanelli 60,5184,670 Nia GriffithTamara Reay†
Llanelli2007Constituency.svg
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 56,32210,606 Gerald JonesSara Jones†
MerthyrTydfilRhymney2007Constituency.svg
Monmouth 67,0989,982 David DaviesYvonne Murphy‡
Monmouth2007Constituency.svg
Montgomeryshire 48,99712,138 Craig WilliamsKishan Devani¤
Montgomeryshire2007Constituency.svg
Neath 56,4195,637 Christina ReesJon Burns†
Neath2007Constituency.svg
Newport East 58,5541,992 Jessica MordenMark Brown†
NewportEast2007Constituency.svg
Newport West 66,657902 Ruth JonesMatthew Evans†
NewportWest2007Constituency.svg
Ogmore 57,5817,805 Chris ElmoreSadie Vidal†
Ogmore2007Constituency.svg
Pontypridd 60,3275,887 Alex Davies-JonesSam Trask†
Pontypridd2007Constituency.svg
Preseli Pembrokeshire 59,6065,062 Stephen CrabbPhilippa Thompson‡
PreseliPembrokeshire2007Constituency.svg
Rhondda 50,26211,440 Chris BryantHannah Jarvis
Rhondda2007Constituency.svg
Swansea East 58,45011,440 Carolyn HarrisDenise Howard†
SwanseaEast2007Constituency.svg
Swansea West 57,0788,116 Geraint DaviesJames Price†
SwanseaWest2007Constituency.svg
Torfaen 62,3303,742 Nick Thomas-SymondsGraham Smith†
Torfaen2007Constituency.svg
Vale of Clwyd 56,6491,827 James Davies Chris Ruane
ValeOfClwyd2007Constituency.svg
Vale of Glamorgan 76,5083,562 Alun CairnsBelinda Loveluck-Edwards‡
ValeOfGlamorgan2007Constituency.svg
Wrexham 49,7372,131 Sarah AthertonMary Wimbury‡
Wrexham2007Constituency.svg
Ynys Môn (Anglesey) 51,9251,968 Virginia CrosbieMary Roberts‡
YnysMon2007Constituency.svg

Proposed boundary changes

Failed sixth periodic review

Under the terms of the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011, the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster Constituencies (the 2018 review) was based on reducing the total number of MPs from 650 to 600 and a strict electoral parity requirement that the electorate of all constituencies should be within a range of 5% either side of the electoral quota.

The Boundary Commission for Wales submitted their final proposals in respect of the Sixth Review in September 2018. Although the proposals were immediately laid before Parliament they were not brought forward by the Government for approval. Accordingly, they didnot come into effect for the 2019 election which took place on 12 December 2019, and which was contested using the constituency boundaries in place since 2010.

On 24 March 2020, the Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, Chloe Smith, issued a written statement to Parliament setting out the Government's thinking with regard to parliamentary boundaries. [5] Subsequently, the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 [6] was passed into law on 14 December 2020 which formally removed the duty to implement the 2018 review and set out the framework for future boundary reviews.

2023 periodic review

Map of Wales coloured in greyscale in the 40 UK parliamentary constituencies used since 2010, overlaid with orange lines showing the proposed new boundaries of the 32 constituencies proposed as an initial draft by the BCfW on 8 September 2021. P means 'Protected constituency'. Draft proposal (2021) Wales UK constituencies b&w with orange lines map.svg
Map of Wales coloured in greyscale in the 40 UK parliamentary constituencies used since 2010, overlaid with orange lines showing the proposed new boundaries of the 32 constituencies proposed as an initial draft by the BCfW on 8 September 2021. P means 'Protected constituency'.

The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 was passed in December 2020, and the publication of the most recent data of electorate sizes of constituencies on 5 January 2021, lead the Boundary Commission for Wales to begin its review of the parliamentary constituencies in Wales. With the commission required to publish its final recommendations for boundary changes by 1 July 2023. By December 2021, the commission will publish the responses collected during the consultation period, and then conduct a six-week 'secondary consultation. Unlike the previous periodic review, the total UK constituencies was kept at 650.

When proportionally dividing the total 2021 electoral population of the United Kingdom using a statutory formula between the constituent countries of the UK, it results in England having 543 constituencies, Scotland having 57, Wales having 32 and Northern Ireland with the remaining 18. Each constituency recommended to have no more than 77,062 electors and no less than 69,724. [7] The figure from Wales is calculated to be 8 seats lower from the total constituencies used for the 2019 UK general election when there were 40 constituencies, the largest decrease of any UK country or region. Wales has one 'protected constituency' not subject to UK electoral quotas, Ynys Môn on the Isle of Anglesey, where boundary changes are not applied. The decrease in constituencies in Wales has been described by the commission to represent "the most significant change to Wales’s constituencies in a century", and the commission has no control over the number of constituencies in Wales. The final proposal published by the commission will no longer require Parliamentary approval and the recommendations in the final report will be implemented automatically, however the second consultation period will allow public hearing about the proposals. The commission stated that it tried wherever possible to use existing local government boundaries, such as those of existing constituencies and principal areas.

Draft proposals

On 8 September 2021, the Boundary Commission for Wales published its draft proposals for the new UK parliamentary constituencies in Wales. From publication, there would be a 8-week public consultation period up to 3 November 2021. These are not the final constituencies to be used at the next UK general election, between now and 2023 minor changes to the boundaries may take place following the consultation period, and marked on the table below. [7]

New - not existed prior, Expanded - keeps name of and contains an entire former constituency, Redefined - keeps name of and most of a former constituency.

Results history

Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing - General election results from 1918 to 2019 [8]

2019

The number of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Wales in the 2019 general election were as follows:

PartyVotes%Change from 2017SeatsChange from 2017
Labour 632,03540.9%Decrease2.svg8.0%22Decrease2.svg6
Conservative 557,23436.1%Increase2.svg2.5%14Increase2.svg6
Plaid Cymru 153,2659.9%Decrease2.svg0.5%40
Liberal Democrats 92,1716.0%Increase2.svg1.5%00
Brexit 83,9085.4%new00
Greens 15,8281.0%Increase2.svg0.7%00
Others9,9160.6%Decrease2.svg1.6%00
Total1,544,357100.040

Percentage votes

Wales votes percentage Wales votes %25.svg
Wales votes percentage

Key:

CON - Conservative Party, including National Liberal Party up to 1966

LAB - Labour Party

LIB - Liberal Party up to 1979; SDP-Liberal Alliance 1983 & 1987; Liberal Democrats from 1992

PC - Plaid Cymru

UKIP/Br - UK Independence Party 2010 to 2017 (included in Other up to 2005 and in 2019); Brexit Party in 2019

Green - Green Party of England and Wales (included in Other up to 2005)

Seats

Wales seats Wales seats.svg
Wales seats

CON - Conservative Party, including National Liberal Party up to 1966

LAB - Labour Party

LIB - Liberal Party up to 1979; SDP-Liberal Alliance 1983 & 1987; Liberal Democrats from 1992

OTH - 1970 - Independent (S. O. Davies); 2005 - Independent (Peter Law)

PC - Plaid Cymru

Maps

These are maps of the results of the last four general elections in Wales and changes in 2019 following a by-election and a change of affiliation.

2019 by-elections

*Two by-elections were held in 2019:

See also

Related Research Articles

Plaid Cymru is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.

Senedd Devolved parliament of Wales

The Senedd, officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Government. It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was known as the National Assembly for Wales.

1997 Welsh devolution referendum

The Welsh devolution referendum of 1997 was a pre-legislative referendum held in Wales on 18 September 1997 over whether there was support for the creation of a National Assembly for Wales, and therefore a degree of self-government. The referendum was a Labour manifesto commitment and was held in their first term after the 1997 election under the provisions of the Referendums Act 1997. This was the second referendum held in Wales over the question of devolution: the first referendum was held in 1979 and was defeated by a large majority.

Ceredigion (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Ceredigion is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. Created in 1536, the franchise expanded in the late 19th century and on the enfranchisement of women. Its boundaries remained virtually unchanged until 1983. From 1536 until 1885 the area had two seats : a county constituency (Cardiganshire) comprising the rural areas, the other the borough constituency known as the Cardigan District of Boroughs comprising a few separate towns; in 1885 the latter was abolished, its towns and electors incorporated into the former, reduced to one MP. The towns which comprised the Boroughs varied slightly over this long period, but primarily consisted of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Adpar, the latter now a suburb of Newcastle Emlyn across the Teifi, in Carmarthenshire.

Politics of Wales Political system

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Arfon (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the UK

Arfon is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Although the constituency is relatively large by geographical area, it is a predominantly urban rather than rural seat, with the majority of the population living in the two towns of Bethesda and Caernarfon and city of Bangor on which the constituency is base. "Arfon" is a historical name for the area, meaning "facing Anglesey"; it is also the name of the former district council. This seat was created by the Welsh Boundary Commission in time for the 2010 general election, and replaced the old seat of Caernarfon. Bangor was in the old seat of Conwy. The same boundaries were used for the Arfon Welsh Assembly constituency in the 2007 Welsh Assembly election.

Senedd constituencies and electoral regions Electoral constituencies and regions of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament

The Senedd constituencies and electoral regions are the electoral districts used to elect Members of the Senedd to the Senedd, and have been used in some form since the first election of the then National Assembly for Wales in 1999. New boundaries were introduced for the 2007 elections and currently consist of forty constituencies and five regions. The five electoral regions are: Mid and West Wales, North Wales, South Wales Central, South Wales East, and South Wales West, with the forty constituencies listed below. Voting last took place in all districts in the 2021 Senedd election, and are not used for local government.

South Wales East (Senedd electoral region) Electoral region of the Senedd

South Wales East is an electoral region of the Senedd, consisting of eight constituencies. The region elects 12 members, eight directly elected constituency members and four additional members. The electoral region was first used in 1999, when the National Assembly for Wales was created.

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There are four types of elections in Wales: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved Senedd, local elections to the 22 principal areas, and the Police and Crime Commissioner elections, in addition to by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. Since the passing of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 for UK general elections, all four types of elections are held after fixed periods, though early elections to the UK parliament can occur in certain situations, with Senedd elections being postponed to avoid elections to the UK parliament and Senedd coinciding with each other.

Politics of Cardiff refers to the political representation of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. Cardiff is represented politically at a local, Wales and United Kingdom level and previously at the European level.

2021 Senedd election General election held in Wales on 6 May 2021

The 2021 Senedd election took place on Thursday 6 May 2021 to elect 60 members to the Senedd. It was the sixth devolved general election since the Senedd was established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Scottish Parliament election, English local elections, London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.

2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election Upcoming election to Wrexham County Borough Council

The 2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election is due to take place on 5 May 2022 to elect 56 members to Wrexham County Borough Council, the principal council of Wrexham County Borough, Wales. On the same day, elections will be held to the other 21 local authorities, and community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Wrexham County Borough all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years, with the next scheduled for 2027.

References

  1. "Wales 2019 results". Election 2019 Results. BBC . Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. "Major changes to cut number of Welsh MPs published". BBC News. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  3. Baker, Carl; Uberoi, Elise; Cracknell, Richard (28 January 2020). "General Election 2019: full results and analysis".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. 1 2 3 "BBC Elections 2019 results". BBC Elections. 15 December 2019.
  5. "Update: Strengthening Democracy:Written statement - HCWS183". UK Parliament. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. "Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 1 2 3 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies—Initial Proposals (PDF). bcomm-wales.gov.uk: Boundary Commission for Wales. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  8. Watson, Christopher; Uberoi, Elise; Loft, Philip (17 April 2020). "General election results from 1918 to 2019". parliament.uk.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)