Preseli Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Preseli Pembrokeshire (Senedd constituency).

For the local authority which existed 1974–1996, see Preseli Pembrokeshire.

Preseli Pembrokeshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Preseli Pembrokeshire in Wales
Preserved county	Dyfed
Electorate	58,343 (December 2010) [1]
Major settlements	Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Fishguard, St Davids.
1997–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Ceredigion and Pembroke North, Pembroke
Replaced by	Ceredigion Preseli, Mid and South Pembrokeshire
Senedd	Preseli Pembrokeshire, Mid and West Wales

Preseli Pembrokeshire (Welsh : Preseli Sir Benfro) was a seat and constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ^{[n 1]}

The Preseli Pembrokeshire Senedd constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999.

Its last MP, who held the seat since 2005, was the Conservative Stephen Crabb, who was Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Work and Pensions Secretary) from March to July 2016. The seat was held by Labour's candidate from its creation in 1997 until 2005. The Labour and Conservative parties have won at least 27.7% of the vote apiece since its 1997 creation, with the next-placed parties having reached a maximum of 14.5% of the vote to date in a generally broad field.

The seat attracted five candidates in 2010, eight in 2015 (an election in which five of the deposits were refunded and three lost) and seven in 2017. At the 2017 election, Crabb's majority was the 27th closest out of the 650 Commons seats, 0.8% or 314 votes. ^[2] In 2019, there were four candidates; Crabb retained the seat with an increased majority.

The constituency was abolished 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 2024 United Kingdom general election. Its wards were split between Ceredigion Preseli and Mid and South Pembrokeshire. ^[3]

Constituency profile

The seat was predominantly rural with both Welsh and English speaking areas. Milford Haven has a significant port and oil industry, and tourism is also a key sector due to the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. ^[4] The seat was less affluent than the UK average. ^[5]

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 2010-2024

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the seats of Ceredigion and Pembroke North and Pembroke. It comprises the north and west coasts of Pembrokeshire and areas inland, including the Preseli Hills in the north of the county. It was the most westerly constituency in Wales. Much of the coastal area was in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.

On its creation in 1997, its boundaries were co-terminous with the then District of Preseli Pembrokeshire. Since the 2006 boundary review of Welsh parliamentary constituencies, which took effect at the 2010 general election, it consists of the Pembrokeshire County electoral divisions of: Burton; Camrose; Cilgerran; Clydau; Crymych; Dinas Cross; Fishguard North East; Fishguard North West; Goodwick; Haverfordwest Castle; Haverfordwest Garth; Haverfordwest Portfield; Haverfordwest Prendergast; Haverfordwest Priory; Johnston; Letterston; Llangwm; Llanrhian; Maenclochog; Merlin's Bridge; Milford Central; Milford East; Milford Hakin; Milford Hubberston; Milford North; Milford West; Newport; Neyland East; Neyland West; Rudbaxton; St David's; St Dogmaels; St Ishmael's; Scleddau; Solva; The Havens; and Wiston.

Members of Parliament

	Election	Candidate	Party
	1997	Jackie Lawrence	Labour
	2005	Stephen Crabb	Conservative
	2024	Constituency abolished

Elections

Pembrokeshire election history

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^{[6] [7]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jackie Lawrence	20,477	48.3	N/A
	Conservative	Robert Buckland	11,741	27.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Jeffrey Clarke	5,527	13.0	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Alun Jones	2,683	6.3	N/A
	Referendum	David Berry	1,574	3.7	N/A
	Green	Molly Scott Cato	401	0.9	N/A
Majority			8,736	20.6	N/A
Turnout			42,403	78.3	N/A
Registered electors			54,150
	Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^{[8] [9]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jackie Lawrence	15,206	41.3	−7.0
	Conservative	Stephen Crabb	12,260	33.3	+5.6
	Plaid Cymru	Rhys Sinnett	4,658	12.7	+6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Alexander Dauncey	3,882	10.6	−2.4
	Socialist Labour	Patricia Bowen	452	1.2	N/A
	UKIP	Hugh Jones	319	0.9	N/A
Majority			2,946	8.0	−12.6
Turnout			36,777	67.8	−10.5
Registered electors			54,283
	Labour hold		Swing	-6.3

General election 2005: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^{[10] [11]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Crabb	14,106	36.6	+3.3
	Labour	Sue Hayman	13,499	35.0	−6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Dewi Smith	4,963	12.9	+2.3
	Plaid Cymru	Matt Mathias	4,752	12.3	−0.4
	UKIP	James Carver	498	1.3	+0.4
	Green	Molly Scott Cato	494	1.3	N/A
	Socialist Labour	Patricia Bowen	275	0.7	−0.5
Majority			607	1.6	N/A
Turnout			38,587	69.5	+1.7
Registered electors			55,502
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+4.8

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Crabb	16,994	42.8	+6.4
	Labour	Mari Rees	12,339	31.2	−3.7
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Tregoning	5,759	14.5	+1.5
	Plaid Cymru	Henry Jones-Davies	3,654	9.2	−3.3
	UKIP	Richard Lawson	906	2.3	+1.0
Majority			4,605	11.6	+10.0
Turnout			39,602	69.0	−1.0
Registered electors			57,400
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 2015: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^{[14] [15] [16]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Crabb	16,383	40.4	−2.4
	Labour	Paul Miller	11,414	28.1	−3.1
	UKIP	Howard Lillyman	4,257	10.5	+8.2
	Independent	Chris Overton	3,729	9.2	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	John Osmond	2,518	6.2	−3.0
	Green	Frances Bryant	1,452	3.6	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Tregoning	780	1.9	−12.6
	The New Society of Worth	Rodney Maile	23	0.1	N/A
Majority			4,969	12.3	+0.7
Turnout			40,556	70.7	+1.7
Registered electors			57,291
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.3

General election 2017: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Crabb	18,302	43.4	+3.0
	Labour	Philippa Thompson	17,988	42.6	+14.5
	Plaid Cymru	Owain Llŷr Williams	2,711	6.4	+0.2
	Independent	Chris Overton	1,209	2.9	−6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Kilmister	1,106	2.6	+0.7
	UKIP	Susan Bale	850	2.0	−8.5
	The New Society of Worth	Rodney Maile	31	0.1	±0.0
Majority			314	0.8	−11.5
Turnout			42,197	72.1	+1.4
Registered electors			58,555
	Conservative hold		Swing	-5.7

General election 2019: Preseli Pembrokeshire ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stephen Crabb	21,381	50.4	+7.0
	Labour	Philippa Thompson	16,319	38.5	−4.1
	Plaid Cymru	Cris Tomos	2,776	6.5	+0.1
	Liberal Democrats	Thomas Hughes	1,943	4.6	+2.0
Rejected ballots			153
Majority			5,062	11.9	+11.1
Turnout			42,419	71.2	−0.9
Registered electors			59,586
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.6

Of the 153 rejected ballots:

• 119 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for. ^[20]
• 34 voted for more than one candidate. ^[20]

See also

• Preseli Pembrokeshire (Senedd constituency)
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Dyfed
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Wales

Notes

1. As in all seats since the mid-20th century abolition of University Seats, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

References

1. "Beyond 20/20 WDS - Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. Library, House of Commons (23 June 2017). "GE2017: Marginal seats and turnout".
3. 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
4. UK Polling Report http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/preselipembrokeshire/
5. Electoral Calculus https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/fcgi-bin/seatdetails.py?seat=Preseli+Pembrokeshire
6. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
7. "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Preseli Pembrokeshire". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
8. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. "BBC NEWS > Preseli Pembrokeshire". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Preseli Pembrokeshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
12. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. Preseli Pembrokeshire BBC Election - Preseli Pembrokeshire
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "Pembrokeshire results". Election Results. Pembrokeshire County Council. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
16. "Preseli Pembrokeshire Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015 Results. BBC. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
17. "Preseli Pembrokeshire Parliamentary constituency". Election 2017 Results. BBC . Retrieved 7 April 2020.
18. "Elections and Voting". Pembrokeshire County Council. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
19. "Preseli Pembrokeshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
20. "Election-Results/General-Election-2019". Pembrokeshire County Council. Retrieved 7 April 2020.

External links

• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• 2017 Election House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report
• A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)
• Preseli Pembrokeshire UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Preseli Pembrokeshire UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK