This article is part of a series within the Politics of the United Kingdom on the |
Politics of Wales |
---|
Wales is currently divided into forty constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which elect Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. 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 28 June 2023, the boundary commission for Wales published its final recommendations for the new constituencies of Wales, reducing the number from 40 to 32, [2] with the commission first drawing up proposals in 2021. [3] As of June 2023, 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 the number of Senedd constituencies.
‡Labour †Conservative ₪Plaid Cymru ¤Liberal Democrat *Brexit Party/Reform UK ¢Independent
Constituency | Electorate [4] | Majority [5] | Member of Parliament [5] | Nearest opposition [5] | Map | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aberavon | 50,750 | 10,490 | Stephen Kinnock‡ | Charlotte Lang† | |||
Aberconwy | 44,699 | 2,034 | Robin Millar† | Emily Owen ‡ | |||
Alyn and Deeside | 62,789 | 213 | Mark Tami‡ | Sanjoy Sen† | |||
Arfon | 42,215 | 2,781 | Hywel Williams₪ | Steffie Williams Roberts‡ | |||
Blaenau Gwent | 50,739 | 8,647 | Nick Smith‡ | Richard Taylor* | |||
Brecon and Radnorshire | 55,490 | 7,131 | Fay Jones† | Jane Dodds¤ | |||
Bridgend | 63,303 | 1,157 | Jamie Wallis† | Madeleine Moon‡ | |||
Caerphilly | 63,166 | 6,833 | Wayne David‡ | Jane Pratt† | |||
Cardiff Central | 64,037 | 17,179 | Jo Stevens‡ | Meirion Jenkins† | |||
Cardiff North | 68,438 | 6,982 | Anna McMorrin‡ | Mo Ali† | |||
Cardiff South and Penarth | 78,837 | 12,737 | Stephen Doughty‡ | Philippa Broom† | |||
Cardiff West | 68,508 | 10,986 | Kevin Brennan‡ | Carolyn Webster† | |||
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr | 57,419 | 1,809 | Jonathan Edwards¢ | David Darkin‡ | |||
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire | 59,158 | 7,745 | Simon Hart† | Marc Tierney‡ | |||
Ceredigion | 56,250 | 6,329 | Ben Lake₪ | Amanda Jenner† | |||
Clwyd South | 53,919 | 1,239 | Simon Baynes† | Susan Elan Jones‡ | |||
Clwyd West | 57,714 | 6,747 | David Jones† | Jo Thomas‡ | |||
Cynon Valley | 51,134 | 8,822 | Beth Winter‡ | Pauline Church† | |||
Delyn | 54,560 | 865 | Rob Roberts¢ | David Hanson‡ | |||
Dwyfor Meirionnydd | 44,362 | 4,740 | Liz Saville-Roberts₪ | Tomos Davies† | |||
Gower | 61,762 | 1,837 | Tonia Antoniazzi‡ | Francesca O'Brien† | |||
Islwyn | 55,423 | 5,464 | Christopher James Evans‡ | Gavin Chambers† | |||
Llanelli | 60,518 | 4,670 | Nia Griffith‡ | Tamara Reay† | |||
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney | 56,322 | 10,606 | Gerald Jones‡ | Sara Jones† | |||
Monmouth | 67,098 | 9,982 | David Davies† | Yvonne Murphy‡ | |||
Montgomeryshire | 48,997 | 12,138 | Craig Williams† | Kishan Devani¤ | |||
Neath | 56,419 | 5,637 | Christina Rees‡ | Jon Burns† | |||
Newport East | 58,554 | 1,992 | Jessica Morden‡ | Mark Brown† | |||
Newport West | 66,657 | 902 | Ruth Jones‡ | Matthew Evans† | |||
Ogmore | 57,581 | 7,805 | Chris Elmore‡ | Sadie Vidal† | |||
Pontypridd | 60,327 | 5,887 | Alex Davies-Jones‡ | Sam Trask† | |||
Preseli Pembrokeshire | 59,606 | 5,062 | Stephen Crabb† | Philippa Thompson‡ | |||
Rhondda | 50,262 | 11,440 | Chris Bryant‡ | Hannah Jarvis | |||
Swansea East | 58,450 | 11,440 | Carolyn Harris‡ | Denise Howard† | |||
Swansea West | 57,078 | 8,116 | Geraint Davies₵ | James Price† | |||
Torfaen | 62,330 | 3,742 | Nick Thomas-Symonds‡ | Graham Smith† | |||
Vale of Clwyd | 56,649 | 1,827 | James Davies† | Chris Ruane‡ | |||
Vale of Glamorgan | 76,508 | 3,562 | Alun Cairns† | Belinda Loveluck-Edwards‡ | |||
Wrexham | 49,737 | 2,131 | Sarah Atherton† | Mary Wimbury‡ | |||
Ynys Môn (Anglesey) | 51,925 | 1,968 | Virginia Crosbie† | Mary Roberts‡ | |||
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 did not 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. [6] Subsequently, the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 [7] 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.
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 published the responses collected during the consultation period, and then conducted 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. [8] 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 no longer required parliamentary approval and the recommendations in the final report were implemented automatically, however the second consultation period allowed 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.
The final recommendations on the new constituencies in Wales were published on 28 June 2023 by the Boundary Commission for Wales. [2] [9] This followed years of proposals and consultations since 2021, with initial proposals published in 2021 [3] and revised in 2022. [8]
Categorisation of status is purely based on the names used by the constituencies, if a new constituency largely overlaps with a previous one but was renamed, it is considered a new constituency.
New – Did not exist previously with either the name or boundaries.
Expanded – Keeps name but gains wards.
Redefined – Keeps name but with other altered boundaries.
Revived – Former constituency revived under the same name(s).
Recommended constituency (Welsh name) | Electorate (2023) | Area (km2) | Electoral wards from | Status | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Previous constituency | Principal area | |||||
Aberafan Maesteg | 69,817 | 397 | Bridgend (part) | Bridgend | New constituency | |
Ogmore (part) | Bridgend | |||||
Aberavon (part) | Neath Port Talbot | |||||
Neath (part) | Neath Port Talbot | |||||
Alyn and Deeside Alun a Glannau Dyfrdwy | 75,695 | 205 | Alyn and Deeside (all) | Flintshire | Expanded constituency | |
Delyn (part) | Flintshire | |||||
Bangor Aberconwy | 70,468 | 1,435 | Aberconwy (all) | Conwy | New constituency | |
Clwyd West (part) | Conwy | |||||
Clwyd West (part) | Denbighshire | |||||
Arfon (part) | Gwynedd | |||||
Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney Blaenau Gwent a Rhymni | 71,079 | 166 | Blaenau Gwent (all) | Blaenau Gwent | New constituency | |
Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (part) | Caerphilly | |||||
Islwyn (part) | Caerphilly | |||||
Caerphilly (part) | Caerphilly | |||||
Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe Aberhonddu, Maesyfed a Chwm Tawe | 72,113 | 3,090 | Brecon and Radnorshire (all) | Powys | New constituency | |
Neath (part) | Neath Port Talbot | |||||
Bridgend Pen-y-bont | 70,770 | 124 | Bridgend (part) | Bridgend | Redefined constituency | |
Ogmore (part) | Bridgend | |||||
Caerfyrddin | 72,683 | 2,034 | Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (part) | Carmarthenshire | Revived constituency | Previously existed 1542–1997 under its English name "Carmarthen". |
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (part) | Carmarthenshire | |||||
Caerphilly Caerffili | 72,458 | 140 | Caerphilly (part) | Caerphilly | Redefined constituency | |
Islwyn (part) | Caerphilly | |||||
Cardiff East Dwyrain Caerdydd | 72,463 | 33 | Cardiff Central (part) | Cardiff | Revived constituency | Name restored; previously existed 1918–1950. |
Cardiff South and Penarth (part) | Cardiff | |||||
Cardiff North Gogledd Caerdydd | 71,143 | 49 | Cardiff North (all) | Cardiff | Expanded constituency | |
Pontypridd (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Cardiff South and Penarth De Caerdydd a Phenarth | 72,269 | 60 | Cardiff South and Penarth (part) | Cardiff | Redefined constituency | |
Cardiff Central (part) | Cardiff | |||||
Cardiff South and Penarth (part) | Vale of Glamorgan | |||||
Vale of Glamorgan (part) | Vale of Glamorgan | |||||
Cardiff West Gorllewin Caerdydd | 73,947 | 63 | Cardiff West (all) | Cardiff | Expanded constituency | |
Pontypridd (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Ceredigion Preseli | 74,063 | 2,458 | Ceredigion (all) | Ceredigion | New constituency | |
Preseli Pembrokeshire (part) | Pembrokeshire | |||||
Clwyd East Dwyrain Clwyd | 76,395 | 676 | Clwyd West (part) | Denbighshire | New constituency | |
Clwyd South (part) | Denbighshire | |||||
Vale of Clwyd (part) | Denbighshire | |||||
Delyn (part) | Flintshire | |||||
Clwyd South (part) | Wrexham | |||||
Clwyd North Gogledd Clwyd | 76,150 | 170 | Clwyd West (part) | Conwy | New constituency | |
Vale of Clwyd (part) | Denbighshire | |||||
Dwyfor Meirionnydd | 72,533 | 2,613 | Clwyd South (part) | Denbighshire | Expanded constituency | |
Dwyfor Meirionnydd (all) | Gwynedd | |||||
Arfon (part) | Gwynedd | |||||
Gower Gŵyr | 76,801 | 345 | Gower (part) | Swansea | Redefined constituency | |
Swansea West (part) | Swansea | |||||
Llanelli | 69,895 | 397 | Llanelli (all) | Carmarthenshire | Expanded constituency | |
Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (part) | Carmarthenshire | |||||
Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare Merthyr Tudful ac Aberdâr | 74,805 | 245 | Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney (part) | Merthyr Tydfil (all) | New constituency | |
Cynon Valley (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Mid and South Pembrokeshire Canol a De Sir Benfro | 76,820 | 985 | Preseli Pembrokeshire (part) | Pembrokeshire | New constituency | |
Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (part) | Pembrokeshire | |||||
Monmouthshire Sir Fynwy | 72,681 | 884 | Monmouth (part) | Monmouthshire (all) | Revived constituency | Name restored; previously existed 1536–1885. |
Newport East (part) | Monmouthshire (all) | |||||
Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr Maldwyn a Glyndŵr | 74,223 | 2,379 | Montgomeryshire (all) | Powys | New constituency | |
Clwyd South (part) | Wrexham | |||||
Neath and Swansea East Castell-nedd a Dwyrain Abertawe | 74,705 | 219 | Aberavon (part) | Neath Port Talbot | New constituency | |
Neath (part) | Neath Port Talbot | |||||
Gower (part) | Swansea | |||||
Swansea East (part) | Swansea | |||||
Newport East Dwyrain Casnewydd | 76,159 | 142 | Newport East (part) | Newport | Redefined constituency | |
Newport West (part) | Newport | |||||
Newport West and Islwyn Gorllewin Casnewydd ac Islwyn | 76,234 | 154 | Newport West (part) | Newport | New constituency | |
Islwyn (part) | Caerphilly | |||||
Pontypridd | 73,743 | 141 | Cynon Valley (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | Redefined constituency | |
Ogmore (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Pontypridd (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Rhondda and Ogmore Rhondda ac Ogwr | 73,557 | 199 | Ogmore (part) | Bridgend | New constituency | |
Ogmore (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Pontypridd (part) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Rhondda (all) | Rhondda Cynon Taf | |||||
Swansea West Gorllewin Abertawe | 74,612 | 35 | Swansea East (part) | Swansea | Redefined constituency | |
Swansea West (part) | Swansea | |||||
Torfaen | 70,591 | 126 | Torfaen (all) | Torfaen (all) | Expanded constituency | |
Monmouth (part) | Torfaen (all) | |||||
Vale of Glamorgan Bro Morgannwg | 70,426 | 301 | Vale of Glamorgan (part) | Vale of Glamorgan | Redefined constituency | |
Wrexham Wrecsam | 70,964 | 292 | Clwyd South (part) | Wrexham | Expanded constituency | |
Wrexham (all) | Wrexham | |||||
Ynys Môn | 52,415 | 746 | Ynys Môn (all) | Isle of Anglesey (all) | Protected constituency | Constituency not subject to the statutory UK electoral quota. |
Primary data source: House of Commons research briefing – General election results from 1918 to 2019 [10]
The numbers of votes cast for each political party who fielded candidates in constituencies comprising Wales in the 2019 general election were as follows:
Party | Votes | % | Change from 2017 | Seats | Change from 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | 632,035 | 40.9% | 8.0% | 22 | 6 |
Conservative | 557,234 | 36.1% | 2.5% | 14 | 6 |
Plaid Cymru | 153,265 | 9.9% | 0.5% | 4 | 0 |
Liberal Democrats | 92,171 | 6.0% | 1.5% | 0 | 0 |
Brexit | 83,908 | 5.4% | new | 0 | 0 |
Greens | 15,828 | 1.0% | 0.7% | 0 | 0 |
Others | 9,916 | 0.6% | 1.6% | 0 | 0 |
Total | 1,544,357 | 100.0 | 40 |
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)
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
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.
Two by-elections were held in 2019:
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 to 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 officially known as the National Assembly for Wales and often simply called the Welsh Assembly.
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.
Llanelli is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. 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.
Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).
Arfon is a constituency in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament at Westminster. Although it is relatively large by geographical area, the constituency is a predominantly urban rather than rural seat, with the majority of the population living in the two towns of Bethesda and Caernarfon, as well as in the city of Bangor, on which the constituency is based. "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; it 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.
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 is not used for local government.
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.
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 community councils and the 22 principal areas, and the Police and Crime Commissioner elections. In addition there are 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.
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.
The region of East Midlands is divided into 46 parliamentary constituencies which is made up of 12 borough constituencies and 34 county constituencies. Since the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 35 are represented by Conservative MPs, 8 by Labour MPs, 2 by independent MPs, and 1 by a Reform UK MP.
The region of South East England is divided into 84 parliamentary constituencies, which are made up of 23 borough constituencies and 61 county constituencies. Since the general election of December 2019, 73 are represented by Conservative MPs, 8 by Labour MPs, 2 by Liberal Democrat MPs, and 1 by a Green MP.
The next United Kingdom general election is scheduled to be held no later than 28 January 2025. 32 seats will be up for election in Wales as the general election will occur after the recently completed boundary review took effect.