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. It has been represented since 2005 by Nia Griffith of the Labour Party.
The Llanelli Senedd constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999 (as an Assembly constituency).
The constituency retained its name and gained wards, as part of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the 2024 general election.[2]
Boundaries
1918–1950:
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.
1950–1974:
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]
1974–1983:
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]
1983–1997:
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.
1997–2010:
In this redistribution the constituency was reduced so that it covered the same area as the Borough of Llanelli.
2010–2024:
With effect from the United Kingdom general election in May 2010, the constituency comprised the Carmarthenshire County electoral wards 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 included the whole of 9 Carmarthenshire communities (Kidwelly; Llanedi; Llanelli; Llanelli Rural; Llangennech; Llannon; Pembrey and Burry Port Town; Pontyberem; and Trimsaran).
2024–present: Under the 2023 review, drawn up in accordance with the ward structure in existence on 1 December 2020, the constituency was defined as comprising the wards above, plus Gorslas, Llangyndeyrn and St.Ishmael, transferred from the abolished constituency of Carmarthen East and Dinefwr.
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022,[10] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the County of Carmarthenshire from the 2024 general election:[11]
- Bigyn, Burry Port, Bynea, Dafen and Felinfoel, Elli, Glanymor, Glyn, Gorlas, Hendy, Hengoed, Kidwelly and St. Ishmael, Llangennech, Llangyndeyrn, Llannon, Lliedi, Llwynhendy, Pembrey, Pontyberem, Swiss Valley, Trimsaran, Tycroes, and Tyisha.
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 and in 2017 it increased further to nearly 30% with the Conservatives replacing Plaid Cymru in second place. At the 2019 general election, there was a swing of 8.8% from Labour to Conservative but the latter's vote collapsed in 2024, allowing Reform UK to take second place and reducing Labour's majority to 1,504 (3.7%).
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 1910s
Elections in the 1920s
Elections in the 1930s
Elections in the 1940s
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1980s
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 2010s
Of the 152 rejected ballots:
- 135 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[41]
- 17 voted for more than one candidate.[41]
Elections in the 2020s
See also
Notes
References
- ^ Mrs Justice Jefford; Thomas, Huw Vaughan; Hartley, Sam A (June 2023). "Appendix 1: Recommended Constituencies" (PDF). The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales. Cardiff: Boundary Commission for Wales. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-5286-3901-9. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
- ^ Representation of the People Act 1918, Ninth Schedule, Part II, Parliamentary Counties: Wales and Monmouthshire.
- ^ Schedule 1, Representation of the People Act 1948, c. 65.
- ^ "Over 1,800 candidates for 630 seats in Commons". The Times. 9 June 1970. p. 10.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "No. 43915". The London Gazette. 4 March 1966. p. 2444.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b The Parliamentary Constituencies (Wales) Order 1970 (1970/1675).
- ^ "The County of Carmarthenshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021".
- ^ "Election Maps". www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "L" (part 3)
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Craig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-019. Page 552
- ^ a b c d e f g Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950-1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 9780900178023. Page 571
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election February 1974. Politics Resources. 28 February 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election October 1974. Politics Resources. 10 October 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1979. Politics Resources. 3 May 1979. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Llanelli". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "BBC NEWS > Llanelli". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Llanelli parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Election 2010 – Llanelli". BBC News.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Llanelli result". The Newsroom. Carmarthenshire County Council. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ "Llanelli Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015 Results. BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Nia Griffith". 1 March 2010.
- ^ "Local Llanelli members select Plaid Cymru's Williams as Westminster candidate". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "Llanelli - Selaine Saxby". www.selainesaxby.com.
- ^ "Cen Phillips". Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ Shipton, Martin (5 January 2015). "Maverick independent Sian Caiach to contest Llanelli at the General Election". walesonline.
- ^ "Aberavon Parliamentary constituency". Election 2017 Results. BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "2017 Results". Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Llanelli Parliamentary constituency". Election 2019 Results. BBC. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ a b c "Election-Results/General-Election-2019" (PDF). Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- ^ "Llanelli notional election - December 2019". Rallings & Thrasher, Professor David Denver (Scotland), Nicholas Whyte (NI) for Sky News, PA, BBC News and ITV News. UK Parliament. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ "Election of Member of Parliament to UK Parliament - Llanelli Constituency - Notice of Poll and Persons Nominated" (PDF). Carmarthenshire County Council. 7 June 2024.
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.
External links
Authority control databases: People | |
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51°43′14″N 4°13′33″W / 51.72056°N 4.22583°W / 51.72056; -4.22583