Carmarthen (UK Parliament constituency)

Carmarthen
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Preserved county	Dyfed
Major settlements	Carmarthen, Ammanford, Llandeilo
1918 (1918)–1997 (1997)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Carmarthen East & Dinefwr and Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire
1542 (1542)–1918 (1918)
Number of members	One
Type of constituency	Borough constituency

Carmarthen (Welsh: Caerfyrddyn) was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1542 and 1997. Until 1832, it was a borough constituency consisting of the town of Carmarthen, and between 1832 and 1918 it was a district of boroughs constituency, consisting of Carmarthen itself and Llanelli, and was sometimes called The Carmarthen Boroughs. In 1918, the borough was abolished, but the name was transferred to one of the divisions of the county of Carmarthenshire.

After its abolition in 1997, it was replaced, partly by the new Carmarthen East and Dinefwr constituency and partly by Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire.

History

Because the seat contained mining areas in the valley of the River Gwendraeth (until the 1980s), vast amounts of countryside and a high proportion of Welsh speakers, it was fertile territory for Labour party, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru alike. Although the Conservatives never won the seat, they came within 1200 votes of doing so in 1983.

Carmarthen is notable for being the first constituency to elect a Plaid Cymru MP, Gwynfor Evans, at a 1966 by-election. Evans was then involved in one of the closest General Election results ever in February 1974, when he lost to the winning Labour candidate by only three votes.^[1]^[2]

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Boundaries

The constituency was made up of the whole of the county of Carmarthenshire except for the urban area around Llanelli. Notable towns were Carmarthen itself, Ammanford and Llandeilo.

In 1997, the Boundary Commission for Wales recommended an extra seat for Dyfed.^[3] This led to the seat being split two to one between Carmarthen East & Dinefwr and Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire.^[4]

Proposed recreation

As part of the Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies which began in 2011, the Boundary Commission for Wales proposes a new seat called "Caerfyrddin" which would incorporate Carmarthen, Llandovery, Llandelio, Ammanford and Llansteffan^[5]

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Members of Parliament

MPs 1542-1640

Parliament	Member
1542	Gruffydd Williams^[6]
1545	Gruffydd Williams^[6]
1547	Thomas Phaer^[6]
1553 (Mar)	William Parry^[6]
1553 (Oct)	Gruffydd Hygons^[6]
1554 (Apr)	William Aubrey^[6]^[7]
1554 (Nov)	John Parry^[6]
1555	William Wightman^[6]
1558	John Vaughan^[6]
1559	John Parry^[8]
1563	John Morgan^[8]
1571	?John Vaughan^[8]
1572	Thomas Wigmore^[8]
1584	John Puckering, sat for Bedford replaced 1584 by Edward Donne Lee^[8]
1586	Edward Donne Lee^[8]
1588	Gelly Meyrick^[8]
1593	Sir Thomas Baskerville^[8]
1597	Henry Vaughan^[8]
1601	Walter Rice^[8]
1604–1611	Sir Walter Rice
1614	William Thomas
1621	Henry Vaughan
1624	Henry Vaughan
1626	Henry Vaughan
1628	Henry Vaughan
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

1640-1997

Election		Member^[9]	Party
	1640 (Apr)	Francis Lloyd	Royalist
	1640 (Nov)	Francis Lloyd	Royalist
February 1644		Lloyd disabled from sitting - seat vacant
	1646	William Davies
December 1648		Davies not recorded as sitting after Pride's Purge
1653		Carmarthen was not represented in the Barebones Parliament or the First or Second Parliaments of the Protectorate
	January 1659	David Morgan
May 1659		Not represented in the restored Rump
	April 1660	Arthur Annesley
	1661	Hon. John Vaughan
	1679	Altham Vaughan
	1685	Richard Vaughan
	1725	James Phillips
	1727	Arthur Bevan
	1741	Sir John Philipps
	1747	Thomas Mathews
	1751	Griffith Philipps
	1761	The Earl Verney
	1768	Griffith Philipps
	1774	John Adams
	1780	George Philipps
	1784	John George Philipps
	May 1796	Magens Dorrien Magens^[10]
	November 1796	John George Philipps
	1803	Sir William Paxton
	1806	Vice-Admiral George Campbell
	1813	John Frederick Campbell
	1821	John Jones
	1832	Hon. William Yelverton	Whig
	1835	David Lewis	Conservative
	1837	David Morris	Whig
	1859	David Morris	Liberal
	1864	William Morris	Liberal
	1868	(Sir) John Cowell-Stepney^[11]	Liberal
	1874	Charles William Nevill	Conservative
	1876	(Sir) Arthur Cowell-Stepney^[12]	Liberal
	1878	Benjamin Thomas Williams	Liberal
	1882 by-election	John Jones Jenkins	Liberal
	1886	Sir Arthur Cowell-Stepney	Liberal
	1892	Evan Rowland Jones	Liberal
	1895	Sir John Jones Jenkins	Liberal Unionist
	1900	Alfred Davies	Liberal
	1906	William Llewelyn Williams	Liberal
	1918	John Hinds	Coalition Liberal
	1923	Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith	Liberal
	1924 by-election	Alfred Mond	Liberal
	1926	Alfred Mond	Conservative
	1928 by-election	William Nathaniel Jones	Liberal
	1929	Daniel Hopkin	Labour
	1931	Richard Thomas Evans	Liberal
	1935	Daniel Hopkin	Labour
	1941 by-election	Ronw Moelwyn Hughes	Labour
	1945	Rhys Hopkin Morris	Liberal
	1957 by-election	Megan Lloyd-George	Labour
	1966 by-election	Gwynfor Evans	Plaid Cymru
	1970	Gwynoro Jones	Labour
	Oct. 1974	Gwynfor Evans	Plaid Cymru
	1979	Roger Thomas	Labour
	1987	Alan Wynne Williams	Labour
	1997	constituency abolished: see Carmarthen East & Dinefwr and Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire

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Elections

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 Liberal: John Hinds elected unopposed.

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1922 Electorate 36,213
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	John Hinds	12,530
	Unionist	Hon. George William R. V. Coventry	8,805
	Agriculture	D. Johns	4,775
	Labour	H. Llewelyn-Williams	3,847
Majority
Turnout
	National Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1923 Electorate 36,779
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon Sir Ellis Jones Ellis-Griffith	12,988
	Unionist	Sir Arthur Stephens	8,677
	Labour	R. Williams	7,132
Majority			4,311
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Carmarthen by-election, 1924:^[13] Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Sir Alfred Moritz Mond	12,760	44.0
	Labour	Rev. Edward Teilo Owen	8,351	28.8
	Conservative	Sir Arthur Stephens	7,896	27.2
Majority			4,409	15.2
Turnout				78.9
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1924: Electorate 37,155
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Sir Alfred Moritz Mond	17,281
	Labour	Rev. Edward Teilo Owen	7,953
Majority			9,328
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Carmarthen by-election, 1928 Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Jones	10,201	35.5
	Labour	Daniel Hopkin	10,154	35.4
	Conservative	Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel	8,361	29.1
Majority			47	0.1
Turnout			30,316	76.6
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1929 Electorate 46,110
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Daniel Hopkin	15,130
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Jones	14,477
	Unionist	Hon. John Bonynge Coventry	9,961
Majority			653
Turnout
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931 Electorate 46,454
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Richard Thomas Evans	15,532
	Labour	Daniel Hopkin	14,318
	Conservative	D W C Davies-Evans	9,434
Majority			1,214
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing
Turnout

General Election 1935 Electorate 48,217
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Daniel Hopkin	18,146
	Liberal	Richard Thomas Evans	12,911
	Conservative	Edward Orlando Kellett	7,177
Majority			5,235
Turnout
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

Carmarthen by-election, 1941 Labour: Moelwyn Hughes elected unopposed.

General Election 1945: Carmarthen^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	19,783	51.67%
	Labour	R. Moelwyn Hughes	18,504	48.33%
Majority			1,279	3.34%
Turnout			38,286	76.11%

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Carmarthen:^[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	24,472	50.19%	-1.48
	Labour	Lynn Ungoed-Thomas	24,285	49.81%	+1.48
Majority			187	0.38%	-2.96
Turnout			48,759	83.43%	+7.32

General Election 1951: Carmarthen^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	25,632	50.46%	+0.27%
	Labour	D Owen	25,165	49.54%	-0.65%
Majority			467	0.92%	+0.54%
Turnout			5,0795	86.52%	+3.09%

General Election 1955: Carmarthen^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	24,410	49.49%	-0.97%
	Labour	Jack Evans	21,077	42.73%	-6.81%
	Plaid Cymru	Jennie Eirian Davies	3,835	7.78%
Majority			3,333	6.76%	+5.84
Turnout			49,320	85.10%	-1.42%

Carmarthen by-election, 1957
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Megan Lloyd George	23,679
	Liberal	John Morgan Davies	20,610
	Plaid Cymru	Jennie Eirian Davies	5,741
Majority			3,069
Turnout			43,726	87.4
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

General Election 1959: Carmarthen^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Megan Lloyd George	23,399	47.89%	+5.16%
	Liberal	Alun Talfan Davies	16,766	34.32%	-15.17%
	Conservative	JB Evans	6,147	12.58%
	Plaid Cymru	HH Roberts	2,545	5.21%
Majority			6,633	13.58%	+6.82%
Turnout			48,855	85.42%	+0.32%

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Carmarthen^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Megan Lloyd George	21,424	45.46%	-2.43%
	Liberal	Alun Talfan Davies	15,210	32.28%	-2.04%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	5,495	11.66%	+6.45%
	Conservative	HE Protheroe-Beynon	4,996	10.6%	-1.98
Majority			6,214	13.19%	-0.39%
Turnout			47,122	84.47%	-0.95%

General Election 1966: Carmarthen^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lady Megan Lloyd George	21,221	46.17%	+0.71%
	Liberal	DH Davies	11,988	26.08%	-6.2%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	7,416	16.13%	+4.47%
	Conservative	SJ Day	5,338	11.61%	+1.01%
Majority			9,233	20.09%	+6.9%
Turnout			45,960	82.56%	-1.91%

Carmarthen by-election, 1966
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	16,179	38.98
	Labour	Gwilym Prys Davies	13,743	33.11
	Liberal	Hywel Davies	8,650	20.84
	Conservative	Simon Day	2,934	7.09
Majority			2,436	5.87
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Carmarthen^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gwynoro Jones	18,719	38.04%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	14,812	30.10%
	Liberal	HGE Thomas	10,707	21.76%
	Conservative	LH Davies	4,975	10.11%
Majority			3,907	7.94%
Turnout			49,214	83.55%

General Election, (February) 1974: Carmarthen^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gwynoro Jones	17,165	34.29%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	17,162	34.28%
	Liberal	DO Jones	9,698	19.37%
	Conservative	WJN Dunn	6,037	12.06%
Majority			3	0.01%
Turnout				83.49%

General Election, (October) 1974: Carmarthen^[23]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	23,325	45.11%
	Labour	Gwynoro Jones	19,685	38.07%
	Liberal	DR Owen-Jones	5,393	10.43%
	Conservative	Robert Hayward	2,962	5.73%
	British Candidate	EB Jones	342	0.66%
Majority			3,640	7.04%
Turnout			51,704	85.6%

General Election, 1979: Carmarthen^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roger Thomas	18,667	35.87%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	16,689	32.04%
	Conservative	NM Thomas	12,272	23.56%
	Liberal	RCC Thomas	4,186	8.04%
	National Front	Charlie Grice	149	0.29%
	New Britain	EJ Clarke	126	0.24%
Majority			1,978	3.8%
Turnout			52,086	84.40%

Elections in the 1980s

General Election, 1983: Carmarthen^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Roger Thomas	16,459	31.57%
	Conservative	NM Thomas	15,305	29.36%
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Evans	14,099	27.05%
	SDP–Liberal Alliance	J Colin	5,737	11.01%
	Ecology	B Kingzett	374	0.72%
	BNP	Charlie Grice	154	0.3%
Majority			1,154	2.21%
Turnout			52,126	82.13%

General Election, 1987: Carmarthen^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Wynne Williams	19,128	35.37
	Conservative	Rod Richards	14,811	27.39
	Plaid Cymru	HT Edwards	12,457	23.03
	SDP–Liberal Alliance	GG Jones	7,203	13.32
	Green	GE Oubridge	481	0.89
Majority			4,317	7.98
Turnout			54,080	82.88

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Carmarthen^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alan Wynne Williams	20,879	36.6	+1.3
	Plaid Cymru	H. Rhodri Glyn Thomas	17,957	31.5	+8.5
	Conservative	Stephen J. Cavenagh	12,782	22.4	−5.0
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs Juliana M.J. Hughes	5,353	9.4	−3.9
Majority			2,922	5.1	−2.9
Turnout			56,971	82.7	−0.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.6

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Notes and references

^ BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/vote2001/results_constituencies/constituencies/128.stm |url= missing title (help).
^ The BBC article quoted above says that is was the second closest General Election result since the Second World War. Certainly the Winchester general election result of 1997 was closer.
^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.12 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.202 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
^ Proposed man - Caerfyrddin Boundary Commission for Wales
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
^ Watkin, Thomas Glyn (January 2008). "Aubrey, William (c.1529–1595)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online edition, subscription required). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2008-02-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 2011-11-26.
^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)^{[self-published source]}^{[better source needed]}
^ On petition, Magens was found not to have been duly elected, and his opponent Phillips was seated in his place
^ Created a baronet, 1871
^ Succeeded to baronetcy, 1877
^ F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949, p551
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge45/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge50/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge51/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge55/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge59/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge64/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge66/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge70/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74a/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74b/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge79/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge83/i05.htm
^ http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge87/i05.htm
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.

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Sources

Robert Beatson, A Chronological Register of Both Houses of Parliament (London: Longman, Hurst, Res & Orme, 1807) [1]
D Brunton & D H Pennington, Members of the Long Parliament (London: George Allen & Unwin, 1954)
Cobbett's Parliamentary history of England, from the Norman Conquest in 1066 to the year 1803 (London: Thomas Hansard, 1808) [2]
The Constitutional Year Book for 1913 (London: National Union of Conservative and Unionist Associations, 1913)
F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885 (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
J Holladay Philbin, Parliamentary Representation 1832 - England and Wales (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1965)

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Last modified on 16 March 2013, at 01:00