Blaenau Gwent (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Blaenau Gwent (Assembly constituency).

Blaenau Gwent
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Blaenau Gwent in Wales.
Preserved county	Gwent
Electorate	53,791 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Ebbw Vale, Abertillery, Brynmawr, Tredegar
Current constituency
Created	1983 (1983)
Member of Parliament	Nick Smith (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Ebbw Vale
Overlaps
Welsh Assembly	South Wales East
European Parliament constituency	Wales

Blaenau Gwent is a county constituency in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The current MP is Nick Smith of the Labour Party.

History

Blaenau Gwent is often referred to as Aneurin Bevan's old constituency. However, the constituency was created in 1983, twenty-three years after Bevan's death, from the upper part of the former Abertillery constituency, the town of Brynmawr from the Brecon and Radcor constituency, and Bevan's old Ebbw Vale seat with the exception of the village of Abertysswg. The then Labour party leader Michael Foot, who had won Ebbw Vale in the by-election following Bevan's death, was the seat's first MP.

Until 2005, the constituency was considered one of the safest Labour seats in the country. In the 1983 and 1992 general elections, it was Labour's safest seat. The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats have both been very weak in the seat. Neither has won 10% of the vote since 1987 and the Conservatives have never achieved one eighth of the total votes cast. In 2005 the Liberal Democrats received their lowest share of the vote in the United Kingdom and the Conservatives their second lowest, and both lost their deposits, though this particular election saw unusual circumstances.

The seat came to prominence at the 2005 general election when the Labour Welsh Assembly Member Peter Law ran as an independent and won the seat. He had resigned from the Labour Party in protest at the imposition of an all-women candidates' shortlist following the retirement of incumbent MP Llew Smith, and overturned a 19,313 (60%) Labour majority with a significant 9,121 (25%) majority. In 2006 the Labour Party decided not to require an all-women shortlist at the next general election.

Law died of a brain tumour on 25 April 2006, prompting a by-election in the seat on 29 June. Labour failed to regain the seat as Law's former campaign manager, Dai Davies, was elected to replace him.

In the 2010 general election, Labour candidate Nick Smith gained the seat with a 29.2% swing from Independent back to Labour; it became one of only three seats Labour gained in that election. The seat was still notable as one of the few where an Independent candidate kept their deposit or pushed one of the main parties into fourth place.

Boundaries

The constituency boundaries are analogous to those of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The main towns are Ebbw Vale, Abertillery, Brynmawr and Tredegar.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1983	Michael Foot	Labour
	1992	Llew Smith	Labour
	2005	Peter Law	Independent
	2006 by-election	Dai Davies	Blaenau Gwent People's Voice
	2010	Nick Smith	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nick Smith	16,974	52.4	+20.1
	Blaenau Gwent People's Voice	Dai Davies	6,458	19.9	−38.2
	Liberal Democrat	Matt Smith	3,285	10.1	+5.9
	Conservative	Liz Stevenson	2,265	7.0	+4.7
	Plaid Cymru	Rhodri Davies	1,333	4.1	−2.4
	BNP	Anthony King	1,211	3.7	N/A
	UKIP	Michael Kocan	488	1.5	+1.0
	Socialist Labour	Alyson O'Connell	381	1.2	+1.2
Majority			10,516	32.5
Turnout			32,395	61.8	−4.4
	Labour gain from Blaenau Gwent People's Voice		Swing	+29.2

Elections in the 2000s

Blaenau Gwent by-election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Blaenau Gwent People's Voice	Dai Davies	12,543	46.2	N/A
	Labour	Owen Smith	10,055	37.0	+4.7
	Plaid Cymru	Steffan Lewis	1,755	6.5	+4.1
	Liberal Democrat	Amy Kitcher	1,477	5.4	+1.1
	Conservative	Margrit Williams	1,013	3.7	+1.3
	Monster Raving Loony	Alan "Howling Laud" Hope	318	1.2	N/A
Majority			2,488	9.1	−16.8
Turnout			27,161	50.5	-14.4
	Blaenau Gwent People's Voice hold		Swing	−8.4

General Election 2005: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Peter Law	20,505	58.2	N/A
	Labour	Maggie Jones	11,384	32.3	−39.7
	Liberal Democrat	Brian Thomas	1,511	4.3	−5.0
	Plaid Cymru	John Price	843	2.4	−8.8
	Conservative	Phillip Lee	816	2.4	−5.2
	UKIP	Peter Osborne	192	0.5	N/A
Majority			9,121	25.9
Turnout			35,251	66.1	+6.6
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

General Election 2001: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Llew Smith	22,855	72.0	−7.4
	Plaid Cymru	Adam J. Rykala	3,542	11.2	+5.9
	Liberal Democrat	Edward Townsend	2,945	9.3	+0.6
	Conservative	Huw B. Williams	2,383	7.5	+0.9
Majority			19,313	60.8	−9.9
Turnout			31,725	59.5	−12.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Llew Smith	31,493	79.5	+0.5
	Liberal Democrat	Geraldine Layton	3,458	8.7	+2.3
	Conservative	Margrit A. Williams	2,607	6.6	−3.2
	Plaid Cymru	Jim B. Criddle	2,072	5.2	+0.4
Majority			28,035	70.7	+1.5
Turnout			39,630	72.3	−5.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Llew Smith	34,333	79.0	+3.1
	Conservative	David Melding	4,266	9.8	−1.7
	Liberal Democrat	Alistair Burns	2,774	6.4	−2.5
	Plaid Cymru (Green)	Alun Davies	2,099	4.8	+1.1
Majority			30,067	69.2	+4.8
Turnout			43,472	78.1	+0.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.4

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foot	32,820	75.9	+5.9
	Conservative	A. R. Taylor	4,959	11.5	+0.3
	Liberal	D. I. McBride	3,847	8.9	−6.2
	Plaid Cymru	S. Morgan	1,621	3.7	+0.0
Majority			27,861	64.4	+9.5
Turnout			43,247	77.2	+0.4
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.8

General Election 1983: Blaenau Gwent
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Foot	30,113	70.0	N/A
	Liberal	Gareth Martin Atkinson	6,488	15.1	N/A
	Conservative	T. Philip Morgan	4,816	11.2	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	S. Morgan	1,624	3.7	N/A
Majority			23,625	54.9	N/A
Turnout			43,041	76.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• Blaenau Gwent (Assembly constituency)
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gwent

Sources

• Election result 2010 for Blaenau Gwent(BBC)
• Election result, 2005 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
• Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1983 - 1992 (Election Demon)
• Election results, 1992 - 2005 (Guardian)

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Cardiff South East	Constituency represented by the Leader of the Opposition 1980–1983	Succeeded by Islwyn