Blaenau Gwent (UK Parliament constituency)
51°46′37″N 3°11′42″W / 51.777°N 3.195°W
Blaenau Gwent | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
![]() Boundary of Blaenau Gwent in Wales | |
Preserved county | Gwent |
Population | 69,814 (2011 census)[1] |
Electorate | 53,791 (December 2010)[2] |
Major settlements | Ebbw Vale, Abertillery, Brynmawr, Tredegar |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1983 |
Member of Parliament | Nick Smith (Labour) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Abertillery, Brecon and Radnor and Ebbw Vale[3] |
Overlaps | |
Senedd | South Wales East |
Blaenau Gwent is a constituency in South Wales created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Nick Smith of the Labour Party.[n 1]
History
- Predecessor seats
Blaenau Gwent incorporates most of the area of Aneurin Bevan's old constituency and other areas as population expansion has been low or negative following the 1960s. 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 Brecon and Radnor, and Bevan's old Ebbw Vale seat with the exception of the area of the Rhymney Community (formerly Rhymney Urban District). 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.
- Strong Labour Party majorities
Until 2005, the constituency statistically ranked in the top 20 safest Labour seats in the country by size of majority and by continuous representation by candidates from that party. In the 1983 and 1992 general elections, it was Labour's safest seat.
In the 2010 general election, Labour candidate Nick Smith gained the seat with a 29.2% swing from Independent back to Labour; as one of three seats Labour gained in that election where its government fell. The 2015 result made the seat the 30th safest of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority.[4]
- Period of independent representation
At the 2005 general election 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.[5]
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, beating Owen Smith, the Labour candidate who later became MP for Pontypridd.
- Opposition parties
The Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats have both been very weak in the seat.From 1987 until 2017 neither had ever won 10% of the vote and the Conservatives had never achieved one eighth of the total votes cast. However, in 2015 the Conservatives achieved just under 15% of the vote, with Plaid Cymru in second place after Labour. 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 2010 result was one of few where an Independent candidate kept their deposit, winning in excess of 5% of the votes cast, and pushed one of the main three parties into fourth place; the independent Blaenau Gwent People's Voice group fielded no candidate in 2015. Three non-Labour candidates exceeded 5% of the vote (the deposit threshold) in 2015, the foremost locally being UKIP; the Lib Dem and Green candidates failed to retain their deposits.
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[6] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1983 | Michael Foot | Labour |
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 1992 | Llew Smith | Labour |
style="background-color: Template:Independent/meta/color" | | 2005 | Peter Law | Independent |
style="background-color: Template:Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group/meta/color" | | 2006 by-election | Dai Davies | Blaenau Gwent People's Voice |
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" | | 2010 | Nick Smith | Labour |
Elections
Elections in the 2010s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Smith | 18,787 | 58.0 | 0.0 | |
Plaid Cymru | Nigel Copner | 6,880 | 21.2 | +12.2 | |
Conservative | Tracey West | 4,783 | 14.8 | +4.0 | |
UKIP | Dennis May | 973 | 3.0 | −14.9 | |
Independent | Vicki Browning | 666 | 2.1 | n/a | |
Liberal Democrats | Cameron Sullivan | 295 | 0.9 | −1.0 | |
Majority | 11,907 | 36.8 | −3.3 | ||
Turnout | 32,419 | 63.28 | |||
Labour hold | Swing | 0.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Smith | 18,380 | 58.0 | +5.6 | |
UKIP | Susan Boucher | 5,677 | 17.9 | +16.4 | |
Conservative | Tracey West[8] | 3,419 | 10.8 | +3.8 | |
Plaid Cymru | Steffan Lewis | 2,849 | 9.0 | +4.9 | |
Green | Mark Pond | 738 | 2.3 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | Samuel Rees | 620 | 2.0 | −8.2 | |
Majority | 12,703 | 40.1 | +5.3 | ||
Turnout | 31,683 | 61.7 | −0.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −5.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Smith | 16,974 | 52.4 | +20.1 | |
Blaenau Gwent PV | Dai Davies | 6,458 | 19.9 | −38.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | 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 PV | Swing | +29.2 |
Elections in the 2000s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Dai Davies[11][n 2] | 12,543 | 46.2 | −12.0 | |
Labour | Owen Smith | 10,055 | 37.0 | +4.7 | |
Plaid Cymru | Steffan Lewis | 1,755 | 6.5 | +4.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | 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 | +1.2 | |
Majority | 2,488 | 9.1 | −16.8 | ||
Turnout | 27,161 | 50.5 | −14.4 | ||
Independent hold | Swing | −8.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Peter Law | 20,505 | 58.2 | +58.2 | |
Labour | Maggie Jones | 11,384 | 32.3 | −39.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | 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 | +0.5 | |
Majority | 9,121 | 25.9 | |||
Turnout | 35,251 | 66.1 | +6.6 | ||
Independent gain from Labour | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Llew Smith | 22,855 | 72.0 | −7.4 | |
Plaid Cymru | Adam Rykala | 3,542 | 11.2 | +5.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | Charles Townsend | 2,945 | 9.3 | +0.6 | |
Conservative | Huw 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
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Llew Smith | 31,493 | 79.5 | +0.5 | |
Liberal Democrats | 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 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Llew Smith | 34,333 | 79.0 | +3.1 | |
Conservative | David Melding | 4,266 | 9.8 | −1.7 | |
Liberal Democrats | 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
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Michael Foot | 32,820 | 75.9 | +5.9 | |
Conservative | Andrew Taylor | 4,959 | 11.5 | +0.3 | |
Liberal | David McBride | 3,847 | 8.9 | −6.2 | |
Plaid Cymru | Stephen 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 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Michael Foot | 30,113 | 70.0 | N/A | |
Liberal | Gareth Atkinson | 6,488 | 15.1 | N/A | |
Conservative | Talmai Morgan | 4,816 | 11.2 | N/A | |
Plaid Cymru | Stephen 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
Notes
- ^ A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
- ^ Dai Davies, Peter Law's former agent, stood as an independent with the support of the Blaenau Gwent People's Voice Group.
Notes and references
- ^ "Blaenau Gwent: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Beyond 20/20 WDS - Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ^ "'Blaenau Gwent', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ List of Labour MPs elected in 2015 by % majority UK Political.info. Retrieved 2017-01-29
- ^ Tweedie, Neil (23 June 2006). "No welcome in these valleys for Labour". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-19. Retrieved 2015-02-19.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Election 2010: Blaenau Gwent". BBC. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Your election candidates - so far". South Wales Argus.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election 2005, Result: Blaenau Gwent". BBC. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1997". 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. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
- ^ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
External links
- nomis Constituency Profile for Blaenau Gwent presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
- Election results, 1997 - 2001 (BBC)
- Election results, 1997 - 2001 (Election Demon)
- Election results, 1983 - 1992 (Election Demon)
- Election results, 1992 - 2005 (Guardian)