Aberavon (UK Parliament constituency)

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Not to be confused with Aberavon (National Assembly for Wales constituency).
Aberavon
County constituency
Aberavon shown within Wales
Created: 1918
MP: Hywel Francis
Party: Labour
Type: House of Commons
Preserved county: West Glamorgan
EP constituency: Wales

Aberavon is a county constituency of 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 constituency's best-known MP was Ramsay Macdonald, Prime Minister in 1924 and 1929-1935.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The constituency is in south Wales, situated on the right bank of the River Afan, near its mouth in Swansea Bay. The original village of Aberavon or Aberafan is now a district of Port Talbot (so named to reflect the involvement of wealthy local landowner and MP Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot in improving Aberavon's harbour). The valley of the Afan as from about 1840 a place of much metallurgical activity, resulting in tinplate and engineering works (now mostly closed down).

The constituency includes the wards of Aberavon, Baglan, Briton Ferry East, Briton Ferry West, Bryn and Cwmavon, Coedffranc Central, Coedffranc North, Coedffranc West, Cymmer, Glyncorrwg, Gwynfi, Margam, Port Talbot, Sandfields East, Sandfields West, Tai-bach.

The town derives its name from the river Avon (corrupted from Afan), which also gave its name to a mediæval lordship. On the Norman conquest of Glamorgan, Caradoc, the eldest son of the defeated prince, Iestyn ab Gwrgant, continued to hold this lordship, and for the defence of the passage of the river built a castle whose foundations now lie underneath the streets around St Mary's church. His descendants (who from the 13th century onwards styled themselves De Avan or D'Avene) established, under line protection of the castle, a chartered town, which in 1372 received a further charter from Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer, into whose family the lordship had come on an exchange of lands. In modern times these charters were not acted upon, the town being deemed a borough by prescription, but in 1861 it was incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act. From 1832 it belonged to the Swansea parliamentary district of boroughs, uniting with Kenfig, Loughor, Neath and Swansea to return one member; later it acquired its own MP, the most famous to hold the constituency having been Ramsay MacDonald who would become the first Labour prime minister. Aberavon has been one of the Labour Party's safest seats since its creation.

Aberavon village hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1932 and 1966.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1918 John Edwards Labour
1922 Ramsay Macdonald Labour
1929 William George Cove Labour
1959 John Morris Labour
2001 Hywel Francis Labour

[edit] Boundary changes

The boundaries of this constituency have not been changed by boundary changes due to take effect in time for the next UK General Election. No notional results are required.

[edit] Election results

General Election 2005: Aberavon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Hywel Francis 18,077 60.0 -3.1
Liberal Democrat Claire Waller 4,140 13.8 +4.0
Plaid Cymru Philip Evans 3,545 11.8 +2.1
Conservative Annunziata Rees-Mogg 3,064 10.2 +2.6
Veritas Jim Wright 768 2.6 +2.6
Green Miranda La Vey 510 1.7 +1.7
Majority 13,937 46.3 -7.1
Turnout 30,104 58.9 -1.9
Labour hold Swing -3.6
General Election 2001: Aberavon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Hywel Francis 19,063 63.1 -8.2
Plaid Cymru Lisa Turnbull 2,955 9.8 +4.0
Liberal Democrat Chris Davies 2,933 9.7 -1.6
Conservative Ali Miraj 2,296 7.6 -0.3
Independent Andrew Tutton 1,960 6.5 N/A
New Millennium Bean Captain Beany 727 2.4 +1.4
Socialist Alliance Martin Chapman 256 0.8 N/A
Majority 16,108 53.3
Turnout 30,190 61.0 -10.9
Labour hold Swing {{{swing}}}
General Election 1997: Aberavon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour John Morris 25,650 71.3
Liberal Democrat Ronald McConville 4,079 11.3
Conservative Peter Harper 2,835 7.9
Plaid Cymru Philip Cockwell 2,088 5.8
Referendum Party Peter David 970 2.7
Independent Captain Beany 341 1.0
Majority 21,571 62.8
Turnout 35,963 71.9

ASSEMBLY ELECTION RESULTS

[edit] Elections

Assembly Election 2007: Aberavon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Brian Gibbons 10,129 49.3 -10.0
Plaid Cymru Linet Purcell 3,558 17.3 -0.4
Independent Andrew Tutton 2,561 12.5 +12.5
Conservative Daisy Meyland-Smith 1,990 9.7 +0.5
Liberal Democrat Claire Waller 1,450 7.1 -2.8
New Millennium Bean Party Captain Beany 840 4.1 +4.1
Majority 6,571 32.0 -9.7
Turnout 20,528 39.8 +2.4
Labour hold Swing
Assembly Election 2003: Aberavon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Brian Gibbons 11,137 59.4 +8.1
Plaid Cymru Geraint Owen 3,324 17.7 -4.6
Liberal Democrat Claire Waller 1,840 9.8 -3.8
Conservative Myr Boult 1,732 9.2 +2.3
Independent Robert Williams 608 3.2 +3.2
Independent Gwenno Saunders 114 0.6 +0.6
Majority 7,813 41.7 +12.7
Turnout 18,755 37.7 -9.4
Labour hold Swing
Assembly Election 1999: Aberavon
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Brian Gibbons 11,941 51.3
Plaid Cymru Janet Davies 5,198 22.3
Liberal Democrat Keith Davies 3,165 13.6
Conservative Mary Davies 1,624 7.0
Independent Captain Beany 849 3.6
Independent David Pudner 517 2.2
Majority 6,743 29.0
Turnout 23,294 46.9
Labour hold Swing


[edit] See also

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Bewdley		 Constituency represented by the Prime Minister
1924		 Succeeded by
Bewdley
v • d • e
Constituencies in Wales
Labour
Liberal Democrat
Conservative
Plaid Cymru
Independent
Wales European constituency: Labour (2) · Conservative (1) · Plaid Cymru (1)