Neath (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Neath (Assembly constituency).

Neath
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Neath in Wales.
Preserved county	West Glamorgan
Electorate	57,823 (December 2010)^[1]
Major settlements	Neath, Pontardawe
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of parliament	Christina Rees (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Swansea District
Overlaps
Welsh Assembly	South Wales West
European Parliament constituency	Wales

Neath (Welsh: Castell-nedd) is a constituency 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 and one Assembly Member by the first past the post system of election.

History

The constituency is located in the preserved county of West Glamorgan, Wales. It consists of the electoral wards of: Aberdulais, Allt-wen, Blaengwrach, Bryn-côch North, Bryn-côch South, Cadoxton, Cimla, Crynant, Cwmllynfell, Dyffryn, Glynneath, Godre'r Graig, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Lower Brynamman, Neath East, Neath North, Neath South, Onllwyn, Pelenna, Pontardawe, Resolven, Rhos, Seven Sisters, Tonna, Trebanos, Ystalyfera.

The Neath constituency is a mixture of both industrial and rural communities, running in a north-south strip along the dips, ridges and folded landscape of South Wales. It includes most of the Neath and Dulais valleys, and some of the Upper Swansea Valley as well. The town of Neath is at its southern end and is a medium-sized town which started life as a Roman Nidum.

The constituency boasts historical places of both industrial and natural forms. Neath and the surrounding areas were industrialised very early in Britain's history. Copper smelting was already happening here in the late sixteenth century.

When Neath Abbey (now a magnificent ruin) was founded in 1129, it was the richest of all Welsh monasteries, and in writings of the sixteenth century was described as the 'fairest Abbey of all Wales'. At its height it owned extensive lands and property, from Glamorgan to Somerset; had almost 5,000 sheep, as well as horses and cattle; it owned a ship and a landing-place, and worked mills, fisheries and coal-mines. But it suffered greatly during the many skirmishes between the Welsh and English (or Normans), and by the 1530s had only eight monks left. The ruins date mostly from the late thirteenth century. It has been in turn, a prosperous Abbey, a Jacobean Mansion (painted by Turner), an iron foundry (which explains the Abbey's position in the middle of an industrial area) and now an historical monument.

The constituency was heavily mined and the small communities that grew up around these mines were devastated by the collapse of the mining industry in the 1980s. On the edges of many of these communities there are now "Industrial Villages" springing up, helping to replace the jobs lost by the demise of the mining industry, and so helping to keep young people in these communities.^[2]

A legacy to Neath's political history is the memorial stone in Victoria Gardens to the 5 Neath citizens killed during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-38.

The constituency remains a Welsh-speaking area, with approximately 26% of the population reported as Welsh speakers.

Members of Parliament

Its current Member of Parliament is Christina Rees.

	Member^[3]	Party
1918	John Hugh Edwards	Coalition Liberal
1922	Sir William Jenkins	Labour
1945 by-election	D. J. Williams	Labour
1964	Donald Coleman	Labour
1991 by-election	Peter Hain	Labour
2015	Christina Rees	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Neath ^[4]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Christina Rees	16,270	43.8	−2.4
	Plaid Cymru	Daniel Thomas^[5]	6,722	18.1	−1.8
	UKIP	Richard Pritchard	6,094	16.4	+14.2
	Conservative	Ed Hastie^[6]	5,691	15.3	+2.3
	Green	Catrin Brock	1,185	3.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrat	Clare Bentley	1,173	3.2	−11.8
Majority			9,548	25.7	−0.6
Turnout			37,135	66.2	+1.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-0.3

General Election 2010: Neath^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Hain	17,172	46.3	-6.3
	Plaid Cymru	Alun Llywelyn	7,397	19.9	+2.8
	Liberal Democrat	Frank Little	5,535	14.9	+0.6
	Conservative	Emmeline Owens	4,847	13.1	+1.5
	BNP	Michael Green	1,342	3.6	N/A
	UKIP	James Bevan	829	2.2	N/A
Majority			9,775	26.3
Turnout			37,122	64.9	+2.4
	Labour hold		Swing	-4.6

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Hain	18,835	52.6	-8.1
	Plaid Cymru	Geraint Owen	6,125	17.1	-1.3
	Liberal Democrat	Sheila Waye	5,112	14.3	+4.8
	Conservative	Harri Davies	4,136	11.5	+2.0
	Green	Susan Jay	658	1.8	N/A
	Independent	Gerry Brienza	360	1.0	N/A
	Legalise Cannabis	Pat Tabram	334	0.9	N/A
	Respect	Heather Falconer	257	0.7	N/A
Majority			12,710	35.5
Turnout			35,817	62.2	-0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	-3.4

General Election 2001: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Hain	21,253	60.7	-12.8
	Plaid Cymru	Alun Llewelyn	6,437	18.4	+10.3
	Liberal Democrat	Dai Davies	3,335	9.5	+3.2
	Conservative	David Devine	3,310	9.5	+0.8
	Socialist Alliance	Huw Pudner	483	1.4	N/A
	ProLife Alliance	Gerry Brienza	202	0.6	N/A
Majority			14,816	42.3
Turnout			35,020	62.5	-11.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Neath^[9]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Hain	30,324	73.5	+5.5
	Conservative	David R. Adams	3,583	8.7	−6.6
	Plaid Cymru	Trefor Jones	3,344	8.1	−3.2
	Liberal Democrat	Frank H. Little	2,597	6.3	+0.9
	Referendum	Peter A. Morris	975	2.4	N/A
	Legalise Cannabis Party	Dennis Howard Marks	420	1.0	N/A
Majority			26,741	64.8
Turnout			41,243	74.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.1

General Election 1992: Neath^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Peter Hain	30,903	68.0	+4.6
	Conservative	David R. Adams	6,928	15.2	−0.9
	Plaid Cymru	Dr Dewi R.Evans	5,145	11.3	+4.9
	Liberal Democrat	Rev. Michael Phillips	2,467	5.4	−8.6
Majority			23,975	52.8	+5.5
Turnout			45,443	80.6	+1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.8

Neath by-election 1991
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Peter Hain	17,962	51.7
	Plaid Cymru	Dewi Evans	8,132	23.3
	Conservative	Richard Evans	2,995	8.6
	Liberal Democrat	David Lloyd	2,000	5.8
	Social Democratic	John Warman	1,826	5.3
	Local Independent Labour	Rhys Jeffreys	1,253	3.6
	Monster Raving Loony	David Sutch	263	0.8
	Captain Beany of the Bean Party	Barry Kirk	262	0.7
Majority			9,830	28.7
Turnout			34,753	64.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	27,612	63.37
	Conservative	Martin Russell Thomson Howe	7,034	16.14
	Social Democratic	John Warman	6,132	14.07
	Plaid Cymru	Huw John	2,792	6.41
Majority			20,578	47.23
Turnout				78.84
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	22,670	53.62
	Social Democratic	K Davies	9,066	21.44
	Conservative	R Buckley	7,350	17.38
	Plaid Cymru	I Owen	3,046	7.20
	Computer Democrat	J Donavon	150	0.35
Majority			13,604	32.17
Turnout				76.50
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	27,071	64.52
	Conservative	C Sandy	8,455	20.15
	Plaid Cymru	Aled Gwyn	6,430	15.33
Majority			18,616	44.37
Turnout				81.22
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	25,028	61.44
	Plaid Cymru	HG Evans	7,305	17.93
	Conservative	M Harris	4,641	11.39
	Liberal	D Owen	3,759	9.23
Majority			17,723	43.51
Turnout				77.95
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	25,351	62.25
	Plaid Cymru	HG Evans	8,758	21.51
	Conservative	LJ Walters	6,616	16.25
Majority			16,593	40.74
Turnout				78.49
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	28,378	71.42
	Conservative	DHJ Martin-Jones	6,765	17.03
	Plaid Cymru	G John	4,012	10.10
	Communist	Bert Pearce	579	1.46
Majority			21,613	54.39
Turnout				75.33
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	31,183	79.90
	Conservative	PH Valerio	6,312	16.13
	Communist	JJ David	1,632	4.17
Majority			24,871	63.56
Turnout				78.74
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Donald Coleman	29,692	73.38
	Conservative	MN Scorgie	8,342	20.61
	Communist	JJ David	2,432	6.01
Majority			21,350	52.76
Turnout				80.42
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. J. Williams	30,469	71.37
	Conservative	DNI Pearce	10,263	24.04
	Communist	JJ David	1,962	4.60
Majority			20,206	47.33
Turnout				82.56
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. J. Williams	30,581	76.36
	Conservative	JC Hope	9,467	23.64
Majority			21,114	52.72
Turnout				77.88
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. J. Williams	34,496	76.89
	Conservative	G Jennings	10,367	23.11
Majority			24,129	53.78
Turnout				85.94
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. J. Williams	33,034	72.97
	Conservative	JC Hope	6,225	13.75
	Liberal	O Vaughan Jones	4,425	9.78
	Communist	A Thomas	1,584	3.50
Majority			26,809	59.22
Turnout				87.53
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Neath
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	David James Williams	37,957	75.8	-3.5
	Liberal National	David J Bowen	8,466	16.9	n/a
	Plaid Cymru	Wynne Islwyn Samuel	3,659	7.3	-8.9
Majority			29,491	58.9	-4.2
Turnout				75.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Neath by-election, 1945
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	David James Williams	30,847	79.3	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Wynne Islwyn Samuel	6,290	16.2	N/A
	Revolutionary Communist	Jock Haston	1,781	4.6	N/A
Majority			24,557	63.1	N/A
Turnout			38,918		N/A
	Labour hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Neath Electorate 64,575
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sir William Jenkins	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Labour hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1931: Neath^[12] Electorate 61,550
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Sir William Jenkins	30,873	64.0	+3.8
	Liberal	DG Davies	17,389	36.0	+6.2
Majority			13,484	27.9	-2.5
Turnout			48,262	78.4	-3.7
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.2

Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Neath^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Jenkins	29,455	60.2	n/a
	Liberal	Jack Jones	14,554	29.8	n/a
	Unionist	David J Evans	4,892	10.0	n/a
Majority			14,901	30.4	n/a
Turnout				82.1	n/a
	Labour hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1924: Neath^[13] Electorate
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Jenkins	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Labour hold		Swing	n/a

General Election 1923: Neath ^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Jenkins	20,764	62.3	+2.8
	Liberal	Thomas Elias	12,562	37.7	-2.8
Majority			8,202	24.6	+5.6
Turnout				73.9	-1.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.8

General Election 1922 : Neath ^[13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	William Jenkins	19,566	59.5	+24.3
	National Liberal	John Hugh Edwards	13,331	40.5	-24.3
Majority			6,235	19.0	48.6
Turnout				75.4	+4.8
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing	+24.3

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918 Neath^[13] Electorate 38,929
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	John Hugh Edwards	17,818	64.8	n/a
	Labour	Rev. Herbert Morgan	9,670	35.2	n/a
Majority			8,148	29.6	n/a
Turnout				70.6	n/a
	Liberal win

denotes candidate who was endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Notes and references

↑ "Beyond 20/20 WDS - Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
↑ Neath Port Talbot council
↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 1)
↑ "Aberavon and Neath Results" (PDF). UK Parliamentary Elections May 2015 results. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
↑ http://electionresults.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/neath-2015.html
↑ "Ed Hastie PPC page". Conservative Party (UK). Retrieved 31 January 2015.
↑ Neath, Neath Port Talbot CBC - candidates Neath
↑ Neath BBC Election - Neath
↑ "Welsh Counties". Election 1997. David Boothroyd. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
↑ "'Neath', May 1997 -". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Project. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
↑ Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
1 2 3 4 5 Craig, F. W. S. (1983). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (3 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.

Electoral wards of Neath Port Talbot county borough

Aberavon	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

Neath	Aberdulais Allt-Wen Blaengwrach Bryncoch North Bryncoch South Cadoxton Cimla Crynant Cwmllynfell Dyffryn Glynneath Godre'r Graig Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen Lower Brynamman Neath East Neath North Neath South Onllwyn Pelenna Pontardawe Resolven Rhos Seven Sisters Tonna Trebanos Ystalyfera

Constituencies in Wales (40)

Labour (25)	Aberavon Alyn and Deeside Blaenau Gwent Bridgend Caerphilly Cardiff Central Cardiff South and Penarth Cardiff West Clwyd South Cynon Valley Delyn Islwyn Llanelli Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney Neath Newport East Newport West Ogmore Pontypridd Rhondda Swansea East Swansea West Torfaen Wrexham Ynys Môn

Conservative (11)	Aberconwy Brecon and Radnorshire Cardiff North Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Clwyd West Gower Monmouth Montgomeryshire Preseli Pembrokeshire Vale of Clwyd Vale of Glamorgan

Plaid Cymru (3)	Arfon Carmarthen East and Dinefwr Dwyfor Meirionnydd

Liberal Democrats (1)	Ceredigion

Wales European constituency: Conservative (1) Labour (1) Plaid Cymru (1) UKIP (1)

Coordinates: 51°43′14″N 3°46′11″W / 51.72056°N 3.76972°W / 51.72056; -3.76972

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