Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Gorllewin Caerfyrddin a De Sir Benfro) was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
Former county constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire in Wales
Preserved county	Dyfed
Population	77,338 (2011 census)
Electorate	58,994 (December 2010)
Major settlements	Carmarthen (part), Pembroke Dock, Tenby
1997–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Pembroke, Carmarthen
Replaced by	Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen), Mid and South Pembrokeshire
Senedd	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire, Mid and West Wales

The Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Senedd constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999 (as an Assembly constituency).

The constituency was abolished as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales. Its wards were split between Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen) and Mid and South Pembrokeshire.

Boundaries

Map of boundaries 1997-2024

The constituency was created in 1997 from parts of the former marginal seats of Pembroke and Carmarthen. Main population areas in the seat include the towns of Carmarthen, Pembroke Dock, Pembroke and Tenby. Saundersfoot and Dylan Thomas' homestead of Laugharne are also within the constituency.

The constituency included the whole of 22 Carmarthenshire communities (Abernant; Bronwydd; Carmarthen; Cilymaenllwyd; Cynwyl Elfed; Eglwyscummin; Henllanfallteg; Laugharne Township; Llanboidy; Llanddowror; Llangain; Llangynin; Llangynog; Llanpumsaint; Llansteffan; Llanwinio; Meidrim; Newchurch and Merthyr; Pendine; St Clears; Trelech; Whitland), the whole of 24 Pembrokeshire communities (Amroth; Angle; Carew; Cosheston; East Williamston; Hundleton; Jeffreyston; Kilgetty/Begelly; Lampeter Velfrey; Lamphey; Llanddewi Velfrey; Llawhaden; Manorbier; Martletwy; Narberth; Pembroke; Pembroke Dock; Penally; St Florence; St Mary Out Liberty; Saundersfoot; Stackpole and Castlemartin; Templeton; and Tenby), also the eastern part of the Pembrokeshire community of Uzmaston, Boulston and Slebech.

Profile

Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire is a marginal seat between the Labour Party and the Conservatives. The Conservatives are very strong around the more rural parts of the seat along with Pembroke, whereas Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock are more inclined to the Labour Party. Plaid Cymru is traditionally stronger in West Carmarthenshire as well as the Tenby area where several local councillors represent the party.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1997	Nick Ainger	Labour
	2010	Simon Hart	Conservative
	2024	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1997: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nicholas Ainger	20,956	49.1	N/A
	Conservative	Owen Williams	11,335	26.6	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Roy Llewellyn	5,402	12.7	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Evans	3,516	8.2	N/A
	Referendum	Joy Poirrier	1,432	3.4	N/A
Majority			9,621	22.5	N/A
Turnout			42,641	76.5	N/A
Registered electors			55,724
	Labour win (new seat)

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nicholas Ainger	15,349	41.6	−7.5
	Conservative	Robert Wilson	10,811	29.3	+2.7
	Plaid Cymru	Llyr Gruffydd	6,893	18.7	+6.0
	Liberal Democrats	William Jeremy	3,248	8.8	+0.6
	UKIP	Ian Phillips	537	1.5	N/A
	Direct Customer Service Party	Nicholas Turner	78	0.2	N/A
Majority			4,538	12.3	−10.2
Turnout			36,916	65.3	−11.2
Registered electors			56,518
	Labour hold		Swing	-5.1

General election 2005: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nicholas Ainger	13,953	36.9	−4.7
	Conservative	David Morris	12,043	31.8	+2.5
	Plaid Cymru	John Dixon	5,582	14.7	−4.0
	Liberal Democrats	John Allen	5,399	14.3	+5.5
	UKIP	Josie MacDonald	545	1.4	−0.1
	Legalise Cannabis	Alexander Daszak	237	0.6	N/A
	Independent	Nick Turner	104	0.3	N/A
Majority			1,910	5.1	−7.2
Turnout			37,863	67.3	+2.0
Registered electors			56,245
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.6

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Hart	16,649	41.1	+9.8
	Labour	Nicholas Ainger	13,226	32.7	−4.2
	Liberal Democrats	John Gossage	4,890	12.1	−2.1
	Plaid Cymru	John Dixon	4,232	10.4	−4.3
	UKIP	Raymond Clarke	1,146	2.8	+1.4
	Independent	Henry Langen	364	0.9	N/A
Majority			3,423	8.4	N/A
Turnout			40,507	70.4	+3.1
Registered electors			58,108
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.9

General election 2015: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Hart	17,626	43.7	+2.6
	Labour	Delyth Evans	11,572	28.7	−4.0
	UKIP	John Atkinson	4,698	11.6	+8.8
	Plaid Cymru	Elwyn Williams	4,201	10.4	±0.0
	Green	Gary Tapley	1,290	3.2	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Selwyn Runnett	963	2.4	−9.7
Majority			6,054	15.0	+6.6
Turnout			40,350	69.8	−0.6
Registered electors			57,755
	Conservative hold		Swing	+3.3

General election 2017: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Hart	19,771	46.8	+3.1
	Labour	Marc Tierney	16,661	39.5	+10.8
	Plaid Cymru	Abi Thomas	3,933	9.3	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Cameron	956	2.3	−0.1
	UKIP	Phil Edwards	905	2.1	−9.5
Rejected ballots			65
Majority			3,110	7.3	−7.7
Turnout			42,226	72.1	+2.3
Registered electors			58,563
	Conservative hold		Swing	-3.8

Of the 65 rejected ballots:

• 44 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
• 14 voted for more than one candidate.
• 7 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.

General election 2019: Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Simon Hart	22,183	52.7	+5.9
	Labour	Marc Tierney	14,438	34.3	−5.2
	Plaid Cymru	Rhys Thomas	3,633	8.6	−0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Cameron	1,860	4.4	+2.1
Rejected ballots			146
Majority			7,745	18.4	+11.1
Turnout			42,114	71.8	−0.3
Registered electors			58,629
	Conservative hold		Swing	+5.5

Of the 146 rejected ballots:

• 110 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
• 35 voted for more than one candidate.
• 1 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.

See also

• Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire (Senedd constituency)
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Dyfed
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Wales

References

1. "Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
2. "Beyond 20/20 WDS - Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
3. 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
4. "Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South 1997-". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 2 February 2015.
5. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 3)
6. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
7. "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
8. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
9. "BBC NEWS > Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
12. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
13. Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire BBC Election 2010 - Carmarthen West and Pembrokeshire South
14. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
15. "Pembrokeshire results". Election Results. Pembrokeshire County Council. Archived from the original on 18 December 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
16. "Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2015" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
17. "UKIP Candidates". UKIP. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
18. Sinclair, Thomas (27 November 2014). "Pembrokeshire Green Party announce candidates". Pembrokeshire Herald.
19. "Greens announce Pembs Parliamentary candidates". Western Telegraph. 27 October 2014.
20. "Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2017" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
21. "Parliamentary General Election 2017" (PDF). Carmarthen County Council. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
22. O'Sullivan, Caitlin (17 May 2017). "General Election 2017: Who are the candidates standing in Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire?". WalesOnline. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
23. "Carmarthen West & Pembrokeshire South parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
24. "Parliamentary General Election 2019" (PDF). Carmarthen County Council. Retrieved 18 January 2020.

External links

• nomis Constituency Profile for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire — presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• 2017 Election House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report
• A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)
• Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK

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