Ceredigion (UK Parliament constituency)

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Ceredigion
County constituency
Ceredigion
Ceredigion shown within Wales
Created: 1536
MP: Mark Williams
Party: Liberal Democrat
Type: House of Commons
Preserved county: Dyfed
EP constituency: Wales

Ceredigion is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1536, it is nowadays a rare marginal between the Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru.

The Ceredigion Welsh Assembly constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999.

Contents

[edit] Boundaries

The boundaries of this constituency mirror almost exactly those of the county of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire).

[edit] History

Ceredigion, sometimes known by the anglicized version of its name as Cardiganshire was first enfranchised in 1536 when King Henry VIII incorporated Wales within England. The county was given one member, who was to be elected by each person who owned property of a sufficient value. In addition the inhabitants of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Adpar and Lampeter were given the right to elect one MP between them, with the vote restricted to the Freemen. The general election of 1715 saw the return of Lewis Pryse, who was expelled from the House of Commons in the following year for refusing to attend the House to take oaths of loyalty to King George I after the Jacobite rising, with which he sympathized.[1]

[edit] Reformed elections

From 1832 the Reform Act changed the electoral system so that householders of homes worth over £10 were enfranchised in the boroughs. The Borough was still dominated by the Loveden-Pryse family based in Gogerddan who were supporters of the Liberals; the county saw more influence of the Powell family of Nanteos who were Conservatives. By agreement between the two, neither challenged the others' domination and so elections were almost always unopposed.

In the 1841 election there was a great deal of confusion in the borough constituency, which was being opposed. The poll books for Aberystwyth were either lost or stolen and never reached the returning officer, who decided that he should return both candidates due to the uncertainty (the Conservative was slightly ahead in the polls from the other three parts). Neither of the two candidates could actually speak in the House of Commons until a committee determined the election, and it accepted the evidence that the Liberal candidate had outpolled the Conservative by more than enough to make his election secure, so he was given the seat. Other than an 1855 byelection victory by 12 votes, the Conservatives never won the borough.

The county saw its first contest in the 1859 general election when two Conservatives fought for the seat. In 1865 the sitting MP stood down and there was a contest between two Liberals, won by Sir Thomas Lloyd, Bt. who defeated a Gladstonian opponent. Lloyd transferred to the borough in the 1868 election and there were close contests for the county thereafter, on a slightly widened franchise.

[edit] Single constituency

In a redistribution of seats for the 1885 general election, the borough constituency was abolished and absorbed into the county, with a further widening of the franchise. This combined to make the county a reasonably safe bet for the Liberal Party and supporters of Gladstone were returned at every election. Initially this was David Davies elected to represent the constituency with a majority of 2,323 (24.2%) on a turnout of 78%, but Davies broke with Gladstone over home rule for Ireland in 1886. He sought re-election as a Liberal Unionist but lost by 9 votes to William Bowen Rowlands, who was the Gladstonian candidate. Rowlands served until appointed (June 1893) as Recorder of Swansea, a part-time Judgeship which was incompatible with membership of the House of Commons.

Matthew Lewis Vaughan Davies of Plas Tanybwlch, who had been the Conservative candidate in the seat in 1885 but then went over to Gladstone, was elected unopposed in the byelection on July 4, 1893. He went on to become the longest serving MP for the constituency, holding it until 1921. His closest electoral call came in the 'Khaki election' of 1900 when he had a majority of 781 (9.4%). Like most Welsh Liberals, he supported David Lloyd George in the split in the Liberal Party, and not Herbert Asquith, and was therefore returned unopposed as a Coalition Liberal in 1918.

[edit] Liberal infighting

With Vaughan Davies known to be a supporter of Lloyd George, it was natural that Lloyd George looked to him to boost his support in the House of Lords and awarded him a peerage in the New Years' Honours list in 1921. Although he would have preferred to be called 'Lord Ceredigion', the Garter King of Arms refused this as an inappropriate title for a Baron, and so Vaughan Davies took his title from the River Ystwyth which ran past his home. The peerage created a vacancy in a historically Liberal seat and the Asquithites decided to take the Lloyd Georgeites on in their 'backyard'.

Ernest Evans, who asserted on his election posters that he was 'THE Liberal candidate', was a Barrister from Aberystwyth and had been Private Secretary to Lloyd George himself, and therefore had the blessing of the Coalition and official support from the Conservatives. Against him, W. Llewelyn Williams was sponsored by the Asquithite 'Welsh Liberal Federation'. No other candidate stood and in the straight fight, Evans won with a majority of 3,590 (14.6%). He held on as a 'National Liberal' (as Lloyd George's supporters called themselves) in the 1922 general election but with a slim majority of 515 votes (2.0%) over Rhys Hopkin Morris.

The sudden shotgun merger of the two factions in the Liberal Party led to Evans getting the official approval of the unified party for the 1923 election. However, the Conservatives decided to fight and this deprived him of their votes. Hopkin Morris decided to fight again as an unofficial Liberal and won with a 5,078 vote majority. He was lucky to survive the 1924 election, a disaster for the Liberals, by being returned unopposed. The first Labour Party candidate stood against him at the 1931 general election and polled 24% of the vote in a straight fight against Morris, who had a 13,752 (52.0%) majority.

In 1932, Morris left Parliament temporarily (he was later to return as MP for Carmarthen) when he was appointed as a Metropolitan Police magistrate. The byelection on September 22, 1932 saw the first three-way fight between the parties, but was won by Owen Evans for the Liberals. Like many of the Liberal MPs he had been a Barrister. Evans died shortly before the 1945 general election, but the seat was easily held by his successor Roderic Bowen; unusually the Labour vote actually fell in percentage terms compared with the previous election despite the Labour landslide in the country at large.

[edit] Labour challenge

Labour established itself as the main challenger to the Liberals at the 1950 general election in a three-way contest, and the Conservatives opted out of the contest thereafter until 1964. This was partly a move to keep the seat from going Labour. Plaid Cymru first fought the seat in 1959 and kept their deposit (just, with 12.8% of the vote).

With a four-way contest involving the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru at the 1964 general election, and a national swing to Labour, Roderic Bowen suffered a precpitate decline in his share of the vote to only 38.4%; he was re-elected with a majority of 2,219 (7.4%) over Labour. After the death of the Speaker in 1965, Bowen accepted the offer of becoming a Deputy Speaker, which prevented him from speaking on behalf of his constituency. For the 1966 election, Labour selected Elystan Morgan who had been a member of Plaid Cymru until 1964; with a further national swing and Morgan making a credible bid for the Welsh-speaking vote, Labour won the seat by 523 votes.

[edit] Liberal resurgence

Morgan managed to hold on to the seat with an increased majority in the 1970 election. The Liberal vote had collapsed nationwide, with Plaid Cymru taking third place. However, the Liberal resurgence in the early 1970s led to the party regaining the seat in the February 1974 general election with Geraint Howells; the October 1974 general election saw almost the same result. In 1979, Howells increased his majority with Labour falling to third place and the Conservatives increasing their vote by more than 20%; this was one of the highest swings in the whole country.

In boundary changes in 1983, the constituency gained a small part of Pembrokeshire and also took a Welsh version of its name, becoming known as Ceredigion and Pembroke North. Geraint Howells was re-elected with the Conservatives second, Labour third and Plaid Cymru fourth in both the 1983 and 1987 general elections.

[edit] Surprise gain

The result of the 1992 general election in Ceredigion and Pembroke North was one of the least expected in the country. Cynog Dafis, a teacher at Aberaeron High School, standing as a Plaid Cymru candidate with support from the local branch of the Green Party, gained the seat with a majority of 3,193. Dafis more than doubled his majority in 1997 with Labour coming in second and the Liberal Democrat vote dropping by 10% to 16.5%. The constituency reverted to the name of Ceredigion at this election, having lost the part of North Pembrokeshire in boundary changes.

Cynog Dafis was unexpectedly elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999 and unlike the other 'dual mandate' MPs chose to resign his seat at Westminster, causing a byelection which saw Simon Thomas retain the seat for Plaid Cymru. The by-election saw Labour fall from second to fourth place and the Liberal Democrats vote rise. At the 2001 general election, Thomas retained the seat, although the Liberal Democrat vote again rose to 26.9%.

[edit] 2005 Liberal resurgence

At the 2005 general election, the Liberal Democrats regained the seat. Mark Williams, who had fought the seat in the 2000 by-election and in 2001, had a majority of 219 (0.6%) following a swing of 6% over Simon Thomas. Mark Williams was the first non-Welsh speaking Member of Parliament elected to represent the constituency since the extension of the franchise in the 19th century.

[edit] Members of Parliament

Duration of term as MP Name of MP Party of MP
1885 David Davies Liberal
1886 - 1895 William Bowen Rowlands Liberal
1895 - 1921 Matthew Vaughn-Davies Liberal
1921 - 1923 Ernest Evans Coalition Liberal
1923 - 1924 Rhys Hopkin Morris Independent Liberal
1924 - 1932 Liberal
1932 - 1945 Owen Evans Liberal
1945 - 1966 Roderic Bowen Liberal
1966 - Feb 1974 Elystan Morgan Labour
Feb 1974 - 1988 Geraint Howells Liberal
1988 - 1992 Liberal Democrat
1992 - 2000 Cynog Dafis Plaid Cymru
2000 - 2005 Simon Thomas Plaid Cymru
2005 - Mark Williams Liberal Democrat

[edit] Election results

[edit] Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Ceredigion
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrat Mark Williams 13,130 36.53 +9.66
Plaid Cymru Simon Thomas 12,911 35.92 -2.35
Conservative John Harrison 4,455 12.39 -7.05
Labour Alun Davies 4,337 12.06 -3.36
Green Dave Bradney 846 2.35
Veritas Iain Sheldon 268 0.75
Majority 219 0.61 -12.01
Turnout 35,947 67.2 +5.53
Liberal Democrat gain from Plaid Cymru Swing +6.0
General Election 2001: Ceredigion
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Plaid Cymru Simon Thomas 13,241 38.3 -3.4
Liberal Democrat Mark Williams 9,297 26.9 +10.4
Conservative Paul Davies 6,730 19.4 +4.6
Labour David Grace 5,338 15.4 -8.9
Majority 3,944 11.4 -8.4
Turnout 34,606 61.7 -12.2
Plaid Cymru hold Swing -6.9
Ceredigion by-election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Plaid Cymru Simon Thomas 10,716 42.8 +1.1
Liberal Democrat Mark Williams 5,768 23.0 +6.5
Conservative Paul Davies 4,138 16.5 +1.6
Labour Maria Battle 3,612 14.4 -9.9
UK Independence John Bufton 487 1.9
Independent Green - Save the World Climate John Davies 289 1.2
Wales on Sunday - Match Funding Now Martin Shipton 55 0.2%
Majority 4,948 19.8 +2.48
Turnout 25,143 46.0 -27.9
Plaid Cymru hold Swing -2.7

[edit] Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Ceredigion
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Plaid Cymru Cynog Dafis 16,728 41.62 +10.67
Labour Robert (Hag) Harris 9,767 24.30 +5.73
Liberal Democrat Dai Davies 6,616 16.46 -10.03
Conservative Dr. Felix Aubel 5,983 14.88 -9.08
Referendum Party John Leaney 1,092 2.71
Majority 6,961 17.32 +4.94
Turnout 40,186 73.90 -4.05
Plaid Cymru hold Swing +2.47
General Election 1992: Ceredigion & Pembroke North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Plaid Cymru Cynog Dafis 16,020 30.3 +15.0
Liberal Democrat Geraint Howells 12,827 25.1 -11.6
Conservative John Williams 12,718 24.8 -2.0
Labour John Davies 9,637 18.8 +0.3
Majority 3,193 6.2
Turnout 51,202 77.4 +0.9
Plaid Cymru gain from Liberal Democrat Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Ceredigion & Pembroke North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geraint Howells 17,683 36.6 -5.2
Conservative John Williams 12,983 26.9 -3.0
Labour John Davies 8,965 18.6 +4.0
Plaid Cymru Cynog Dafis 7,848 16.2 +3.3
Green Marilyb Wakefield 821 1.7 +0.8
Majority 4,700 9.7 -2.3
Turnout 48,300 76.5 -1.3
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1983: Ceredigion & Pembroke North
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geraint Howells 19,677 41.8
Conservative To Raw-Rees 14,038 29.8
Labour Grifith Hughes 6,840 14.5
Plaid Cymru Cynog Dafis 6,072 12.9
Ecology M Smith 431 0.9
Majority 5,639 12.0
Turnout 47,058 77.8
Liberal hold Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Cardigan
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geraint Howells 13,227 35.6 -6.6
Conservative I E Thomas 11,033 29.7 +20.3
Labour J L Powell 7,488 20.2 -15.3
Plaid Cymru D J L hughes 5,382 14.5 +1.3
Majority 2,194 5.9 -1.1
Turnout 37,130 81.5 +1.0
Liberal hold Swing
General Election, October 1974: Cardigan
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geraint Howells 14,612 42.2
Labour Elystan Morgan 12,202 35.2
Plaid Cymru C G Davies 4,583 13.2
Conservative D J D Williams 3,257 9.4
Majority 2,410 9.4
Turnout 34,654 80.5 -3.2
Liberal hold Swing
General Election, February 1974: Cardigan
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Geraint Howells 14,371 40.2
Labour Elystan Morgan 11,895 33.2
Conservative T W Llewellyn 4,758 13.3
Plaid Cymru C G Davies 4,754 13.3
Majority 2,476 7.0
Turnout 35,778 83.7
Liberal gain from Labour Swing

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Members expelled from the House of Commons since the Restoration


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