Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Pembrokeshire
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Preserved county Dyfed
Major settlements Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock, Tenby
1536–1997
Number of members One
Replaced by Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire and Preseli Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire (Welsh: Sir Benfro) was a parliamentary constituency based on the county of Pembrokeshire in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.

History

The Laws in Wales Act 1535 (26 Hen. VIII, c. 26) provided for a single county seat in the House of Commons for each of twelve historic Welsh counties (including Pembrokeshire) and two for Monmouthshire. Using the modern year, starting on 1 January, these parliamentary constituencies were authorised in 1536. In practice, the first known Knights of the Shire from Wales (as Members of Parliament from county constituencies were known before the nineteenth century) may not have been elected until 1545.

The Act contains the following provision, which had the effect of enfranchising the shire of Pembroke.

And that for this present Parliament, and all other Parliaments to be holden and kept for this Realm, one Knight shall be chosen and elected to the same Parliaments for every of the Shires of Brecknock, Radnor, Mountgomery and Denbigh, and for every other Shire within the said Country of Dominion of Wales;

The Great Reform Act to the First World War

During this period the seat was largely held by the Conservatives who held off the Liberal challenge which was so apparent in other parts of Wales. When Lord Emlyn inherited the title Earl of Cawdor in 1860 the seat was held until 1866 by George Lort Phillips. He was succeeded by James Bevan Bowen of Llwyngwair who stood down in favour of Sir John Scourfield in 1868. Scourfield died in 1876 and Bowen once again became the county member. In 1880, however, he was defeated by William Davies and the Liberals held the seat until 1918.

The Twentieth Century

The constituency was abolished for the 1997 general election, when its territory was divided between the new constituencies of Preseli Pembrokeshire and Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire. Up to 1950 it was generally considered a Liberal seat, although won by the Conservatives on some occasions. From 1950 it was regarded as a fairly safe Labour seat. However, the Conservatives won the seat in 1970 when the sitting Labour MP Desmond Donnelly left the party and formed The Democratic party. Donnelly lost the seat but polled well. In subsequent elections the Conservative vote held up, tending to suggest that Donnelly had held the seat with large majorities for Labour based on his own popularity as much as being the Labour candidate.

Boundaries

The constituency was established with the boundaries of the county of Pembrokeshire, but by the time of abolition Fishguard and Northern Pembrokeshire had been joined to the neighbouring Cardigan (UK Parliament constituency) constituency to form Ceredigion and Pembroke North, which was captured by Plaid Cymru in 1992. This left Pembrokeshire with the major towns of Haverfordwest, Milford Haven, Pembroke Dock and Tenby.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1545-1601

ParliamentMember
1542 Thomas Jones[1]
1545 John Wogan [1]
1547 Sir Thomas Jones[1]
1553 (Mar) ?
1553 (Oct) Sir John Wogan[1]
1554 (Apr) Arnold Butler [1]
1554 (Nov) Arnold Butler [1]
1555 ?Richard Cornwall [1]
1558 Thomas Cathern [1]
1559 (Jan) William Philipps [2]
1562–1563 Sir John Perrot [2]
1571 John Wogan[2]
1572 William Philipps, died 1573,
replaced 1576 by John Wogan , died 1581,
replaced 1584 by Sir Thomas Perrot[2]
1584 (Nov) Thomas Revell[2]
1586 Thomas Revell[2]
1588 (Oct) George Devereux[2]
1593 Sir Thomas Perrot[2]
1597 (Sep) Sir Gelly Meyrick[2]
1601 John Philipps[2]

MPs 1601–1832

ElectionMember[3]Party
1604 Alban Stepney
1614 Sir John Wogan
1620 Sir John Wogan
1624 Sir James Perrott
1625 Sir John Wogan
1626 Sir John Wogan
1628 Sir John Wogan
1640 (Apr) Sir John Wogan
1640 (Nov) Sir John Wogan, died 1644
replaced by ?
1645 Arthur Owen
1648 ?
1653 Not represented in Barebones Parliament
1654 Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet
Arthur Owen
1656 James Philipps
John Clark
1659 Sir Erasmus Philipps, 3rd Baronet
1660 Arthur Owen Whig
1678 John Owen Whig
1679 Sir Hugh Owen, Bt Whig
1681 William Wogan Tory
1685 William Barlow Tory
1689 Sir Hugh Owen, Bt Whig
1695 Sir Arthur Owen, Bt Whig
1705 Wirriot Owen Whig
1710 John Barlow Tory
1715 Sir Arthur Owen, Bt
1727 John Campbell
1747 Sir William Owen, Bt
1761 Sir John Philipps, Bt
1765 Sir Richard Philipps, Bt
1770 Sir Hugh Owen, Bt
1786 The Lord Milford
1812 Sir John Owen, Bt

MPs 1832-1997

ElectionMember[3]Party
1832 Sir John Owen Tory
1841 Viscount Emlyn Conservative
1861 b-e George Lort Phillips Conservative
1866 b-e James Bevan Bowen Conservative
1868 Sir John Scourfield Conservative
1876 b-e James Bevan Bowen Conservative
1880 William Davies Liberal
1892 William Rees Davies Liberal
1898 b-e John Philipps Liberal
1908 b-e Walter Francis Roch Liberal
1918 Sir Evan Davies Jones Coalition Liberal
1922 Gwilym Lloyd-George National Liberal
1923 Liberal
1924 Charles Price Unionist
1929 Gwilym Lloyd-George Liberal
1950 Desmond Donnelly Labour
1968 Independent
1969 Democratic Party
1970 Nicholas Edwards Conservative
1987 Nicholas Bennett Conservative
1992 Nick Ainger Labour
1997 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1885 Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Davies 4,999 n/a
Conservative Charles Phillips 3,738 n/a
Majority n/a
Turnout n/a
Liberal win (new seat)
General Election 1886 Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Davies 4,099
Conservative Charles Phillips 3,983
Majority 116
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1890s

Rees Davies
General Election 1892 Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Rees-Davies 4,800
Conservative Charles Phillips 3,701
Majority 1,099
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1895 Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Rees-Davies 4,550
Conservative A. Saunders Davies 3,970
Majority 580
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing
Wynford Philipps
Pembrokeshire by-election, 1898 [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Philipps 5,070 59.9
Conservative Hugh Campbell 3,400 40.1
Majority 1,670 19.8
Turnout 8,470 76.6
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900 Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Philipps unopposed n/a n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election 1906 Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Philipps 5,886 69.3 n/a
Conservative John Lort-Williams 2,606 30.7 n/a
Majority 3,280 38.6 n/a
Turnout 8,492 75.0 n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
Walter Roch
Pembrokeshire by-election, 1908 [4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Walter Roch 5,460
Conservative John Lort-Williams 3,286
Majority 2,174
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election January 1910: Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Walter Roch 6,135 65.1 n/a
Conservative Edward Marlay Samson 3,291 34.9 n/a
Majority 2,844 30.2 n/a
Turnout 9,426 n/a
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election December 1910: Pembrokeshire[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Walter Roch 5,689 65.5 -0.4
Conservative Edward Marlay Samson 2,996 34.5 +0.4
Majority 2,693 31.0 -0.8
Turnout 8,685
Liberal hold Swing -0.4

General Election 1914/15:

Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

General Election 1918: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal 19,200
Labour Ivor Gwynne 7,712
Christian Socialist Griffith Bowen Thomas 597
Majority
Turnout
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1920s

G. Lloyd George
General Election 1922: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
National Liberal Gwilym Lloyd George 21,569 69.0
Labour William James Jenkins 9,703 31.0
Majority 11,866 38.0
Turnout 31,272
National Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1923: Pembrokeshire [6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Gwilym Lloyd George 13,173 38.3 -30.7
Unionist Charles Price 11,682 34.0 n/a
Labour William James Jenkins 9,511 27.7 -3.3
Majority 1,491 4.3 -33.7
Turnout 77.9
Liberal hold Swing n/a
General Election 1924: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Charles Price 14,575 40.4
Liberal Gwilym Lloyd George 13,045 36.2
Labour William James Jenkins 8,455 23.4
Majority 4.2
Turnout 36,075
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1929: Pembrokeshire [7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Gwilym Lloyd George 19,050 41.8 +5.6
Unionist Charles Price 14,235 31.3 -9.1
Labour William James Jenkins 12,235 26.9 +3.5
Majority 4,815 10.6 14.8
Turnout 45,520
Liberal gain from Unionist Swing +7.4

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal 24,606 55.71
Conservative Charles Price 19,560 44.29
Majority 5,046 11.43
Turnout 79.88
Liberal hold Swing
General Election 1935: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Gwilym Lloyd George 16,734 37.41
Conservative George Edmund Allison 15,660 35.01
Labour William James Jenkins 12,341 27.59
Majority 1,074 2.40
Turnout 79.13
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1939/40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;

General Election 1945: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Gwilym Lloyd George 22,997 50.18
Labour Wilfred Fienburgh 22,829 49.82
Majority 168 0.37
Turnout 72.29
Liberal hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Pembrokeshire[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Desmond Donnelly 25,550 50.1
National Liberal and Conservative Gwilym Lloyd George 25,421 49.9
Majority 129 0.2
Turnout 83.2
Labour gain from Liberal Swing
General Election 1951: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Desmond Donnelly 25,994 48.4
Conservative Frederick Farey-Jones 16,968 31.6
Liberal Dyfrig Hughes Pennant 10,688 19.9
Majority 9,026 16.8
Turnout 86.0
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1955: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Desmond Donnelly 27,002 51.5
Independent William L Davies 25,410 48.5
Majority 1,592 3.0
Turnout 84.0
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1959: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Desmond Donnelly 27,623 52.9
Conservative Henry Graham Partridge 22,301 42.8
Plaid Cymru Waldo Williams 2,253 4.3
Majority 5,322 10.2
Turnout 52,177 83.6
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Desmond Donnelly 23,926 47.23
Conservative Henry Graham Partridge 15,340 30.28
Liberal Alan Coulthard 9,679 19.11
Plaid Cymru Dyfrig Thomas 1,717 3.39
Majority 8,586 16.95
Turnout 81.46
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1966: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Desmond Donnelly 23,852 48.15
Conservative Franicis Michael Fisher 17,921 36.17
Liberal Owain Glyn Williams 5,308 10.71
Plaid Cymru Jack Sheppard 2,460 4.97
Majority 5,931 11.97
Turnout 79.76
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Edwards 19,120 34.73
Labour Gordon Parry 17,889 32.49
Democratic Party Desmond Donnelly 11,824 21.48
Plaid Cymru Wynne Samuel 3,681 6.69
Liberal David Wynford Thomas 3,541 4.62
Majority 1,231 2.24
Turnout 77.85
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General Election February 1974: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Edwards 22,268 38.25
Labour Gordon Parry 20,789 35.71
Liberal Patrick Edwin Charles Jones 12,340 21.20
Plaid Cymru RV Davies 2,820 4.84
Majority 1,479 2.54
Turnout 81.44
Conservative hold Swing
General Election October 1974: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Edwards 23,190 40.47
Labour Gordon Parry 22,418 39.12
Liberal Patrick Edwin Charles Jones 9,116 15.91
Plaid Cymru RB Davies 2,580 4.50
Majority 772 1.35
Turnout 79.53
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1979: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Edwards 30,483 49.16
Labour A Evans 23,015 37.11
Liberal Richard Livsey 6,249 10.08
Plaid Cymru R Dawe 1,573 2.54
Ecology B Kingzett 694 1.12
Majority 7,468 12.04
Turnout 81.31
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1983: Pembrokeshire
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Edwards 24,860 46.88
Labour AP Griffiths 15,504 29.23
Social Democratic J Pullin 10,983 20.71
Plaid Cymru Osi Rhys Osmond 1,073 2.02
Ecology David Hoffman 478 0.90
Independent GS Phillips 136 0.26
Majority 9,356 17.64
Turnout 76.12
Conservative hold Swing
General Election 1987: Pembrokeshire[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Nicholas Bennett 23,314 41.0
Labour Bryan Rayner 17,614 31.0
Liberal Patrick Jones 14,832 26.1
Plaid Cymru Osi Rhys Osmond 1,119 1.9
Majority 5,700 10
Turnout 80.84
Conservative hold Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Pembrokeshire[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Nick Ainger 26,253 43.3 +12.3
Conservative Nicholas Bennett 25,498 42.0 +1.1
Liberal Democrat Peter Berry 6,625 10.9 −15.2
Plaid Cymru Conrad L. Bryant 1,627 2.7 +0.7
Green Roger W. Coghill 484 0.8 +0.8
Anti-Federalist League RM Stoddart 158 0.3 +0.3
Majority 755 1.2 −8.8
Turnout 60,645 82.9 +2.0
Labour gain from Conservative Swing +5.6

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "History of Parliament". Retrieved 2011-08-30.
  3. 1 2 Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "P"
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 British parliamentary election results, 1885-1918 (Craig)
  5. ↑ Western Mail 28 Mar 1914
  6. ↑ Etholiadau'r ganrif 1885-1997, Beti Jones
  7. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  8. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1950-1970, FWS Craig
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1987. David Boothroyd. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  11. ↑ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 Dec 2010.

Sources

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