Aberavon (Welsh: Aberafan) was a constituency in Wales in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented from 1922 until 2024 by the Welsh Labour Party. It included the town of Aberavon, although the largest town in the constituency was Port Talbot.
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election by the dividing of the Swansea District. With the exception of the first term, it has always been held by the Labour Party. Ramsay MacDonald, who became Labour's first Prime Minister in 1924, held the seat from 1922 to 1929. Its final MP, Stephen Kinnock, is the son of Neil Kinnock, who was Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1992.
It was one of the most consistently safe seats for Labour; since the end of the Second World War, the Labour candidate had always won Aberavon with a majority at least 33%, and with the exception of 2015, the Labour candidate has also always won an overall majority of the vote in the seat. In 2015, Kinnock only won 48.9% of the vote in Aberavon, against a surge in the vote for the UKIP candidate; however, in 2017, Kinnock's vote share rose by 19.2 percentage points, the biggest increase in the Labour vote in the seat's history, and his majority increased to 50.4%, the highest for an Aberavon MP since 2001. The 2017 result also made Aberavon the safest Labour seat in Wales, however the seat saw a significant swing against Labour in 2019.
Boundaries
Map of boundaries 2010-2024
1918–1950: The Borough of Aberavon, the Urban Districts of Briton Ferry, Glencorwg, Margam, and Porthcawl and part of the Rural Districts of Neath and Penybont.
1950–1983: The Borough of Port Talbot, the Urban Districts of Glyncorrwg and Porthcawl, and part of the Rural District of Penybont.
1983–1997: The Borough of Afan, and the Borough of Neath wards nos. 3 and 6.
1997–2010: The Borough of Port Talbot; and the Borough of Neath wards of Briton Ferry East, Briton Ferry West, Coedffranc Central, Coedffranc North, and Coedffranc West.
2010–2024: The Neath Port Talbot County Borough electoral divisions 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, and Tai-bach.
Commenting on the 1983 boundary changes to the constituency when moving the 2000 Loyal Address of the Blair Government in Parliament, the seat's then-MP Sir John Morris, who would retire at the 2001 general election, said:
"It is a happy tradition on this occasion to refer to one's constituency and to the people who sent one here....Whatever may occur in future, I would deplore the loss of the Member-constituency link. When, after 23 years, I lost part of my constituency, I missed the friendship of two generations. My constituents and I had grown up and grown older together."
61 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[32]
19 voted for more than one candidate.[32]
2 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.[32]
See also
Aberavon (Senedd constituency)
References
^"Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
^2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales(PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
^Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 1)
^ abcdefghCraig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-019. Page 556
^ abcdefgCraig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950-1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 9780900178023. Page 576
^"Politics Resources". Election February 1974. Politics Resources. 28 February 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^"Politics Resources". Election October 1974. Politics Resources. 10 October 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^"Politics Resources". Election 1979. Politics Resources. 3 May 1979. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^"Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
^"Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
^C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p. 120 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995).
^"BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Aberavon". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
^"Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Results". Neath Port Talbot Council. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
^"BBC NEWS > Aberavon". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
^"Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^"Results". Neath Port Talbot Council. 5 May 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
^"Aberavon parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
^ abcd"Results". Neath Port Talbot Council. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
^"Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^ abc"Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Aberavon and Neath Results" (PDF). UK Parliamentary Elections May 2015 results. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
Richard Kimber (2008). "UK General Elections since 1832 UK General Elections since 1832". psr.keele.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
External links
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)
Aberavon UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK