Brecon and Radnorshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Brecon and Radnorshire (Welsh: Brycheiniog a Sir Faesyfed) is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1918, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election. The constituency is represented by Fay Jones, of the Conservative Party, who defeated incumbent Jane Dodds of the Liberal Democrats at the 2019 general election.

Brecon and Radnorshire
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Brecon and Radnorshire in Wales
Preserved countyPowys
Population69,197 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate53,032 (April 2019)[2]
Major settlementsBrecon, Crickhowell, Ystradgynlais, Knighton, Llandrindod Wells
Current constituency
Created1918
Member of ParliamentFay Jones (Conservative)
Number of membersOne
Created fromBreconshire
Radnorshire
Overlaps
Senedd Cymru – Welsh ParliamentMid and West Wales

Boundaries

The boundaries of the constituency correspond broadly with the ancient counties of Brecknockshire and Radnorshire. Radnorshire is included in full, and the only significantly populated area from Brecknockshire not in this constituency is Brynmawr, which is in Blaenau Gwent. This is the largest constituency in England and Wales by area.[3] No town in the constituency exceeds a population of 10,000, the largest being Ystradgynlais at roughly 9,000. Other towns in the constituency are Brecon, Knighton, Crickhowell and Llandrindod Wells. The remainder of the constituency is largely made up of small villages and land used for farming sheep: sheep outnumber humans in Powys as a whole by around ten to one.[4]

Under planned constituency changes announced in September 2016 ahead of the next general election, it was proposed to merge this seat with the southern half of Montgomeryshire, including Newtown, to form a new constituency called Brecon, Radnor and Montgomery.[5]

History

The constituency was created in the boundary changes of 1918 by merging Breconshire and Radnorshire, both previously constituencies in their own right. While once a Labour stronghold, the constituency was captured from the Conservative government by the SDP–Liberal Alliance at a dramatic by-election in 1985. It was regained by the Conservatives in 1992, taken back by the Liberal Democrats in 1997, and then returned to the Conservatives in 2015. It was the Conservatives' fifteenth target seat at the 2005 election, but the party's share of the vote fell, leaving it as the Conservatives' 95th target seat in 2010, requiring a swing of 5.09%. In the event, the swing to the Conservatives was 0.3%, and the Liberal Democrats retained the seat, with Roger Williams remaining the MP. In 2015 the seat was reclaimed for the Conservatives by Chris Davies, whose majority of 5,102 was the largest in the constituency since Tom Hooson won the seat, also for the Conservatives, in 1983. Roger Williams stood for the Liberal Democrats in 2015 but shed over 6,500 votes from his 2010 result, a loss of 17.8%.

In 2019, Davies pleaded guilty to filing false expenses claims, triggering a recall petition, the third such petition in the UK. The petition was successful, forcing Davies to vacate the seat.[6][7] A by-election was held on 1 August, which was won by Liberal Democrat candidate Jane Dodds.[8] Dodds was then defeated by Conservative Fay Jones at the general election in December 2019.

Members of Parliament

YearMember[9][10] Whip
1918Sidney RobinsonCoalition Liberal
1922 William Jenkins National Liberal
1923 Liberal
1924Walter HallConservative
1929Peter FreemanLabour
1931Walter HallConservative
1935Ivor GuestNational
1939 by-electionWilliam JacksonLabour
1945Tudor WatkinsLabour
1970Caerwyn RoderickLabour
1979Tom HoosonConservative
1985 by-electionRichard LivseyLiberal
1992Jonathan EvansConservative
1997Richard LivseyLiberal Democrats
2001Roger WilliamsLiberal Democrats
2015Christopher DaviesConservative
2019 by-election[lower-alpha 1] Jane DoddsLiberal Democrats
2019Fay JonesConservative

Elections

Brecon & Radnor election results

Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C Liberal Sidney Robinson Unopposed
Registered electors 37,771
Liberal win (new seat)

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal William Jenkins 20,405 67.4 N/A
Labour Edward John 9,850 32.6 New
Majority 10,555 34.8 N/A
Turnout 30,255 77.9 N/A
Registered electors 38,815
National Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1923: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Jenkins Unopposed
Registered electors 39,750
Liberal hold
W.A. Jenkins
General election 1924: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Walter Hall 12,834 38.4 New
Liberal William Jenkins 10,374 31.1 N/A
Labour Edward John 10,167 30.5 New
Majority 2,460 7.3 N/A
Turnout 33,375 83.6 N/A
Registered electors 39,943
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing N/A
General election 1929: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Peter Freeman 14,551 33.7 +3.2
Unionist Walter Hall 14,324 33.3 -5.1
Liberal Wynne Cemlyn-Jones 14,182 33.0 +1.9
Majority 187 0.4 N/A
Turnout 43,057 87.7 +4.1
Registered electors 49,031
Labour gain from Unionist Swing +4.2

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Walter Hall 25,620 59.8 +26.5
Labour Peter Freeman 17,223 40.2 +6.5
Majority 8,397 19.6 N/A
Turnout 42,843 87.1 -0.6
Registered electors 49,199
Conservative gain from Labour Swing
General election 1935: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Ivor Guest 22,079 52.6 New
Labour Leslie Haden-Guest 19,910 47.4 +7.2
Majority 2,169 5.2 N/A
Turnout 41,989 84.3 -2.8
Registered electors 49,827
National hold Swing
1939 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour William Jackson 20,679 53.4 +6.0
Conservative Richard Hanning Philipps 18,043 46.6 New
Majority 2,636 6.8 N/A
Turnout 38,722 79.9 -4.4
Registered electors 48,486
Labour gain from National 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: Brecon and Radnor[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 19,725 46.8 -0.6
Conservative Oscar Guest 14,089 33.4 N/A
Liberal David Lewis 8,335 19.8 New
Majority 5,636 13.4 N/A
Turnout 42,149 80.0 -4.3
Registered electors 52,689
Labour hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 22,519 48.8 +2.0
Conservative James Gibson-Watt 19,690 42.7 +10.3
Liberal Rolle Malcolm Ritson Paton 3,903 8.5 -11.3
Majority 2,829 6.1 -7.3
Turnout 46,112 88.8 +8.8
Registered electors 51,951
Labour hold Swing -4.2
General election 1951: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 24,572 52.2 +3.4
Conservative David Gibson-Watt 22,489 47.8 +5.1
Majority 2,083 4.4 -1.7
Turnout 47,061 89.2 +0.4
Registered electors 52,728
Labour hold Swing -0.9
General election 1955: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 23,953 53.1 +0.9
Conservative Henry Graham Partridge 16,412 36.4 -11.4
Liberal Russell Thomas 4,745 10.5 New
Majority 7,541 16.7 +12.3
Turnout 45,110 86.8 -2.4
Registered electors 51,969
Labour hold Swing +6.2
General election 1959: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 25,411 57.3 +4.2
Conservative John H. Davies 18,939 42.7 +6.3
Majority 6,472 14.6 -2.1
Turnout 44,350 86.4 -0.4
Registered electors 51,357
Labour hold Swing -1.1

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 23,967 57.7 +0.4
Conservative Frank T. Stevens 15,415 37.1 -5.6
Plaid Cymru Trefor Richard Morgan 2,165 5.2 New
Majority 8,552 20.6 +6.0
Turnout 41,547 82.8 -3.6
Registered electors 50,159
Labour hold Swing +3.0
General election 1966: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Tudor Watkins 22,902 57.5 -0.2
Conservative Frank T. Stevens 14,523 36.5 -0.6
Plaid Cymru Trefor Richard Morgan 2,410 6.0 +0.8
Majority 8,379 21.0 +0.4
Turnout 39,835 80.5 -2.3
Registered electors 49,464
Labour hold Swing +0.2

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Brecon and Radnor[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Caerwyn Roderick 18,736 43.4 −14.1
Conservative Gareth John Jarvis Neale 13,892 32.2 −4.3
Liberal Geraint Howells 8,169 18.9 New
Plaid Cymru William George Jenkins 2,349 5.4 −0.6
Majority 4,844 11.2 −9.8
Turnout 43,146 81.9 +1.4
Registered electors 52,694
Labour hold Swing −4.9
General election February 1974: Brecon and Radnor
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Caerwyn Roderick 18,180 40.5 −2.9
Conservative Lloyd Havard Davies 15,903 35.4 +3.2
Liberal Noel Kennedy Thomas 8,741 19.5 +0.6
Plaid Cymru Dafydd Noel Gittins 2,099 4.7 −0.7
Majority 2,277 5.1 -6.1
Turnout 44,923 83.4 +1.5
Registered electors 53,857
Labour hold Swing −3.1
General election October 1974: Brecon and Radnor
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Caerwyn Roderick 18,622 42.1 +1.6
Conservative Lloyd Havard Davies 15,610 35.3 −0.1
Liberal Noel Kennedy Thomas 7,682 17.4 −2.1
Plaid Cymru Dafydd Noel Gittins 2,300 5.2 +0.5
Majority 3,012 6.8 +1.7
Turnout 44,214 81.4 −2.0
Registered electors 54,300
Labour hold Swing +0.9
General election 1979: Brecon and Radnor
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tom Hooson 22,660 47.2 +11.9
Labour Caerwyn Roderick 19,633 40.9 −1.2
Liberal Norman Lewis 4,654 9.7 −7.7
Plaid Cymru Janet Power 1,031 2.1 −3.1
Majority 3,027 6.3 N/A
Turnout 47,978 84.2 +2.8
Registered electors 56,975
Conservative gain from Labour Swing +6.6

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Brecon and Radnor[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Tom Hooson 18,255 48.2 +1.0
Labour David Morris 9,471 25.0 -15.9
Liberal Richard Livsey 9,226 24.4 +14.7
Plaid Cymru Sian Meredudd 640 1.7 -0.4
Independent Richard Booth 278 0.7 N/A
Majority 8,784 23.2 +16.9
Turnout 37,870 80.1 -4.1
Registered electors 47,277
Conservative hold Swing +8.4
1985 Brecon and Radnor by-election[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Livsey 13,753 35.8 +11.4
Labour Frederick Willey 13,194 34.4 +9.4
Conservative Chris Butler 10,631 27.7 −20.5
Plaid Cymru Janet Davies 435 1.1 −0.6
Monster Raving Loony Screaming Lord Sutch 202 0.5 N/A
One Nation Conservative Roger Everest 154 0.4 N/A
Independent Andre C. L. Genillard 43 0.1 N/A
Majority 559 1.4 N/A
Turnout 38,412 79.4 −0.7
Registered electors 48,371
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +16.0
General election 1987: Brecon and Radnor[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Richard Livsey 14,509 34.8 +10.4
Conservative Jonathan Evans 14,453 34.7 -13.5
Labour Frederick Willey 12,180 29.2 +4.2
Plaid Cymru John Davies 535 1.3 -0.4
Majority 56 0.1 N/A
Turnout 41,677 84.3 +4.2
Registered electors 49,394
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing +12.0

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Brecon and Radnor[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Jonathan Evans 15,977 36.1 +1.4
Liberal Democrats Richard Livsey 15,847 35.8 +1.0
Labour Christopher Mann 11,634 26.3 −2.9
Plaid Cymru Sian Meredudd 418 0.9 −0.4
Green Hugh Richards 393 0.9 New
Majority 130 0.3 N/A
Turnout 44,269 85.9 +1.6
Registered electors 51,509
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +0.2
General election 1997: Brecon and Radnorshire[18][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Richard Livsey 17,516 40.8 +5.0
Conservative Jonathan Evans 12,419 29.0 −7.1
Labour Christopher Mann 11,424 26.6 +0.3
Referendum Elizabeth Phillips 900 2.1 New
Plaid Cymru Steven Cornelius 622 1.5 +0.6
Majority 5,097 11.8 N/A
Turnout 42,881 82.2 -3.7
Registered electors 52,142
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing +6.1

The Labour candidate, Chris Mann, won the selection over future AMs Carwyn Jones and Jeffrey Cuthbert, and future AM and MP Peter Law.[20]

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Brecon and Radnorshire[21][22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Roger Williams 13,824 36.8 −4.0
Conservative Felix Aubel 13,073 34.8 +5.8
Labour Huw Irranca-Davies 8,024 21.4 −5.2
Plaid Cymru Brynach Parri 1,301 3.5 +2.0
Independent Ian Mitchell 762 2.0 New
UKIP Elizabeth Phillips 452 1.2 New
Independent Robert Nicholson 80 0.2 New
Majority 751 2.0 -9.8
Turnout 37,516 70.5 −11.7
Registered electors 53,247
Liberal Democrats hold Swing −5.0
General election 2005: Brecon and Radnorshire[23][24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Roger Williams 17,182 44.8 +8.0
Conservative Andrew R. T. Davies 13,277 34.6 −0.2
Labour Leighton Veale 5,755 15.0 −6.4
Plaid Cymru Mabon ap Gwynfor 1,404 3.7 +0.2
UKIP Elizabeth Phillips 723 1.9 +0.7
Majority 3,905 10.2 +8.2
Turnout 38,341 69.5 -1.0
Registered electors 55,171
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +4.1

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Brecon and Radnorshire[25][26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Roger Williams 17,929 46.2 +1.4
Conservative Suzy Davies 14,182 36.5 +1.9
Labour Chris Lloyd 4,096 10.4 -4.5
Plaid Cymru Janet Davies 989 2.5 -1.1
UKIP Clive Easton 876 2.3 +0.4
Green Dorienne Robinson 341 0.9 New
Christian Jeffery Green 222 0.6 New
Monster Raving Loony Chris "Lord Offa of the Dyke" Rogers 210 0.5 New
Majority 3,747 9.6 -0.6
Turnout 38,845 72.5 +3.0
Registered electors 53,589
Liberal Democrats hold Swing −0.3
General election 2015: Brecon and Radnorshire[27][28][29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher Davies 16,453 41.1 +4.6
Liberal Democrats Roger Williams 11,351 28.3 -17.9
Labour Matthew Dorrance 5,904 14.7 +4.3
UKIP Darran Thomas[30] 3,338 8.3 +6.0
Plaid Cymru Freddy Greaves 1,767 4.4 +1.9
Green Chris Carmichael 1,261 3.1 +2.2
Majority 5,102 12.8 N/A
Turnout 40,074 73.8 +1.3
Registered electors 54,441
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +11.1
General election 2017: Brecon and Radnorshire[31][32]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Christopher Davies 20,081 48.6 +7.5
Liberal Democrats James Gibson-Watt 12,043 29.1 +0.8
Labour Dan Lodge 7,335 17.7 +3.0
Plaid Cymru Kate Heneghan 1,299 3.1 -1.3
UKIP Peter Gilbert 576 1.4 -6.9
Majority 8,038 19.5 +6.7
Turnout 41,334 76.9 +3.1
Registered electors 56,010
Conservative hold Swing +3.4

Following the successful recall petition of Christopher Davies, a by-election was held on 1 August 2019.

2019 Brecon and Radnorshire by-election[33][34][35]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds 13,826 43.5 +14.4
Conservative Christopher Davies 12,401 39.0 −9.6
Brexit Party Des Parkinson 3,331 10.5 New
Labour Tom Davies 1,680 5.3 −12.4
Monster Raving Loony Lady Lily the Pink 334 1.0 New
UKIP Liz Phillips 242 0.7 −0.7
Rejected ballots 73
Majority 1,425 4.5 N/A
Turnout 31,814 59.7 −17.2
Registered electors
Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative Swing +12.0

Of the 73 rejected ballots:

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

Changes in vote share are compared to the 2017 general election, not the 2019 by-election.

General election 2019: Brecon and Radnorshire[36][37][38]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Fay Jones 21,958 53.1 +4.5
Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds 14,827 35.9 +6.8
Labour Tomos Davies 3,944 9.5 −8.2
Monster Raving Loony Lady Lily the Pink 345 0.8 New
Christian Jeff Green 245 0.6 New
Rejected ballots 110
Majority 7,131 17.2 −2.3
Turnout 41,319 74.5 -2.4
Registered electors 55,490
Conservative hold Swing -1.1

Of the 110 rejected ballots:

  • 87 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[38]
  • 21 voted for more than one candidate.[38]
  • 2 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.[38]

See also

Notes

  1. By-election held due to successful recall petition under the Recall of MPs Act 2015.

References

  1. "Brecon and Radnorshire: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  2. "Public notice of petition to remove the MP for Brecon and Radnorshire Chris Davies". Powys County Council. 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  3. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 2 Jul 2001 (pt 22)". parliament.uk.
  4. "Jubilee tour diary: Powys picnic". BBC News. 13 June 2002.
  5. "A radical shake-up of the constituency". Shropshire Star. 13 September 2016. p. 10.Report by Mark Andrews, dealing with constituencies in or bordering Shropshire.
  6. "Recall petition for convicted MP confirmed". BBC News. 24 April 2019.
  7. "Welsh Tory MP unseated after petition". BBC News. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. "Brecon and Radnorshire by-election: Lib Dems beat Conservatives". BBC News. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  9. "Brecon and Radnorshire 1997-". Hansard 1803-2005. UK Parliament. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  10. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 5)
  11. Craig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 0-900178-019. Page 525
  12. Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950-1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 9780900178023. Page 566
  13. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  14. Boothroyd, David. "Results of Byelections in the 1983-87 Parliament". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  15. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  16. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  18. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  19. "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Brecon and Radnorshire". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  20. "National Assembly for Wales, page 20" (PDF).
  21. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  22. "BBC NEWS > Brecon and Radnorshire". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
  23. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  24. "Brecon and Radnorshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2005". BBC News.
  25. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  26. Brecon and Radnorshire BBC Election - Brecon and Radnorshire
  27. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  28. "Powys election results". 2015 general election results. Powys County Council. Archived from the original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  29. "Brecon and Radnorshire Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015. BBC News. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  30. "UKIP candidate row in Brecon and Radnorshire". BBC News.
  31. "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Powys County Council. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  32. "Brecon and Radnorshire Parliamentary constituency". Election 2017 Results. BBC. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  33. "Brecon and Radnorshire by-election: Lib Dems beat Conservatives". BBC News. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  34. "Brecon and Radnorshire by-election: Six candidates confirmed". talkradio.co.uk.
  35. "Parliamentary Election for the Brecon and Radnorshire Constituency - 1st August 2019". Powys County Council. Powys County Council. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  36. "Statement of Persons Nominated" (PDF). Powys County Council. 14 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  37. "Brecon and Radnorshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  38. "Election-Results/General-Election-2019". Powys County Council. Powys County Council. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
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