Torfaen (UK Parliament constituency)

Torfaen is a constituency [n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2015 by Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour), who also serves as the Shadow Home Secretary.[n 2]

Not to be confused with Torfaen (Senedd Cymru constituency).

Torfaen
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Torfaen in Wales
Preserved countyGwent
Electorate61,806 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlementsCwmbran, Pontypool, Blaenavon
Current constituency
Created1983
Member of ParliamentNick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)
Number of membersOne
Created fromPontypool
Overlaps
Senedd Cymru – Welsh ParliamentSouth Wales East

Boundaries

The area is traditionally a Labour Party stronghold with a majority of around 9,000. The community of New Inn is the only strong Conservative area. It voted Labour even amidst the huge Conservative majorities of 1983 and 1987; although 2019 saw the lowest Labour majority in Torfaen in the seat's history, of only 3,742 votes, perhaps due to the constituency registering a strong Leave vote in the 2016 EU membership referendum. The area covers the new town of Cwmbran, Pontypool and its surrounding districts and stretches as far north as Blaenavon.

Members of Parliament
ElectionMember[2]Party
1983 Leo Abse Labour
1987 Paul Murphy Labour
2015 Nick Thomas-Symonds Labour

Elections

Elections in the 1980s
General election 1983: Torfaen[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Leo Abse 20,678 47.3 N/A
Liberal Graham Blackburn 12,393 28.3 N/A
Conservative Peter Martin 9,751 22.3 N/A
Plaid Cymru Phyllis Cox 896 2.1 N/A
Majority 8,285 19.0 N/A
Turnout 43,718 74.4 N/A
Registered electors 58,739
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1987: Torfaen[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Murphy 26,577 58.7 +11.4
Liberal Graham Blackburn 9,027 19.9 −8.4
Conservative Robert Gordon 8,632 19.1 −3.2
Plaid Cymru Jill Evans 577 1.2 −0.9
Green Melvin John Witherden 450 1.0 N/A
Majority 17,550 38.8 +19.8
Turnout 45,263 75.6 +1.2
Registered electors 59,896
Labour hold Swing +9.9

Elections in the 1990s
General election 1992: Torfaen[5][6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Murphy 30,352 64.1 +5.4
Conservative Mark Watkins 9,598 20.3 +1.2
Liberal Democrats Malcolm Hewson 6,178 13.1 −6.8
Plaid Cymru (Green) John Cox 1,210 2.6 +1.4
Majority 20,754 43.8 +5.0
Turnout 47,338 77.5 +1.9
Registered electors 61,104
Labour hold Swing +2.1
General election 1997: Torfaen[7][8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Murphy 29,863 69.1 +5.0
Conservative Neil Parish 5,327 12.3 −8.0
Liberal Democrats Jean Gray 5,249 12.1 −1.0
Referendum Deborah Holler 1,245 2.9 N/A
Plaid Cymru Robert Gough 1,042 2.4 −0.2
Green Roger Coghill 519 1.2 N/A
Majority 24,536 56.7 +12.9
Turnout 43,245 71.7 -5.8
Registered electors 60,343
Labour hold Swing +6.5

Elections in the 2000s
General election 2001: Torfaen[9][10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Murphy 21,883 62.1 −7.0
Conservative Jason Evans 5,603 15.9 +3.6
Liberal Democrats Alan Masters 3,936 11.2 −1.0
Plaid Cymru Stephen Smith 2,720 7.7 +5.3
UKIP Brenda Vipass 657 1.9 N/A
Socialist Alliance Stephen Bell 443 1.3 N/A
Majority 16,280 46.2 -10.5
Turnout 35,242 57.7 −14.0
Registered electors 61,115
Labour hold Swing -5.3
General election 2005: Torfaen[11][12][13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Murphy 20,472 56.9 −5.2
Conservative Nick Ramsay 5,681 15.8 −0.1
Liberal Democrats Veronica Watkins 5,678 15.8 +4.6
Plaid Cymru Aneurin Preece 2,242 6.2 −1.5
UKIP David Rowlands 1,145 3.2 +1.3
Independent Richard Turner-Thomas 761 2.1 N/A
Majority 14,791 41.1 -5.1
Turnout 35,979 59.3 +1.6
Registered electors 60,665
Labour hold Swing −2.5

Elections in the 2010s
General election 2010: Torfaen[14][15][16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Paul Murphy 16,847 44.8 −12.1
Conservative Jonathan H. Burns 7,541 20.0 +4.2
Liberal Democrats David P. Morgan 6,264 16.6 +0.8
Plaid Cymru Rhys G. ab Elis 2,005 5.3 −0.9
BNP Jennifer Noble 1,657 4.4 N/A
Independent Fred Wildgust 1,419 3.8 N/A
UKIP Gareth Dunn 862 2.3 −0.9
Independent Richard Turner-Thomas 607 1.6 −0.5
Green Owen Clarke 438 1.2 N/A
Rejected ballots 46
Majority 9,306 24.7 -16.4
Turnout 37,640 61.5 +2.2
Registered electors 61,183
Labour hold Swing −8.2

Of the 46 rejected ballots:

  • 26 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[16]
  • 19 voted for more than one candidate.[16]
  • 1 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.[16]
General election 2015: Torfaen[17][18][19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nick Thomas-Symonds 16,938 44.6 −0.2
Conservative Graham Smith 8,769 23.1 +3.1
UKIP Ken Beswick 7,203 19.0 +16.7
Plaid Cymru Boydd Hackley-Green 2,169 5.7 +0.4
Liberal Democrats Alison Willott 1,271 3.4 −13.2
Green Matt Cooke[20] 746 2.0 +0.8
Socialist Labour John Cox 697 1.8 N/A
Communist Mark Griffiths 144 0.4 N/A
Rejected ballots 68
Majority 8,169 21.5 −3.2
Turnout 37,937 61.3 −0.2
Registered electors 61,896
Labour hold Swing −1.6

Of the 68 rejected ballots:

  • 47 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[18]
  • 21 voted for more than one candidate.[18]
General election 2017: Torfaen[21][22][23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nick Thomas-Symonds 22,134 57.6 +13.0
Conservative Graham Smith 11,894 31.0 +7.9
Plaid Cymru Jeff Rees 2,059 5.4 −0.3
UKIP Ian Williams 1,490 3.9 −15.1
Liberal Democrats Andrew Best 852 2.2 −1.2
Rejected ballots 62
Majority 10,240 26.6 +5.1
Turnout 38,494 62.2 +0.9
Registered electors 61,839
Labour hold Swing +2.5

Of the 62 rejected ballots:

  • 39 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[23]
  • 23 voted for more than one candidate.[23]
General election 2019: Torfaen[24][25][26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Nick Thomas-Symonds 15,546 41.8 –15.8
Conservative Graham Smith 11,804 31.8 +0.8
Brexit Party David Thomas 5,742 15.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats John Miller 1,831 4.9 +2.7
Plaid Cymru Morgan Bowler-Brown 1,441 3.9 –1.5
Green Andrew Heygate-Browne 812 2.2 N/A
Rejected ballots 126
Majority 3,742 10.0 –16.6
Turnout 37,176 60.2 –2.0
Registered electors 61,743
Labour hold Swing –8.3

Of the 126 rejected ballots:

  • 100 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[26]
  • 26 voted for more than one candidate.[26]

See also

Notes
  1. A county constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
  2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References
  1. "Beyond 20/20 WDS - Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 2)
  3. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  4. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  5. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  6. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
  7. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  8. "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Torfaen". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  10. "BBC NEWS >Torfaen". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  11. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  12. "Torfaen parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  13. "2005 Results" (PDF). Torfaen County Borough Council. Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  14. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. BBC News Election Coverage - Torfaen
  16. "Results" (PDF). Torfaen County Borough Council. Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  17. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  18. "May 2015 Election Result" (PDF). Declaration of the result of the poll. Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  19. "Torfaen Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015 Results. BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  20. "Greens announce candidate for Torfaen". South Wales Argus.
  21. "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Torfaen County Borough Council. 18 June 2017.
  22. "Torfaen Parliamentary constituency". Election 2017 Results. BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  23. "2017 Results" (PDF). Torfaen County Borough Council. Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  24. "Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Torfaen County Borough Council. 14 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  25. "Torfaen Parliamentary constituency". Election 2019 Results. BBC. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  26. "Election-Results/General-Election-2019" (PDF). Torfaen County Borough Council. Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
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