United Kingdom general election, 2005 (Wales) on:
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These are the results of the 2005 United Kingdom general election in Wales. The election was held on 5 May 2005 and all 40 seats in Wales were contested.
Results
Below is a table summarising the results of the 2005 general election in Wales.
Outcome and changes
The election saw Labour lose ground in Wales although it still won 29 of Wales' 40 constituencies and 42.7% of the vote. In what the
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described as a "sensational defeat" Labour lost
Blaenau Gwent, its "safest seat in Wales" to Independent
Peter Law
Peter John Law (1 April 1948 – 25 April 2006) was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent membe ...
, a
member of the Welsh Assembly who had left Labour to contest the election following a dispute about the use of an
all-women shortlist in the selection of Labour's candidate.
Plaid Cymru, also fell back losing
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...
(to the Liberal Democrats) and failing to regain
Ynys Môn which they had narrowly lost to Labour in
2001.
This followed on from what the BBC described as "a poor performance" by Plaid Cymru at the
2003 National Assembly for Wales election
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many soci ...
, when it was reduced from 17 seats to 12.
Elfyn Llwyd
Elfyn Llwyd (born 26 September 1951) is a Welsh barrister and politician. He was a Member of Parliament, representing Meirionnydd Nant Conwy in the House of Commons from 1992 to 2010 and Dwyfor Meirionnydd from 2010 to 2015. Llwyd was Plaid Cy ...
, Plaid Cymru's parliamentary leader who was re-elected as MP for
Meirionnydd Nant Conwy, said the result was "extremely disappointing". However he also stated that while the result was "a set back...but it's not half as bad as the media speculation would suggest", noting he and Plaid's two other MPs increased their majorities, and that "If 1,400 votes had gone the other way, we would have won Ynys Mon and held Ceredigion."
The Conservatives made three gains from Labour (
Clwyd West,
Preseli Pembrokeshire
Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills.
Creation
Th ...
and
Monmouth, the first time there had been Conservative MPs from Welsh constituencies since the party had been wiped out in Wales in the
1997 election.
The
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
The Shadow Secretary of State for Wales or Shadow Welsh Secretary is a member of the UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Wales and his/her department, the Wales Office
, agency_type = Ministerial ...
,
Bill Wiggin
Sir William David Wiggin (born 4 June 1966) is a British Conservative Party politician, and a former Shadow Minister for Agriculture & Fisheries. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Herefordshire, previously Leominster, since t ...
, said after the result "Never again will Wales be a Conservative-free zone".
However, the Conservatives failed to win two other target Labour-held seats,
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...
and
Cardiff North, which the BBC described as "disappointments" for them, and Wiggin admitted that he would have liked the Party to win more seats in Wales.
The Liberal Democrats gained two seats (taking
Cardiff Central from Labour in addition to their gain of Ceredigion, doubling their Welsh total to four seats.
Lembit Öpik
Lembit Öpik (, ; born 2 March 1965) is a former British politician. A former member of the Liberal Democrats, he served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Montgomeryshire in Wales from 1997 until he lost his seat at the ...
, the
Welsh Liberal Democrats
The Welsh Liberal Democrats ( cy, Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru) are a branch of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats that operates in Wales. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who served as MP for Brecon and Radnorshire from August to Decemb ...
leader, described this as a "fantastic night" for his party in Wales, and called their gaining of Ceredigion the "result of the night".
He also add that by having the second highest number of Welsh MPs the Welsh Liberal Democrats were now "the official opposition" to Labour at Westminster.
See also
*
2005 United Kingdom general election in England
*
2005 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland
The 2005 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland was held on 5 May 2005 and all 18 seats in Northern Ireland were contested. 1,139,993 people were eligible to vote, down 51,016 from the 2001 general election. 63.49% of eligible voter ...
*
2005 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
References
{{Welsh elections
#Wales
2005 in Wales
2000s elections in Wales
2005