Pontypridd ( ) is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

represented in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

since

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

by Alex Davies-Jones of the Labour Party. The constituency retained its name, but with substantial boundary changes, as part of the

2023 review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency boundaries were approved by the Privy Council on 15 Nov ...

and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the

Boundary Commission for Wales In the United Kingdom, the boundary commissions are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of parliamentary constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: one each f ...

for the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

Boundaries

1918–1983

The Pontypridd constituency was created in its original form from parts of the old South Glamorganshire & East Glamorganshire constituencies as part of the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 ( 7 & 8 Geo. 5. c. 64) was an act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The act extended the franchise in pa ...

(sometimes referred to as 'The Fourth Reform Act') which granted virtually all men over 21 the right to vote, extended voting rights to women over 30 years of age, & increased the number of the now abolished

University constituencies A university constituency is a constituency, used in elections to a legislature, that represents the members of one or more universities rather than residents of a geographical area. These may or may not involve plural voting, in which voters ar ...

. Part of this Act also effected a 'General Redistribution of Seats' on an 'equitable basis'. It originally included the old Borough of

Cowbridge Cowbridge () is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff. The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council. A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for elections to ...

, the Cowbridge Rural District (which included

Ystradowen Ystradowen is a small village twelve miles west of Cardiff, located in Penllyn, Vale of Glamorgan, Penllyn Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales; its nearest town is Cowbridge which is about three miles to the sou ...

St Athan St Athan () is a village and community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales. The village and its parish church are dedicated to Saint Tathan. The church dates to the 13th–14th century, though an earlier church was dated t ...

Llantwit Major Llantwit Major () is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales on the Bristol Channel coast. It is one of four towns in the Vale of Glamorgan, with the third largest population (13,366 in 2001) after Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Barry and ...

Llandow Llandow () is a village and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population taken at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census was 726. The village is located south west of Cardiff. The community includ ...

) & the Urban District of Pontypridd plus the Rural District of Llantrisant & Llantwit Fardre. The constituency remained unchanged from this form until the boundary changes implemented in 1983.

1983–2010

Under the Third Periodic Parliamentary Boundary Review's proposals, Cowbridge Borough and the southern part of the former Cowbridge Rural District were removed and placed in the Vale of Glamorgan constituency, and additionally the communities of Llanharry,

Llanharan Llanharan () is a village and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. As a community Llanharan takes in the neighbouring settlements of Bryncae, Brynna, Llanilid, Peterston-super-Montem and Ynysmaerdy. Llanharan thrived ...

, and

Brynna Brynna () is a small village situated between Pencoed and Llanharan. It is located at the point where the borders of two Welsh county boroughs, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend, meet. Due to Brynna's proximity to the M4 motorway as well as bot ...

(i.e. the northern part of the former Cowbridge RDC) were moved into the Ogmore constituency. However, the communities of

Creigiau Creigiau is a dormitory settlement in the north-west of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The village currently has about 1,500 houses and a population of approximately 5,000 people. Prior to 2022 The Cardiff electoral ward covering the village w ...

and

Pentyrch Pentyrch (sometimes ; ) is a village and community located on the western outskirts of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The village gives its name to a Cardiff local authority electoral ward, Pentyrch, which covers the village and immediate ...

were added to the seat at this time.

2010–2024

The Fifth Periodic Parliamentary Boundary Review for Wales placed the

Cilfynydd Cilfynydd is a village in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, a mile from the South Wales Valleys town of Pontypridd, and 13 miles north of the capital city, Cardiff. Cilfynydd is also an electoral ward for the county council and Po ...

and

Glyncoch Glyncoch is a village to the north of Pontypridd in Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is also the name of an electoral ward. History The name Glyncoch is Welsh language for 'Red glen' (''glyn'' "glen, small valley" + ''coch'' "red"). How the name or ...

wards in the

Cynon Valley (UK Parliament constituency) Cynon Valley () was a Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency in Wales, of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament from 1983 to 2024. Its ...

, and the Creigiau and Pentyrch wards in the

Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency) Cardiff West () is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Alex Barros-Curtis of the Labour Party. The constituency retained its name and gained a ward as part of the 2023 review of Westminst ...

. These changes were put in place for the 2010 general election. The revised Pontypridd constituency could be split into two parts, a northern part containing the town itself, and a southern part focused on Llantrisant. In

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

township itself the wards are: Town,

Treforest Treforest () is a village in the south-east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is situated in the Treforest electoral ward, along with the village of Glyntaff (or Glyn-Taf). It is part of the Pontypridd Town ...

, Rhondda (consisting of

Hopkinstown Hopkinstown () is a small village to the west of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, alongside the River Rhondda. Hopkinstown is a former coalmining and industrial community, now a district in the town of Pontypridd wit ...

Maesycoed is a settlement to the south and west of Pontypridd town centre in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Maesycoed is a district in the town of Pontypridd within the Rhondda electoral ward and is bounded by Graig to the south, Pwll ...

, Pantygraigwen, Trehafod, and

Pwllgwaun Pwllgwaun (or Pwll-Gwaun) is a village and small suburb of Pontypridd within the 'Rhondda' electoral ward, bordered by Hopkinstown and Graigwen hill to the north and east, the hillsides of Maesycoed above, and is located along the banks of the ...

), Graig, Trallwng,

Rhydyfelin Rhydyfelin () is a large village (originally known as Rhydfelen) and part of the community of Pontypridd Town, about to its south east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf. It is on the eastern bank of the River Taff, close ...

Central/Ilan, and Hawthorn. The southern half consisted of the following wards:

Taff's Well Taff's Well () is a semi-rural village, Community (Wales), community and electoral ward located at the south-eastern tip of Rhondda Cynon Taf, north-west of the city centre of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. Known locally as the 'Gates to the So ...

Beddau ; ) is a large former mining village (and electoral ward) situated within the South Wales Valleys Davies (2008), page 507. around from Llantrisant and from the larger town of Pontypridd in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. ...

Church Village Church Village () is a large village in the historic parish and community of Llantwit Fardre, located within the Taff Ely district of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales. The village is centrally located being around from the lo ...

Tonteg Tonteg is a village in Rhondda Cynon Taf in South Wales. It is from Pontypridd, north west of Cardiff and north east of Llantrisant. The village is within the community of Llantwit Fardre. Tonteg is to the north west of the Garth Mountain, on ...

Llantwit Fardre Llantwit Fardre () is a large village and community (and electoral ward) situated on the A473, Pontypridd to Bridgend, road near the Welsh towns of Pontypridd and Llantrisant. Llantwit Fardre is also the name of the old parish and the community ...

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the t ...

Pontyclun Pontyclun (or Pont-y-clun) is a town and Community (Wales), community located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Pontyclun translates from the Welsh language as 'bridge

ver Ver or VER may refer to: * Voluntary Export Restraints, in international trade * VER, the IATA airport code for Veracruz International Airport * Volk's Electric Railway, Brighton, England * VerPublishing, of the German group VDM Publishing, re ...

the Afon Clun, River Clun', the Clun being a tributa ...

Talbot Green Talbot Green ( "lea of the barns") is a town (and electoral ward) just north of the M4 motorway, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales in the United Kingdom. The town is part of Llantrisant Community Council. Geography Talbot Gree ...

Tonyrefail Tonyrefail () is a village and community in the Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough, Wales. It is situated at the head of the River Ely; northwest of Llantrisant, about from Trebanog and about from Williamstown. During the second half of the ...

East and Tonyrefail West.

2024–present

Under the 2023 boundary review, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following wards of the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, as they existed on 1 December 2020: * Abercynon; Beddau; Brynna; Church Village; Cilfynydd; Glyncoch; Graig; Hawthorn; Llanharan; Llanharry; Llantrisant Town; Llantwit Fardre; Mountain Ash East; Mountain Ash West; Penrhiwceiber; Pontypridd Town; Rhondda; Rhydfelen Central/Ilan; Talbot Green; Ton-teg; Trallwng; Treforest; Tyn-y-nant; Ynysybwl. The constituency was extended northwards, taking a substantial part of the abolished

Cynon Valley Cynon Valley () is a former coal mining valley in Wales. It lies between Rhondda and the Merthyr Valley and takes its name from the River Cynon. Aberdare is located in the north of the valley and Mountain Ash in the south. From 1974 to 19 ...

constituency comprising the wards of

Abercynon Abercynon () is a village and community (Wales), community (and electoral ward) in the Cynon Valley within the unitary authority of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. The community comprises the village and the districts of Carnetown and Grovers Field to ...

Mountain Ash Mountain ash may refer to: * ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia * Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus'' See also

* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf, a town ...

East, Mountain Ash West,

Penrhiwceiber Penrhiwceiber is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, that lies south of the town Aberpennar and north of the village of Tyntetown, and is one of many villages that lies within the Cyn ...

, and

Ynysybwl Ynysybwl ( ) is a village in Cwm Clydach in Wales. It is situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, roughly north-north-west of Cardiff, north of Pontypridd and south of Merthyr Tydfil, and forms part of the community (Wales), commun ...

. In addition, Llanharry,

, and

were returned from Ogmore, which was now also abolished. To partly compensate, Taff's Well was transferred to Cardiff North; Pontyclun to Cardiff West; and Tonyrefail to the new constituency of Rhondda and Ogmore. Following local government boundary reviews which came into effect in May 2022, the constituency now comprises the following Rhondda Cynon Taf wards from the 2024 general election: * Abercynon; Beddau and Tyn-y-nant; Brynna and Llanharan; Church Village; Cilfynydd; Glyn-coch; Graig and Pontypridd West; Hawthorn and Lower Rhydfelen; Llanharry; Llantrisant Town and Talbot Green; Llantwit Fardre; Mountain Ash; Penrhiw-ceiber; Pontyclun West (part); Pontypridd Town; Rhydfelen Central; Ton-teg; Trallwng; Treforest; Upper Rhydfelen and Glyn-taf; Ynysybwl.

Constituency Profile

One can think of the constituency as being divided between a 'suburban' district in the south and communities that grew in the industrial revolution to the north; the southern area, particularly between Church Village and Llantrisant, contains much new residential and light industrial development, and benefits from good transport links due to its proximity to the M4. This section has a growing population and is an important 'dormitory' for Cardiff. The northern parts, particularly Tonyrefail and the northern end of Pontypridd town consists of large sections of 19th century housing and suffered high unemployment in the 1980s as the old industries closed. However, in recent years, economic recovery has been firm, especially considered with neighbouring constituencies to the north.

Members of Parliament

Like many seats in South Wales, Pontypridd has been held by the Labour party for over 100 years. In all the years since the Labour Party first took the seat in the 1922 by-election, its smallest majority has been the 2,785 (7.6%) by which it held the seat over the Liberal Democrats in 2010. Generally its majorities have been considerably higher.

Elections

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 2010s

Of the 96 rejected ballots: *70 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for. *26 voted for more than one candidate. ''*Powell originally nominated as Liberal Democrat candidate, but resigned from party in November 2019, prior to election.''

Elections in the 2020s

Footnotes

* In 1983 the Third Periodical Boundary Review report made major changes to the constituency, removing the areas of the former Cowbridge Borough and the former Cowbridge Rural District from the seat & placing them in the new

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

seat with the exception of the Llanharry, Llanharan and Brynna communities which were transferred to the Ogmore seat. However, the Pentyrch & Creigiau communities were added to the new seat from the old

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

seat, to give a new seat with nearly 15,000 fewer electors. * This was and still is the largest number of electors for the Pontypridd constituency in any of its forms. * Arthur Pearson's initial selection following a closely contested process at a selection conference at Pontyclun occurred only after several rounds of voting, and he was finally chosen against the prominent local miners' agent W. H. May on 15 January 1938. * Enacted in the

& created from the old East Glamorganshire (which included Pontypridd & the Tonteg/Church Village/Llantwit Fardre areas) & South Glamorganshire (which included the Llantrisant, Tonyrefail, Pontyclun, Llanharry & Cowbridge areas)

parliamentary constituencies An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

, the Pontypridd constituency from 1918 to the 1983 UK General Election remained unchanged & consisted of the

urban district council area, the

and

Rural District Council area, the

municipal borough, and the Cowbridge Rural District Council area (which included the

, Llanharry,

and

communities).

Notes

References

External links

Politics Resources
(Election results from 1922 onwards)

(Election results from 1955 onwards)
2017 Election
House of Commons Library 2017 Election report
A Vision Of Britain Through Time
(Constituency elector numbers)

(boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK''

(boundaries from June 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{Coord, 51.601, -3.350, display=title, region:GB_scale:50000 Parliamentary constituencies in South Wales Politics of Rhondda Cynon Taf Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1918 Pontypridd 1918 establishments in Wales Mid Glamorgan