Swansea District (UK Parliament constituency)
| Swansea District | |
|---|---|
|
Former Borough constituency for the House of Commons | |
| 1885–1918 | |
| Number of members | one |
| Replaced by | Aberavon and Neath |
| Created from | Glamorgan |
Swansea District or Swansea District of Boroughs was a borough constituency. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Overview
The constituency was created by the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 for the 1885 general election, and abolished for the 1918 general election. Swansea District was a strongly Liberal constituency, dominated by the tinplate and steel industries, together with coal.
Boundaries
Upon its creation in 1832 the constituency comprised five separate boroughs, Swansea, Neath, Aberavon, Kenfig and Loughor. There were some minor boundary changes in 1868 but the composition of the constituency in terms of boroughs remained the same until 1885.
In 1885, the constituency was split into two, with the central part of Swansea borough forming the Swansea Town constituency, and the northern part of Swansea borough centred on Morriston, together with the four smaller boroughs, forming a constituency which retained Swansea District as its name.
History
Liberal employers initially held sway over the seat. The first member, Sir Hussey Vivian, had previously represented Glamorgan County since 1857.
| General Election 1885: Swansea District
Electorate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Sir Henry Hussey Vivian | unopposed | |||
| Liberal win (new seat) | |||||
In 1886, Vivian briefly joined the Liberal Unionists but was nevertheless returned unopposed and returned to the Gladstonian fold soon after the election.
| General Election 1886: Swansea District
Electorate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Unionist | Sir Henry Hussey Vivian | unopposed | |||
| Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | ||||
In 1893 he was succeeded by the Morriston tinplate owner, William Williams. Williams served for only two years before being replaced in 1895 by Brynmor Jones. Jones had strong nonconformist connections but his political career was undistinguished and he concentrated on his legal career.[1]
Members of Parliament
- Constituency created (1832)
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1832 | John Henry Vivian | Liberal | |
| 1855 by-election | Lewis Llewelyn Dillwyn | Liberal | |
| 1885 | Sir Henry Hussey Vivian | Liberal | |
| 1886 | Liberal Unionist | ||
| 1887 | Liberal | ||
| 1893 by-election | William Williams | Liberal | |
| 1895 | Sir David Brynmor Jones | Liberal | |
| 1915 by-election | Thomas Jeremiah Williams | Liberal | |
| 1918 | constituency abolished | ||
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica 11th Edition
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
References
- ↑ Morgan (1960). Morgannwg: 12. Missing or empty
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Bibliography
- Morgan, Kenneth O. (1960). "Democratic Politics in Glamorgan, 1884-1914". Morgannwg 4: 5–27.