Torfaen (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°41′46″N 3°03′47″W / 51.696°N 3.063°W

Torfaen
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Torfaen in Wales.
Preserved county	Gwent
Electorate	61,806 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Cwmbran, Pontypool, Blaenavon
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of parliament	Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)
Number of members	One
Created from	Pontypool
Overlaps
Welsh Assembly	South Wales East
European Parliament constituency	Wales

Torfaen is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first past the post system.

Boundaries

The area is a Labour Party stronghold with a majority of around 9,000, with the community of New Inn the only strong Conservative area. It voted Labour even amidst the huge Conservative majorities of 1983 and 1987. The area covers the new town of Cwmbran, Pontypool and its surrounding districts and stretches as far north as Blaenavon.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[2]	Party
	1983	Leo Abse	Labour
	1987	Paul Peter Murphy	Labour
	2015	Nick Thomas-Symonds	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Torfaen [3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nick Thomas-Symonds[4]	16,938	44.6	−0.2
	Conservative	Graham Smith	8,769	23.1	+3.1
	UKIP	Ken Beswick[5]	7,203	19.0	+16.7
	Plaid Cymru	Boydd Hackley-Green	2,169	5.7	+0.4
	Liberal Democrat	Alison Willott	1,271	3.4	−13.2
	Green	Matt Cooke[6]	746	2.0	+0.8
	Socialist Labour	John Cox	697	1.8	N/A
	Communist	Mark Griffiths	144	0.4	N/A
Majority			8,169	21.5	−3.2
Turnout			37,937	61.3	-0.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−1.6

General Election 2010: Torfaen[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Peter Murphy	16,847	44.8	−12.1
	Conservative	Jonathan H. Burns	7,541	20.0	+4.2
	Liberal Democrat	David P. Morgan	6,264	16.6	+0.9
	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	+3.8
	UKIP	Gareth Dunn	862	2.3	−0.9
	Independent	Richard Jeffries Turner-Thomas	607	1.6	−0.5
	Green	Owen Clarke	438	1.2	+1.2
Majority			9,306	24.7
Turnout			37,640	61.5	+2.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−8.2

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Torfaen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Peter Murphy	20,472	56.9	−5.2
	Conservative	Nick Ramsay	5,681	15.8	−0.1
	Liberal Democrat	Veronica Kathleen Watkins	5,678	15.8	+4.6
	Plaid Cymru	Aneurin Jason Marsden Preece	2,242	6.2	−1.5
	UKIP	David John Rowlands	1,145	3.2	+1.3
	Independent	Richard Jeffries Turner-Thomas	761	2.1	+2.1
Majority			14,791	41.1
Turnout			35,979	59.3	+1.6
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.5

General Election 2001: Torfaen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Peter Murphy	21,883	62.1	−7.0
	Conservative	Jason Philip Evans	5,603	15.9	+3.6
	Liberal Democrat	Alan Masters	3,936	11.2	−1.0
	Plaid Cymru	Stephen Paul Smith	2,720	7.7	+5.3
	UKIP	Brenda Muriel Vipass	657	1.9	N/A
	Socialist Alliance	Stephen Bell	443	1.3	N/A
Majority			16,280	46.2
Turnout			35,242	57.7	−14.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Torfaen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Peter Murphy	29,863	69.1	+5.0
	Conservative	Neil Parish	5,327	12.3	−8.0
	Liberal Democrat	Jean Elizabeth Gray	5,249	12.1	−1.0
	Referendum	Deborah Jayne Holler	1,245	2.9	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Robert William Gough	1,042	2.4	−0.2
	Green	Roger William Coghill	519	1.2	N/A
Majority			24,536	56.7
Turnout			43,245	71.7
	Labour hold		Swing	+6.5

General Election 1992: Torfaen[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Peter Murphy	30,352	64.1	+5.4
	Conservative	Mark Christopher Watkins	9,598	20.3	+1.2
	Liberal Democrat	Malcolm George Hewson	6,178	13.1	−6.9
	Plaid Cymru (Green)	John Idris Cox	1,210	2.6	+2.6
Majority			20,754	43.8	+5.1
Turnout			47,338	77.5	+1.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+2.1

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Torfaen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Paul Peter Murphy	26,577	58.7	+11.4
	Liberal	Graham Robert Blackburn	9,027	19.9	−8.4
	Conservative	Robert Ian Neilson 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
Turnout			45,263	75.6	+1.2
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.9

General Election 1983: Torfaen
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Leo Abse	20,678	47.3	N/A
	Liberal	Graham Robert Blackburn	12,393	28.3	N/A
	Conservative	Peter John Martin	9,751	22.3	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Phyllis Mary Rose Cox	896	2.1	N/A
Majority			8,285	19.0	N/A
Turnout			43,718	74.4	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

See also

• Torfaen (Assembly constituency)
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Gwent

Notes and 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. "May 2015 Election Result" (PDF). Declaration of the result of the poll. Torfaen County Borough Council. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
4. http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/torfaen/
5. http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/2015guide/torfaen/
6. http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/11563245.Greens_announce_candidate_for_Torfaen/
7. BBC News Election Coverage - Torfaen
8. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.