Vale of Glamorgan (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 51°25′44″N 3°21′04″W / 51.429°N 3.351°W

Vale of Glamorgan
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Vale of Glamorgan in Wales.
Preserved county	South Glamorgan
Electorate	71,585 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements	Barry, Llantwit Major, Cowbridge
Current constituency
Created	1983
Member of parliament	Alun Cairns (Conservative)
Number of members	One
Created from	Barry and Pontypridd[2]
Overlaps
Welsh Assembly	South Wales Central
European Parliament constituency	Wales

Vale of Glamorgan (Welsh: Bro Morgannwg) is a county constituency in South Wales, represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.

It is something of a bellwether, having been won by the party with a plurality of seats in every general election since the seat was created in 1983.

Boundaries

1983-2010: The Borough of Vale of Glamorgan wards of Baruc, Buttrills, Cadoc, Castleland, Court, Cowbridge, Dinas Powys, Dyfan, Gibbonsdown, Illtyd, Llandow, Llantwit Major, Peterson-super-Ely, Rhoose, St Athan, Sully, and Wenvoe.

2010-present: The Vale of Glamorgan County Borough electoral divisions of Baruc, Buttrills, Cadoc, Castleland, Court, Cowbridge, Dinas Powys, Dyfan, Gibbonsdown, Illtyd, Llandow and Ewenny, Llantwit Major, Peterston-super-Ely, Rhoose, St Athan, St Bride’s Major, and Wenvoe.

This marginal constituency to the west of Cardiff takes in the Labour-voting seaside resort of Barry and a number of Conservative villages and small towns. There have been some close shaves for both parties here in the past: Conservative Walter Sweeney got home by a mere 19 votes in 1992; and John Smith (namesake of the late previous Labour leader) had a majority of under 2,000 in 2005. John Smith stood down from Parliament due to ill health, and the seat went Conservative at the 2010 election.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[3]	Party
	1983	Sir Raymond Gower	Conservative
	1989 by-election	John Smith	Labour
	1992	Walter Sweeney	Conservative
	1997	John Smith	Labour
	2010	Alun Cairns	Conservative

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Vale of Glamorgan[4][5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alun Cairns	23,607	46.0	+4.2
	Labour	Chris Elmore	16,727	32.6	−0.3
	UKIP	Kevin Mahoney	5,489	10.7	+7.6
	Plaid Cymru	Ian James Johnson	2,869	5.6	+0.1
	Liberal Democrat	David Morgan[6]	1,309	2.6	−12.7
	Green	Alan Armstrong	1,054	2.1	+1.1
	CISTA	Steve Reed	238	0.5	+0.5
Majority			6,880	13.4	+4.6
Turnout			51,293	71.1	+1.8
	Conservative hold		Swing	+2.3

General Election 2010: Vale of Glamorgan[7][8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alun Cairns	20,341	41.8	+4.4
	Labour	Alana E. Davies	16,034	32.9	−7.8
	Liberal Democrat	Eluned Parrott	7,403	15.2	+2.0
	Plaid Cymru	Ian James Johnson	2,667	5.5	+0.3
	UKIP	Kevin Mahoney	1,529	3.1	+1.4
	Green	Rhodri H. Thomas	457	0.9	+0.9
	Christian	John Harrold	236	0.5	+0.5
Majority			4,307	8.8
Turnout			48,667	69.3	+0.7
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing	+6.1

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Vale of Glamorgan[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Patrick Smith	19,481	41.2	−4.2
	Conservative	Alun Cairns	17,673	37.3	+2.3
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Hooper	6,140	13.0	+0.8
	Plaid Cymru	Barry Shaw	2,423	5.1	−1.2
	UKIP	Richard Suchorzewski	840	1.8	+0.8
	Liberal	Karl-James Langford	605	1.3	+1.3
	Socialist Labour	Paul Mules	162	0.3	+0.3
Majority			1,808	3.8
Turnout			47,324	68.9	+2.2
	Labour hold		Swing	−3.3

General Election 2001: Vale of Glamorgan[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Patrick Smith	20,524	45.4	−8.5
	Conservative	Lady Susan Lilian Inkin	15,824	35.0	+0.7
	Liberal Democrat	Dewi Hywel Smith	5,521	12.2	+3.0
	Plaid Cymru	Chris Franks	2,867	6.3	+3.8
	UKIP	Timothy Niall Warry	448	1.0	N/A
Majority			4,700	10.4
Turnout			45,184	66.7	−13.3
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Vale of Glamorgan[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Patrick Smith	29,054	53.9	+9.6
	Conservative	Walter Sweeney	18,522	34.4	−9.9
	Liberal Democrat	Mrs. Suzanne Margaret Campbell	4,945	9.2	+0.0
	Plaid Cymru	Mrs. Melanie Jane Corp	1,393	2.6	+0.5
Majority			10,532	19.5	N/A
Turnout			53,914	80.0	−1.9
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	+9.8

General Election 1992: Vale of Glamorgan[13][14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Sweeney	24,220	44.3	−2.4
	Labour	John William Patrick Smith	24,201	44.3	+9.6
	Liberal Democrat	David Keith Davies	5,045	9.2	−7.4
	Plaid Cymru	David Brian Langham Haswell	1,160	2.1	+0.3
Majority			19	0.0	−12.0
Turnout			54,626	81.9	+2.6
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

By-election 1989: Vale of Glamorgan
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Patrick Smith	23,342	48.9	+14.2
	Conservative	Rod Richards	17,314	36.3	−10.5
	Social and Liberal Democrats	Frank Leavers	2,017	4.2	−12.5
	Plaid Cymru	Andrew John Dixon	1,672	3.5	+1.7
	Social Democratic	David Keith Davies	1,098	2.3	N/A
	Green	Mrs. Marilyn Wakefield	971	2.0	N/A
	Protect the Health Service	Christopher Tiarks	847	1.8	N/A
	Monster Raving Loony	Screaming Lord Sutch	266	0.5	N/A
	Independent Welsh Socialist	Eric Roberts	148	0.3	N/A
	Corrective Party	Lindi St Claire	39	0.1	N/A
	Christian Alliance	David Michael Black	32	0.1	N/A
Majority			6,028	12.6	N/A
Turnout			47,746	70.7
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing	−12.4

General Election 1987: Vale of Glamorgan[15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Raymond Gower	24,229	46.8	−1.2
	Labour	John William Patrick Smith	17,978	34.7	+8.9
	Social Democratic	David Keith Davies	8,633	16.7	−7.2
	Plaid Cymru	Penri Gwyn Williams	946	1.8	−0.5
Majority			6,251	12.1
Turnout			51,786	79.3	+5.1
	Conservative hold		Swing	−5.1

General Election 1983: Vale of Glamorgan[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir Raymond Gower	22,241	48.0	N/A
	Labour	Michael Edwin Sharp	12,028	25.8	N/A
	Social Democratic	William Alan Evans	11,154	23.9	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Andrew John Dixon	1,068	2.3	N/A
Majority			10,393	22.2	N/A
Turnout			46,671	74.2	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)

See also

• Vale of Glamorgan (Assembly constituency)
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in South Glamorgan

Notes and references

1. "Beyond 20/20 WDS - Table view". 2011 Electorate Figures. StatsWales. 1 December 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
2. "'Vale of Glamorgan', June 1983 up to May 1997". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
3. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "V"
4. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
5. "Vale of Glamorgan result" (PDF). Statement of Results. Vale of Glamorgan Council. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
6. http://www.libdems.org.uk/list_of_selected_candidates#
7. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
8. Vale of Glamorgan, Vale of Glamorgan County Borough Council - candidates - Vale of Glamorgan
9. Vale of Glamorgan BBC Election - Vale of Glamorgan
10. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
12. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
13. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
14. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.
15. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
16. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.