Caerfyrddin (UK Parliament constituency)

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Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "IPA".), also known as Carmarthen, is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament, first contested at the 2024 general election, following the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies. It is currently represented by Ann Davies of Plaid Cymru.

In the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the name is given as Caerfyrddin (Carmarthen).^[1] Of the twenty-five Welsh constituencies with names in both English and Welsh, Caerfyrddin is the only one where the Welsh name comes first followed by the English name in brackets (in each of the other cases, the opposite is true). Caerfyrddin is the form used by the UK Parliament.^[2]

A similar constituency existed between 1918 and 1997 under the name Carmarthen.

Boundaries

Under the 2023 review, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following wards of the County of Carmarthenshire, as they existed on 1 December 2020:^[1]

Abergwili; Ammanford; Betws; Carmarthen Town North; Carmarthen Town South; Carmarthen Town West; Cenarth; Cilycwm; Cynwyl Elfed; Cynwyl Gaeo; Garnant; Glanamman; Laugharne Township; Llanboidy; Llanddarog; Llandeilo; Llandovery; Llandybie; Llanegwad; Llanfihangel Aberbythych; Llanfihangel-ar-Arth; Llangadog; Llangeler; Llangunnor; Llansteffan; Llanybydder; Manordeilo and Salem; Penygroes; Pontamman; Quarter Bach; St. Clears; Saron; Trelech; and Whitland.

Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022,^[3] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the County of Carmarthenshire from the 2024 general election:^[4]

Abergwili; Ammanford; Betws; Carmarthen Town North and South; Carmarthen Town West; Cenarth and Llangeler; Cilycwm; Cwarter Bach; Cynwyl Elfed; Garnant; Glanamman; Laugharne Township; Llanboidy; Llanddarog; Llandeilo; Llandovery; Llandybie; Llanegwad; Llanfihangel Aberbythych; Llanfihangel-ar-Arth; Llangadog; Llangunnor; Llanybydder; Manordeilo and Salem; Penygroes; Saron; St. Clears and Llansteffan; Trelech; and Whitland.

History

The Parliamentary Borough of Carmarthen (made up of Carmarthen town and Llanelli) existed from 1542 to 1832 alongside the Parliamentary County of Carmarthenshire, each returning one member. Under the Great Reform Act of 1832, the Borough was expanded to include both Carmarthen town and Llanelli (known as the Carmarthen Boroughs), and the representation of the county was increased to two members. In 1885, Carmarthenshire was split into the two county constituencies of East Carmarthenshire and West Carmarthenshire with one member each.

In 1918, the borough constituency was abolished (as well as East and West Carmarthenshire), but the name Carmarthen was transferred to one of the divisions of the county of Carmarthenshire. The new constituency was made up of the whole of the county of Carmarthenshire except for the new Llanelli constituency (the urban area around Llanelli). Notable towns were Carmarthen itself, Ammanford and Llandeilo.

In 1997, the Boundary Commission for Wales recommended an extra seat for Dyfed.^[5] This led to the seat being split two to one between Carmarthen East & Dinefwr and Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire.^[6]

The constituency was re-established as Caerfyrddin as part of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final proposals of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the 2024 United Kingdom general election.^[7]

Political history

Because the seat contained mining areas in the valley of the River Gwendraeth (until the 1980s), much countryside and a high proportion of Welsh speakers, it was fertile territory for the Labour Party, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru alike. Although the Conservatives never won the seat, they came within 1200 votes of doing so in 1983.

Carmarthen is notable as the first constituency to elect a Plaid Cymru MP, Gwynfor Evans, at a 1966 by-election. Evans was later involved in one of the closest General Election results ever in February 1974, when he lost to the Labour candidate by only three votes.^[8]^[9] The constituency also shot to fame in the following election in October 1974 as the only seat in the country to see its turnout rise on that of February 1974.

Members of Parliament

1918–1997: county constituency

Election		Member^{c\|2\|date=March_2012-10\|[10]}	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1918	John Hinds	Coalition Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1923	Sir Ellis Ellis-Griffith	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1924 by-election	Alfred Mond	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1926	Alfred Mond	Conservative
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1928 by-election	William Nathaniel Jones	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1929	Daniel Hopkin	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1931	Richard Thomas Evans	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1935	Daniel Hopkin	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1941 by-election	Moelwyn Hughes	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1945	Rhys Hopkin Morris	Liberal
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1957 by-election	Megan Lloyd George	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1966 by-election	Gwynfor Evans	Plaid Cymru
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1970	Gwynoro Jones	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	Oct. 1974	Gwynfor Evans	Plaid Cymru
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1979	Roger Thomas	Labour
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	1987	Alan Williams	Labour
	1997	constituency abolished: see Carmarthen East & Dinefwr and Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire

MPs since 2024

Carmarthen East and Dinefwr and Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire prior to 2024.

Election		MemberTemplate:Fact	Party
style="color:inherit;background-color: Template:Party color" \|	2024	Ann Davies	Plaid Cymru

Elections

File:Carmarthen - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr election results.png

Carmarthen – Carmarthen East and Dinefwr election results

Elections in the 20th century

Elections in the 1910s

Template:Election box winning candidate unopposed with party link coalition 1918 Template:Election box end 1918

Elections in the 1920s

File:1910 John Hinds.jpg

Hinds

General election 1918: Carmarthen Boroughs^[11]
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General election 1922: Carmarthen^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	<templatestyles src="Template:Tooltip/styles.css" />±%Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
	Script error: No such module "Political party".	John Hinds	Template:Replace	41.9	Script error: No such module "String".
	Script error: No such module "Political party".	George Coventry	8,805	29.4	Script error: No such module "String".
	National Farmers' Union	David Johns	4,775	15.9	Script error: No such module "String".
	Script error: No such module "Political party".	Hubert Llewelyn-Williams	3,847	12.8	Script error: No such module "String".
Majority			3,725	12.5	Script error: No such module "String".
Turnout			29,957	82.7	Script error: No such module "String".
Registered electors			36,213		Script error: No such module "String".
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