Torfaen is a constituency[n 1] in Wales represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Nick Thomas-Symonds, a member of the Labour Party who also serves as the Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade.[n 2] It was established for the 1983 general election.
Torfaen | |
---|---|
County constituency for the House of Commons | |
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) |
Seats | One |
Created from | Pontypool |
Overlaps | |
Senedd | Torfaen, South Wales East |
The constituency is to retain its name and gain wards, as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the next United Kingdom general election.[2]
The area is traditionally a Labour Party stronghold with a majority of around 9,000. The community of New Inn is the only strong Conservative area. It voted Labour even amidst the huge Conservative majorities of 1983 and 1987. However, 2019 saw the lowest Labour majority in Torfaen in the seat's history, of only 3,742 votes, perhaps due to the constituency registering a strong Leave vote in the 2016 EU membership referendum. The area covers the new town of Cwmbran, Pontypool, and its surrounding districts and stretches as far north as Blaenavon.
Election | Member[3] | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1983 | Leo Abse | Labour | |
1987 | Paul Murphy | Labour | |
2015 | Nick Thomas-Symonds | Labour |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Leo Abse | 20,678 | 47.3 | N/A | |
Liberal | Graham Blackburn | 12,393 | 28.3 | N/A | |
Conservative | Peter Martin | 9,751 | 22.3 | N/A | |
Plaid Cymru | Phyllis Cox | 896 | 2.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 8,285 | 19.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 43,718 | 74.4 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 58,739 | ||||
Labour win (new seat) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paul Murphy | 26,577 | 58.7 | +11.4 | |
Liberal | Graham Blackburn | 9,027 | 19.9 | ―8.4 | |
Conservative | Robert 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 | +19.8 | ||
Turnout | 45,263 | 75.6 | +1.2 | ||
Registered electors | 59,896 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +9.9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paul Murphy | 30,352 | 64.1 | +5.4 | |
Conservative | Mark Watkins | 9,598 | 20.3 | +1.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | Malcolm Hewson | 6,178 | 13.1 | ―6.8 | |
Plaid Cymru (Green) | John Cox | 1,210 | 2.6 | +1.4 | |
Majority | 20,754 | 43.8 | +5.0 | ||
Turnout | 47,338 | 77.5 | +1.9 | ||
Registered electors | 61,104 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +2.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paul Murphy | 29,863 | 69.1 | +5.0 | |
Conservative | Neil Parish | 5,327 | 12.3 | ―8.0 | |
Liberal Democrats | Jean Gray | 5,249 | 12.1 | ―1.0 | |
Referendum | Deborah Holler | 1,245 | 2.9 | N/A | |
Plaid Cymru | Robert Gough | 1,042 | 2.4 | ―0.2 | |
Green | Roger Coghill | 519 | 1.2 | N/A | |
Majority | 24,536 | 56.8 | +13.0 | ||
Turnout | 43,245 | 71.7 | ―5.8 | ||
Registered electors | 60,343 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +6.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paul Murphy | 21,883 | 62.1 | ―7.0 | |
Conservative | Jason Evans | 5,603 | 15.9 | +3.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alan Masters | 3,936 | 11.2 | ―0.9 | |
Plaid Cymru | Stephen Smith | 2,720 | 7.7 | +5.3 | |
UKIP | Brenda Vipass | 657 | 1.9 | N/A | |
Socialist Alliance | Stephen Bell | 443 | 1.3 | N/A | |
Majority | 16,280 | 46.2 | -10.4 | ||
Turnout | 35,242 | 57.7 | ―14.0 | ||
Registered electors | 61,115 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ―5.3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paul Murphy | 20,472 | 56.9 | ―5.2 | |
Conservative | Nick Ramsay | 5,681 | 15.8 | ―0.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Veronica Watkins | 5,678 | 15.8 | +4.6 | |
Plaid Cymru | Aneurin Preece | 2,242 | 6.2 | ―1.5 | |
UKIP | David Rowlands | 1,145 | 3.2 | +1.3 | |
Independent | Richard Turner-Thomas | 761 | 2.1 | N/A | |
Majority | 14,791 | 41.1 | ―5.1 | ||
Turnout | 35,979 | 59.3 | +1.6 | ||
Registered electors | 60,665 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ―2.5 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Paul Murphy | 16,847 | 44.8 | ―12.1 | |
Conservative | Jonathan H. Burns | 7,541 | 20.0 | +4.2 | |
Liberal Democrats | David P. Morgan | 6,264 | 16.6 | +0.8 | |
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 | N/A | |
UKIP | Gareth Dunn | 862 | 2.3 | ―0.9 | |
Independent | Richard Turner-Thomas | 607 | 1.6 | ―0.5 | |
Green | Owen Clarke | 438 | 1.2 | N/A | |
Rejected ballots | 46 | ||||
Majority | 9,306 | 24.8 | ―16.3 | ||
Turnout | 37,640 | 61.5 | +2.2 | ||
Registered electors | 61,183 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ―8.2 |
Of the 46 rejected ballots:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Thomas-Symonds | 16,938 | 44.6 | ―0.2 | |
Conservative | Graham Smith | 8,769 | 23.1 | +3.1 | |
UKIP | Ken Beswick | 7,203 | 19.0 | +16.7 | |
Plaid Cymru | Boydd Hackley-Green | 2,169 | 5.7 | +0.4 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alison Willott | 1,271 | 3.4 | ―13.2 | |
Green | Matt Cooke[21] | 746 | 2.0 | +0.8 | |
Socialist Labour | John Cox | 697 | 1.8 | N/A | |
Communist | Mark Griffiths | 144 | 0.4 | N/A | |
Rejected ballots | 68 | ||||
Majority | 8,169 | 21.5 | ―3.3 | ||
Turnout | 37,937 | 61.3 | ―0.2 | ||
Registered electors | 61,896 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ―1.6 |
Of the 68 rejected ballots:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Thomas-Symonds | 22,134 | 57.6 | +13.0 | |
Conservative | Graham Smith | 11,894 | 31.0 | +7.9 | |
Plaid Cymru | Jeff Rees | 2,059 | 5.4 | ―0.3 | |
UKIP | Ian Williams | 1,490 | 3.9 | ―15.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Andrew Best | 852 | 2.2 | ―1.2 | |
Rejected ballots | 62 | ||||
Majority | 10,240 | 26.6 | +5.1 | ||
Turnout | 38,494 | 62.2 | +0.9 | ||
Registered electors | 61,839 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +2.5 |
Of the 62 rejected ballots:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Thomas-Symonds | 15,546 | 41.8 | ―15.8 | |
Conservative | Graham Smith | 11,804 | 31.8 | +0.8 | |
Brexit Party | David Thomas | 5,742 | 15.4 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | John Miller | 1,831 | 4.9 | +2.7 | |
Plaid Cymru | Morgan Bowler-Brown | 1,441 | 3.9 | ―1.5 | |
Green | Andrew Heygate-Browne | 812 | 2.2 | N/A | |
Rejected ballots | 126 | ||||
Majority | 3,742 | 10.0 | ―16.6 | ||
Turnout | 37,176 | 60.2 | ―2.0 | ||
Registered electors | 61,743 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | ―8.3 |
Of the 126 rejected ballots:
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Nick Thomas-Symonds[28] | ||||
Conservative | Nathan Edmunds[29] | ||||
Plaid Cymru | Matthew Jones[30] | ||||
Reform UK | Ian Williams[31] | ||||
Rejected ballots | |||||
Majority | |||||
Turnout | |||||
Registered electors | |||||
Swing |
51°41′46″N 3°03′47″W / 51.696°N 3.063°W