Cardiff West (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Cardiff West (Senedd constituency).

Cardiff West (Welsh: Gorllewin Caerdydd) is a constituency^{[n 1]} represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Alex Barros-Curtis of the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

Cardiff West
Borough constituency for the House of Commons
Interactive map of boundaries from 2024
Location within Wales
Preserved county	South Glamorgan
Population	91,027 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	73,947 (March 2020)[2]
Current constituency
Created	1950
Member of Parliament	Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour)
Seats	One
Created from	Cardiff Central
Overlaps
Senedd	Cardiff West, South Wales Central

The constituency retained its name and gained 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 2024 United Kingdom general election.^[3]

Constituency profile

Population areas within the constituency include Riverside, Pontcanna, St Fagans and Ely. There are some Conservative and Plaid Cymru-leaning areas in the north of the seat such as Creigiau and St Fagans, Pentyrch and Radyr, but the bulk of the seat comprises districts towards the centre of Cardiff such as Caerau, Canton, Ely and Riverside which are very strongly Labour.

History

A traditionally safe Labour seat, represented for 33 years by George Thomas (who became Speaker in 1976 and was re-elected without party affiliation in 1979). It has returned a Conservative only once, in the Tories' landslide year of 1983, when Stefan Terlezki became the MP.

Labour regained the seat at the next general election in 1987, when Rhodri Morgan was elected. After the creation of the Welsh Assembly Government, Morgan stepped down from his Westminster seat in 2001 to serve as leader of Welsh Labour and First Minister for Wales. Kevin Brennan retained the seat for Labour on Morgan's retirement from Westminster politics. Following the announcement of the date of the 2024 general election Brennan announced his retirement from politics.^[4]

Boundaries

Map of current boundaries

Until 2024 Cardiff West was entirely within the boundaries of the City of Cardiff, though in 2024 (as a result of the 2023 Review of UK constituences) it gained the Rhondda Cynon Taf ward of Pontyclun.^[5]

1950–1974: The County Borough of Cardiff wards of Canton, Ely, Grangetown, Llandaff, and Riverside.

1974–1983: The County Borough of Cardiff wards of Canton, Ely, Llandaff, Grangetown, Plasmawr, and Riverside.

1983–2010: The City of Cardiff wards of Caerau, Canton, Ely, Fairwater, Llandaff, Radyr and St Fagans, and Riverside.

2010–2024: The City of Cardiff wards of Caerau, Canton, Creigiau and St Fagans, Ely, Fairwater, Llandaff, Pentyrch, Radyr, and Riverside.

2024–present: The City of Cardiff wards of Caerau, Canton, Ely, Fairwater, Llandaff, Pentyrch and St Fagans, Radyr, and Riverside, and the Rhondda Cynon Taf wards of Pont-y-clun Central, Pont-y-clun East, and Pont-y-clun West.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member[6][7]	Party
	1950	George Thomas	Labour
	1976		Speaker
	1983	Stefan Terlezki	Conservative
	1987	Rhodri Morgan	Labour
	2001	Kevin Brennan	Labour
	2024	Alex Barros-Curtis	Labour

Elections

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Cardiff West^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	27,200	54.3	N/A
	Conservative	Charles Stuart Hallinan	22,893	45.7	N/A
Majority			4,307	8.6	N/A
Turnout			50,093	82.2	N/A
Registered electors			60,918
	Labour win (new seat)

General election 1951: Cardiff West ^[9][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	28,995	55.1	+0.8
	Conservative	Adrian Lincoln Hallinan	23,595	44.9	−0.8
Majority			5,400	10.2	+1.6
Turnout			62,528	84.1	+1.9
Registered electors			62,528
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Cardiff West^[10][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	26,042	55.3	+0.2
	Conservative	Emrys Simons	21,080	44.7	−0.2
Majority			4,962	10.6	+0.4
Turnout			47,122	76.7	−7.4
Registered electors			61,446
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1959: Cardiff West^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	25,390	53.3	−2.0
	Conservative	Adrian Lincoln Hallinan	22,258	46.7	+2.0
Majority			3,132	6.6	−4.0
Turnout			47,648	80.1	+3.4
Registered electors			59,524
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Cardiff West^[11][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	25,998	59.2	+5.9
	Conservative	Keith T Flynn	17,941	40.8	−5.9
Majority			8,057	18.4	+11.8
Turnout			43,949	76.4	−3.7
Registered electors			57,511
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1966: Cardiff West^[12][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	26,139	61.0	+1.8
	Conservative	Sidney William Doxsey	16,714	39.0	−1.8
Majority			9,425	22.0	+3.6
Turnout			42,853	75.1	−1.3
Registered electors			57,088
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Cardiff West^[13][8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	21,655	49.8	−11.2
	Conservative	Robert C. Williams	15,878	36.5	−2.5
	Plaid Cymru	Dafydd Hughes	4,378	10.1	N/A
	Liberal	Stephen Robert Charles Wanhill	1,594	3.7	N/A
Majority			5,777	13.3	−8.7
Turnout			43,505	71.0	−4.1
Registered electors			61,322
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Cardiff West^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	16,712	44.0	−5.8
	Conservative	G J Neale	13,366	35.2	−1.3
	Liberal	Michael James	5,812	15.3	+11.6
	Plaid Cymru	D Hughes	2,093	5.5	−4.6
Majority			3,346	8.8	−4.5
Turnout			43,505	73.6	+2.6
Registered electors			51,626
	Labour hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Cardiff West^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Thomas	18,153	50.0	+6.0
	Conservative	W F Dunn	11,481	31.6	−3.6
	Liberal	Michael James	4,669	12.9	−2.4
	Plaid Cymru	D Hughes	2,008	5.5	±0.0
Majority			6,672	18.4	+9.6
Turnout			36,311	69.7	−3.9
Registered electors			52,083
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Cardiff West^[16]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Speaker	George Thomas	27,035	85.6	+35.6
	Plaid Cymru	A Ogwen	3,272	10.4	+4.9
	National Front	C Gibbon	1,287	4.1	N/A
Majority			23,763	75.2	+56.8
Turnout			31,594	60.8	−8.9
Registered electors			51,982
	Speaker hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Cardiff West^[17]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Stefan Terlezki	15,472	38.0	N/A
	Labour	David Seligman	13,698	33.6	N/A
	SDP	Jeffrey Thomas	10,388	25.5	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	Meurig Parri	848	2.1	−8.3
	Ecology	Graham Jones	352	0.9	N/A
Majority			1,774	4.4	N/A
Turnout			40,758	69.6	+8.8
Registered electors			58,538
	Conservative gain from Speaker		Swing

General election 1987: Cardiff West^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rhodri Morgan	20,329	45.5	+11.9
	Conservative	Stefan Terlezki	16,284	36.5	−1.5
	SDP	Robert Drake	7,300	16.4	−9.1
	Plaid Cymru	Peter Keelan	736	1.7	−0.4
Majority			4,045	9.0	N/A
Turnout			44,649	77.8	+8.2
Registered electors			57,363
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Cardiff West^[19][20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rhodri Morgan	24,306	53.2	+7.7
	Conservative	Michael J. Prior	15,015	32.9	−3.6
	Liberal	Jacqui Gasson	5,002	10.9	−5.5
	Plaid Cymru	Penni M. Bestic	1,177	2.6	+0.9
	Natural Law	Andrew E. Harding	184	0.4	N/A
Majority			9,291	20.3	+11.3
Turnout			45,684	77.5	−0.3
Registered electors			58,898
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.6

General election 1997: Cardiff West^[21][22]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rhodri Morgan	24,297	60.3	+7.1
	Conservative	Simon Hoare	8,669	21.5	−11.4
	Liberal	Jacqui Gasson	4,366	10.8	−0.1
	Plaid Cymru	Gwenllian Carr	1,949	4.8	+2.2
	Referendum	Trefor Johns	996	2.5	N/A
Majority			15,628	38.8	+18.5
Turnout			40,277	69.2	−8.3
Registered electors			58,244
	Labour hold		Swing	+9.2

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Cardiff West^[23][24]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brennan	18,594	54.6	−5.7
	Conservative	Andrew Davies	7,273	21.3	−0.2
	Liberal	Jacqui Gasson	4,458	13.1	+2.3
	Plaid Cymru	Delme Bowen	3,296	9.7	+4.9
	UKIP	Joyce Jenking	462	1.4	N/A
Majority			11,321	33.3	−5.5
Turnout			34,083	58.4	−10.8
Registered electors			58,348
	Labour hold		Swing	-2.8

General election 2005: Cardiff West^[25][26]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brennan	15,729	45.5	−9.1
	Conservative	Simon Baker	7,562	21.9	+0.6
	Liberal	Alison Goldsworthy	6,060	17.5	+4.4
	Plaid Cymru	Neil McEvoy	4,316	12.5	+2.8
	UKIP	Joe Callan	727	2.1	+0.7
	Rainbow Dream Ticket	Catherine Taylor-Dawson	167	0.5	N/A
Majority			8,167	23.6	−9.7
Turnout			34,561	57.7	−0.7
Registered electors			59,931
	Labour hold		Swing	−4.8

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Cardiff West^[27][28]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brennan	16,893	41.2	−3.6
	Conservative	Angela Jones-Evans	12,143	29.6	+7.0
	Liberal Democrats	Rachael Hitchinson	7,186	17.5	+0.5
	Plaid Cymru	Mohammed Islam	2,868	7.0	−5.9
	UKIP	Michael Hennessey	1,117	2.7	+0.6
	Green	Jake Griffiths	750	1.8	N/A
Majority			4,750	11.6	−12.0
Turnout			40,957	65.2	+7.0
Registered electors			62,787
	Labour hold		Swing	−5.3

General election 2015: Cardiff West^[29][30][31]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brennan	17,803	40.7	−0.5
	Conservative	James Taghdissian	11,014	25.2	−4.4
	Plaid Cymru	Neil McEvoy	6,096	13.9	+6.9
	UKIP	Brian Morris	4,923	11.2	+8.5
	Liberal Democrats	Cadan ap Tomos	2,069	4.7	−12.8
	Green	Ken Barker	1,704	3.9	+2.1
	TUSC	Helen Jones	183	0.4	N/A
Rejected ballots			113
Majority			6,789	15.5	+3.9
Turnout			43,792	65.6	+0.4
Registered electors			66,762
	Labour hold		Swing	+1.9

Of the 113 rejected ballots:

• 80 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.^[30]
• 30 voted for more than one candidate.^[30]
• 3 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.^[30]

General election 2017: Cardiff West^[32][33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brennan	26,425	56.7	+16.0
	Conservative	Matt Smith	13,874	29.8	+4.6
	Plaid Cymru	Michael Deem	4,418	9.5	−4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Alex Meredith	1,214	2.6	−2.1
	UKIP	Richard Lewis	698	1.5	−9.7
Rejected ballots			89
Majority			12,551	26.9	+11.4
Turnout			46,629	69.8	+4.2
Registered electors			66,775
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.7

Of the 89 rejected ballots:

• 66 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.^[33]
• 23 voted for more than one candidate.^[33]

General election 2019: Cardiff West^[34][35]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin Brennan	23,908	51.8	−4.9
	Conservative	Carolyn Webster	12,922	28.0	−1.8
	Plaid Cymru	Boyd Clack	3,864	8.4	−1.1
	Liberal Democrats	Callum Littlemore	2,731	5.9	+3.3
	Brexit Party	Nick Mullins	1,619	3.5	N/A
	Green	David Griffin	1,133	2.5	N/A
Rejected ballots			144
Majority			10,986	23.8	−3.1
Turnout			46,177	67.4	−2.4
Registered electors			68,508
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.6

Of the 144 rejected ballots:

• 115 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.^[35]
• 28 voted for more than one candidate.^[35]
• 1 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.^[35]

Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Cardiff West^[36]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alex Barros-Curtis	16,442	36.7	−13.5
	Plaid Cymru	Kiera Marshall	9,423	21.1	+12.6
	Conservative	James Hamblin	6,835	15.3	−14.6
	Reform UK	Peter Hopkins	5,626	12.6	+8.9
	Green	Jess Ryan	3,157	7.1	+4.9
	Liberal Democrats	Manda Rigby	1,921	4.3	−1.0
	Propel	Neil McEvoy	1,041	2.3	N/A
	Independent	John Ernest Urquhart	241	0.5	N/A
	Heritage	Sean Wesley	71	0.2	N/A
Majority			7,019	15.6	−8.2
Turnout			44,757	59.0	−10.9
Registered electors			75,473
	Labour hold		Swing	13.0

The selection of Barros-Curtis as Labour candidate, with minimal input from local party members, was criticised. He is the Labour Party's executive director of legal affairs.^[37] Barros-Curtis had no connection to the Cardiff area, though had grown up in North Wales.^[38]

See also

• Cardiff West (Senedd constituency)
• List of parliamentary constituencies in South Glamorgan
• List of parliamentary constituencies in Wales

Notes

1. A borough constituency (for the purposes of election expenses and type of returning officer)
2. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.

References

1. "Cardiff West: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Archived from the original on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
2. Mrs Justice Jefford; Thomas, Huw Vaughan; Hartley, Sam A (June 2023). "Appendix 1: Recommended Constituencies" (PDF). The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales. Cardiff: Boundary Commission for Wales. p. 250. ISBN 978-1-5286-3901-9. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
3. 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales (PDF). Boundary Commission for Wales. 28 June 2023.
4. "Labour MP Kevin Brennan says he is standing down". BBC News. 27 May 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
5. "MP seat changes in Wales: New boundaries and constituency names to be used for first time". ITV News. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
6. "Cardiff West 1950–". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Retrieved 2 February 2015.
7. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)
8. Craig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950–1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications. ISBN 9780900178023. Page 556
9. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1951.
10. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1955.
11. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1964.
12. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1966.
13. The Times' Guide to the House of Commons. 1970.
14. "Politics Resources". Election February 1974. Politics Resources. 28 February 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
15. "Politics Resources". Election October 1974. Politics Resources. 10 October 1974. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
16. "Politics Resources". Election 1979. Politics Resources. 3 May 1979. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
17. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
18. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
19. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
20. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
21. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
22. "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Cardiff West". Vote 2001. BBC News. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
23. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
24. "BBC NEWS > Cardiff West". Vote 2001. BBC News. 7 June 2001. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
25. "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
26. "Cardiff West parliamentary constituency - Election 2005" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
27. "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
28. Cardiff West BBC Election – Cardiff West
29. "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
30. "Cardiff Central result". Election results for Cardiff West. City of Cardiff Council. 7 May 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
31. "Cardiff Central Parliamentary constituency". Election 2015. BBC News. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
32. "Cardiff West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
33. Election results for Cardiff West, UK Parliamentary Election - Thursday, 8th June, 2017, cardiff.gov.uk, 8 June 2017, retrieved 18 January 2020
34. "Cardiff West Parliamentary constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
35. Election results for Cardiff West, UK Parliamentary Election - 2019, Cardiff Council, 12 December 2019, retrieved 18 January 2020
36. "Cardiff West results - General election 2024". BBC News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
37. Mosalski, Ruth (1 June 2024). "The huge Labour general election row brewing in Wales which has left people furious". Wales Online. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
38. Jones, Catrin Haf (1 June 2024). "Labour has undemocratic culture, says party member". BBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2024.

External links

• nomis Constituency Profile for Cardiff West – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.
• Politics Resources (Election results from 1922 onwards)
• Electoral Calculus (Election results from 1955 onwards)
• 2017 Election House Of Commons Library 2017 Election report
• A Vision Of Britain Through Time (Constituency elector numbers)
• Cardiff West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
• Cardiff West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
• Cardiff West UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Wirral	Constituency represented by the speaker 1976–1983	Succeeded by Croydon North East

51.486°N 3.214°W / 51.486; -3.214