Torfaen is a constituency 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 Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office in the government of Keir Starmer. It was established for the 1983 general election.
The constituency retained its name and gained wards as part of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the 2024 general election.
Boundaries
1983–2024: The Borough of Torfaen, excluding the communities of Croesyceiliog and Llanyrafon which were part of the Monmouth constituency.
2024–present: Under the 2023 review, the constituency was defined as being composed of the whole of the County Borough of Torfaen, with Croesyceiliog and Llanyrafon being transferred from the now abolished constituency of Monmouth, which was replaced by Monmouthshire.
The constituency covers the new town of Cwmbran, Pontypool, and its surrounding districts and stretches as far north as Blaenavon.
History
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, in part due to 60.8% of voters choosing the Leave vote in the 2016 EU membership referendum. In the 2024 United Kingdom general election Labour increased their majority to 7,322 votes.
Members of Parliament
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member!!Party
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1983
|Leo Abse
|Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|1987
|Paul Murphy
|Labour
|-
|style="color:inherit;background-color: " |
|2015
|Nick Thomas-Symonds
|Labour
|}
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
Elections in the 2010s
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="4" | 2019 notional result
|-
! colspan="2" bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="130px" |Party
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="50px" |Vote
! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" width="30px" | %
|-
|
|Labour
| align="right" |18,616
| align="right" |42.7
|-
|
|Conservative
| align="right" |14,506
| align="right" |33.3
|-
|
|Brexit Party
| align="right" |5,742
| align="right" |13.2
|-
|
|Liberal Democrats
| align="right" |2,157
| align="right" |5.0
|-
|
|Plaid Cymru
| align="right" |1,566
| align="right" |3.6
|-
|
|Green Party
| align="right" |966
| align="right" |2.2
|-
| colspan="4" bgcolor="#EAECF0" |
|-
| colspan="2" |Majority
| align="right" |4,110
| align="right" |9.4
|-
| colspan="2" |Turnout
| align="right" |43,553
| align="right" |61.7
|-
| colspan="2" |Electorate
| align="right" |70,591
|}
Of the 126 rejected ballots:
- 100 were either unmarked or it was uncertain whom the vote was for.
Of the 62 rejected ballots:
- 39 were either unmarked or it was uncertain whom the vote was for.
Of the 68 rejected ballots:
- 47 were either unmarked or it was uncertain whom the vote was for.
Of the 46 rejected ballots:
- 26 were either unmarked or it was uncertain whom the vote was for.
Elections in the 1990s
Elections in the 1980s
See also
- Torfaen (Senedd constituency)
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Gwent
- List of parliamentary constituencies in Wales
Notes
References
External links
- 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)
- Torfaen UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 1997 – April 2010) at MapIt UK
- Torfaen UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2010 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Torfaen UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK