Montgomeryshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Montgomeryshire (Senedd Cymru constituency).

Coordinates: 52°38′24″N 3°28′08″W / 52.640°N 3.469°W / 52.640; -3.469

Montgomeryshire
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Montgomeryshire in Wales
Preserved county Powys
Electorate 48,910 (December 2010)[1]
Major settlements Newtown, Welshpool
Current constituency
Created 1542
Member of Parliament Craig Williams (Conservative)
Number of members One
Created from Montgomery
Overlaps
Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament Mid and West Wales

Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn) is a constituency[n 1] represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1542, it elects one Member of Parliament (MP), traditionally known as the knight of the shire, by the first-past-the-post system of election.

The Montgomeryshire Senedd constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999.

Boundaries

The seat is based on the ancient county of Montgomeryshire, in the principal area of Powys. One of Britain's most rural and isolated constituencies, Montgomeryshire elected Liberal or Liberal-affiliated candidates from 1880, until a Conservative victory in the 1979 general election. In the 1983 general election it was only seat in England and Wales where a sitting Conservative MP was unseated, while nationally his party's seat majority increased. However, in 2010, the Conservatives won and held the seat in 2015 and 2017, with an increased majority. The seat is believed to be marginal, but the figures show that this is not the case. The seat was officially known as Montgomery before 1997. It is the only seat in Wales never to have elected a Labour MP.

Until 1918 this seat, in common with many others, contained an enclaved seat which was comprised the boroughs of Montgomery, Llanfyllin, Llanidloes, Newtown and Welshpool. This seat survived the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 which abolished many similar seats. The seat was finally abolished in 1918 and absorbed into the wider Montgomery seat where it remains today.

Proposed constituency changes

Under proposed constituency boundary changes announced in September 2016, ahead of the next general election, the seat was to be partitioned, the northern half including Welshpool to be merged with Clwyd South to form a new seat of South Clwyd and North Montgomeryshire; most of the southern including Newtown will be merged with the Brecon and Radnor seat to form a seat renamed as Brecon, Radnor and Montgomery,[2] and the wards of Llanidloes and Blaen Hafren merged into the Ceredigion constituency which would form part of a new seat called Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire.[3] However, the general elections of 2017 and 2019 were fought on existing boundaries.

Members of Parliament

1542–1604

Parliament Member
1542 James Leche[4]
1545 Humphrey Lloyd[4]
1547 Humphrey Lloyd[4]
1553 (Mar) Edward Herbert[4]
1553 (Oct) Edward Herbert[4]
1554 (Apr) Edward Herbert[4]
1554 (Nov) Edward Herbert[4]
1555 Not known
1558 Edward Herbert[4]
1559 (Jan) Edward Herbert I[5]
1562–1563 Edward Herbert I[5]
1571 Edward Herbert I[5]
1572 John Price[5]
1584 (Oct) Richard Herbert[5]
1586 (Oct) Oliver Lloyd[5]
1588 (Oct) Edward Herbert I[5]
1593 Reginald WIlliams[5]
1597 (Sep) William Herbert[5]
1601 (Oct) Edward Herbert[5]

1604–present

Election Member[6] Party
1604–1611 William Herbert
1614 William Herbert
1621–1622 William Herbert
1624 William Herbert
1624–1629 William Herbert
1640 Richard Herbert
1640–1642 John Pryce
1642 Seat vacant from 12 September 1642, when Pryce was disabled from sitting
1647 Edward Vaughan
1648 Seat vacant after Vaughan was excluded in Pride's Purge
1653 Not separately represented in the Barebones Parliament
1654–1655
(two members) 		Charles Lloyd
John Pryce
1656–1658
(two members) 		Charles Lloyd
Hugh Pryce
1659 Edward Vaughan
1660 John Purcell
1661 Edward Vaughan
1661 Hon. Andrew Newport Conservative
1679 Edward Vaughan Conservative
1719 Hon. Price Devereux Conservative
1740 Robert Williams
1741 Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn Conservative
1742 Robert Williams
1747 Edward Kynaston
1772 Watkin Williams
1774 William Mostyn Owen
1795 Francis Lloyd
1799 Charles Williams-Wynn Tory[7]
1834 Conservative[7]
1850 by-election Herbert Williams-Wynn Conservative
1862 by-election Charles Williams-Wynn Conservative
1880 Stuart Rendel Liberal
1894 by-election Arthur Humphreys-Owen Liberal
1906 David Davies Liberal
1929 Clement Davies Liberal
1931 National Liberal
1939 Independent
1942 Liberal
1962 by-election Emlyn Hooson Liberal
1979 Delwyn Williams Conservative
1983 Alex Carlile Liberal
1988 Liberal Democrat
1997 Lembit Öpik Liberal Democrat
2010 Glyn Davies Conservative
2019 Craig Williams Conservative

Elections


Elections in the 19th Century

General election, 1830: Montgomery [7] [8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors c. 1,110
Tory hold
1830 Montgomeryshire by-election [7] [8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors c. 1,110
Tory hold
  • Caused by Williams-Wynn's appointment as a Commissioner for the Affairs of India
General election, 1831: Montgomery [7] [8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Williams-Wynn 703 70.0
Whig Joseph Hayes Lyon 302 30.0
Majority 401 39.9
Turnout 1,005 c. 90.5
Registered electors c. 1,110
Tory hold
General election, 1832: Montgomery [9] [7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Tory Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,525
Tory hold
General election, 1835: Montgomery [9] [7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,737
Conservative hold
General election, 1837: Montgomery [9] [7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,819
Conservative hold
General election, 1841: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,936
Conservative hold
General election, 1847: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 3,214
Conservative hold
1850 Montgomeryshire by-election [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Conservative hold
  • Caused by Williams-Wynn's death.
General election, 1852: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,986
Conservative hold
General election, 1857: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,872
Conservative hold
General election, 1859: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Herbert Watkin Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 2,723
Conservative hold
1862 Montgomeryshire by-election [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn 1,269 57.0 N/A
Liberal Sudeley Hanbury-Tracy[10] 959 43.0 N/A
Majority 310 14.0 N/A
Turnout 2,228 83.3 N/A
Registered electors 2,675
Conservative hold Swing
  • Caused by Williams-Wynn's death.
General election, 1865: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 3,339
Conservative hold
General election, 1868: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 4,810
Conservative hold
General election, 1874: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn Unopposed
Registered electors 5,014
Conservative hold
General election, 1880: Montgomery [9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Stuart Rendel 2,232 52.2 N/A
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn 2,041 47.8 N/A
Majority 191 4.4 N/A
Turnout 4,273 80.8 N/A
Registered electors 5,291
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A
General election, 1885: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Stuart Rendel 4,044 54.4 +2.2
Conservative Charles Williams-Wynn 3,389 45.6 -2.2
Majority 655 8.8 +4.4
Turnout 7,433 83.8 +3.0
Registered electors 8,870
Liberal hold Swing +2.2
General election, 1886: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Stuart Rendel 3,799 54.1 -0.3
Conservative Devereux Herbert Mytton[12] 3,220 45.9 +0.3
Majority 579 8.2 -0.6
Turnout 7,019 79.1 -4.7
Registered electors 8,870
Liberal hold Swing -0.3
General election, 1892: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Stuart Rendel 3,662 56.3 +2.2
Conservative Devereux Herbert Mytton[12] 2,847 43.7 -2.2
Majority 815 12.6 +4.4
Turnout 6,509 73.3 -5.8
Registered electors 8,880
Liberal hold Swing +2.2
1894 Montgomeryshire by-election [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Arthur Humphreys-Owen 3,440 51.7 -4.6
Conservative Watkin Williams-Wynn 3,215 48.3 +4.6
Majority 225 3.4 -9.2
Turnout 6,655 82.2 +8.9
Registered electors 8,092
Liberal hold Swing -4.6
  • Caused by Rendel's elevation to the peerage.
General election, 1895: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Arthur Humphreys-Owen 3,442 50.2 -6.1
Conservative Watkin Williams-Wynn 3,415 49.8 +6.1
Majority 27 0.4 -3.0
Turnout 6,857 85.8 +12.5
Registered electors 7,989
Liberal hold Swing -6.1

Elections in the 20th Century

Humphreys-Owen
General election, 1900: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Arthur Humphreys-Owen 3,482 52.0 +1.8
Conservative Watkin Williams-Wynn 3,218 48.0 -1.8
Majority 264 4.0 +3.6
Turnout 6,700 84.6 -1.2
Registered electors 7,915
Liberal hold Swing +1.8
David Davies
General election, 1906: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies Unopposed
Registered electors
Liberal hold
General election, January 1910: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies 4,369 61.8 N/A
Conservative Arthur Williams-Wynn 2,697 38.2 N/A
Majority 1,672 23.6 N/A
Turnout 7,066 89.1 N/A
Registered electors 7,928
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election, December 1910: Montgomery [11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies Unopposed
Registered electors 7,928
Liberal hold
General election 1918: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies Unopposed
Registered electors 24,949
Liberal hold
  • Davies was endorsed by the Coalition Government, but refused to accept the coupon.
General election 1922: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies Unopposed
Registered electors 23,802
Liberal hold
General election 1923: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies Unopposed
Registered electors 24,126
Liberal hold
General election 1924: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal David Davies 14,942 77.3 N/A
Labour Arthur Davies 4,384 22.7 N/A
Majority 10,558 54.6 N/A
Turnout 19,326 79.4 N/A
Registered electors 24,338
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1929: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Clement Davies 12,779 46.5 -30.8
Unionist John Murray Naylor 10,651 38.7 N/A
Labour John Evans 4,069 14.8 -7.9
Majority 2,128 7.8 -46.8
Turnout 27,499 88.3 +8.9
Registered electors 31,142
Liberal hold Swing -11.4
General election 1931: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Clement Davies Unopposed
Registered electors 30,120
Liberal National hold
General election 1935: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal National Clement Davies Unopposed
Registered electors 30,943
Liberal National hold
General election 1945: Montgomery [13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Clement Davies 14,018 56.3 N/A
Conservative Philip Owen 10,895 43.7 N/A
Majority 3,123 13.6 N/A
Turnout 24,913 77.4 N/A
Registered electors 32,180
Liberal gain from Liberal National Swing N/A
General election 1950: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Clement Davies 14,401 50.0 -6.3
Conservative Harry West 7,621 26.5 -17.2
Labour John David Williams 6,760 23.5 N/A
Majority 6,780 23.5 +9.9
Turnout 28,782 88.9 +11.5
Registered electors 32,372
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1951: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Clement Davies 17,075 68.5 +18.5
Labour David Caradog Jones 7,854 31.5 +8.0
Majority 9,221 37.0 +13.4
Turnout 24,929 76.9 -12.0
Registered electors 32,423
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1955: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Clement Davies 16,021 68.0 -0.5
Labour David Caradog Jones 7,521 32.0 +0.5
Majority 8,500 36.0 -1.0
Turnout 23,542 73.6 -3.3
Registered electors 31,983
Liberal hold Swing -0.5
General election 1959: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Clement Davies 10,970 42.0 -26.0
Conservative Frank Leslie Morgan 8,176 31.3 N/A
Labour David Caradog Jones 6,950 26.6 -5.4
Majority 2,794 10.7 -25.4
Turnout 26,096 83.8 +10.2
Registered electors 31,152
Liberal hold Swing
1962 Montgomeryshire by-election [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 13,181 51.3 +9.3
Conservative Robert H. Dawson 5,632 21.9 -9.4
Labour Tudor Davies 5,299 20.6 -6.0
Plaid Cymru Islwyn Ffowc Elis 1,594 6.2 N/A
Majority 7,549 29.4 +18.7
Turnout 25,706 85.1 +1.3
Registered electors 30,202
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1964: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 10,738 42.3 +0.3
Conservative Jerry Wiggin 6,768 26.7 -4.7
Labour Gwyn M. Evans 5,696 22.5 -4.1
Plaid Cymru Islwyn Ffowc Elis 2,167 8.5 N/A
Majority 3,970 15.6 +4.9
Turnout 25,369 84.1 +0.3
Registered electors 30,155
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1966: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 10,278 41.5 -0.8
Conservative Jerry Wiggin 6,784 27.4 +0.7
Labour Gwyn M. Evans 5,891 23.8 +1.3
Plaid Cymru Trefor Edwards 1,841 7.4 -1.1
Majority 3,494 14.1 -1.5
Turnout 24,794 82.8 -1.3
Registered electors 29,951
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1970: Montgomery [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 10,202 38.4 -3.1
Conservative Delwyn Williams 7,891 29.7 +2.3
Labour David W. Thomas 5,335 20.1 -3.7
Plaid Cymru Edward Millward 3,145 11.8 +4.4
Majority 2,311 8.7 -5.4
Turnout 26,573 82.3 -0.5
Registered electors 32,304
Liberal hold Swing
General election February 1974: Montgomery
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 12,495 45.4 +7.0
Conservative W R C Williams-Wynne 7,844 28.5 -1.2
Labour P W Harries 4,888 17.8 -2.3
Plaid Cymru A P Jones 2,274 8.3 -3.5
Majority 4,651 16.9 +8.2
Turnout 27,501 82.6 +0.3
Registered electors 33,303
Liberal hold Swing
General election October 1974: Montgomery
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 11,280 43.1 -2.3
Conservative W R C Williams-Wynne 7,421 28.4 -0.1
Labour P W Harries 5,031 19.2 +1.4
Plaid Cymru A P Jones 2,440 9.3 +1.0
Majority 3,859 14.7 -2.2
Turnout 26,172 77.9 -4.7
Registered electors 33,583
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1979: Montgomery
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Delwyn Williams 11,751 40.3 +11.9
Liberal Emlyn Hooson 10,158 34.9 −8.2
Labour J Price 4,751 16.3 −2.9
Plaid Cymru C Clowes 2,474 8.5 −0.8
Majority 1,593 5.4 N/A
Turnout 29,134 81.4 +1.5
Registered electors 35,786
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing
General election 1983: Montgomery [15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alex Carlile 12,863 43.3 +8.4
Conservative Delwyn Williams 12,195 41.1 +0.8
Labour Joe Wilson 2,550 8.6 −7.7
Plaid Cymru Carl Clowes 1,585 5.3 −3.2
Independent David Rowlands 487 1.6 N/A
Majority 668 2.2 N/A
Turnout 29,680 79.2 −2.2
Registered electors 37,474
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

In 1983 this was Labour's worst performance in Wales and the only seat where Labour won less than 12.5% and lost their £150 deposit. The threshold for retaining deposits was lowered to 5% in 1985.

General election 1987: Montgomery [16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Alex Carlile 14,729 46.6 +3.3
Conservative David Evans 12,171 38.5 −2.6
Labour Edward Llewellyn-Jones 3,304 10.5 +1.9
Plaid Cymru Carl Clowes 1,412 4.5 −0.8
Majority 2,558 8.1 +5.9
Turnout 31,616 79.4 +0.2
Registered electors 39,808
Liberal hold Swing
General election 1992: Montgomery [17] [18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Alex Carlile 16,031 48.5 +1.9
Conservative Jeannie France-Hayhurst 10,822 32.7 −5.8
Labour Stephen Wood 4,115 12.4 +1.9
Plaid Cymru Hugh Parsons 1,581 4.8 +0.3
Green Patrick Adams 508 1.5 N/A
Majority 5,209 15.8 +7.7
Turnout 33,057 79.9 +0.5
Registered electors 41,386
Liberal Democrats hold Swing
General election 1997: Montgomeryshire [19] [20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Lembit Öpik 14,647 45.9 −2.6
Conservative Glyn Davies 8,344 26.1 −6.6
Labour Angharad Davies 6,109 19.1 +6.7
Plaid Cymru Helen Mary Jones 1,608 5.0 +0.2
Referendum John Bufton 879 2.8 N/A
Green Susan Walker 338 1.1 −0.4
Majority 6,303 19.8 +4.0
Turnout 31,925 74.7 −5.2
Registered electors 60,873
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +2.0

Elections in the 21st Century

General election 2001: Montgomeryshire [21] [22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Lembit Öpik 14,319 49.4 +3.5
Conservative David Jones 8,085 27.9 +1.8
Labour Paul Davies 3,443 11.9 −7.2
Plaid Cymru David Senior 1,969 6.8 +1.8
UKIP David Rowlands 786 2.7 N/A
ProLife Alliance Ruth Davies 210 0.7 N/A
Independent Reginald Taylor 171 0.6 N/A
Majority 6,234 21.5 +1.7
Turnout 28,983 65.5 −9.2
Registered electors 62,200
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +0.9
General election 2005: Montgomeryshire [23] [24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Lembit Öpik 15,419 51.2 +1.8
Conservative Simon Baynes 8,246 27.4 −0.5
Labour David Tinline 3,454 11.5 −0.4
Plaid Cymru Ellen ap Gwynn 2,078 6.9 +0.1
UKIP Clive Easton 900 3.0 +0.3
Majority 7,173 23.8 +2.3
Turnout 30,097 64.4 −1.1
Registered electors 46,766
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +1.2
General election 2010: Montgomeryshire [25] [26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Glyn Davies 13,976 41.3 +13.8
Liberal Democrats Lembit Öpik 12,792 37.8 −13.4
Plaid Cymru Heledd Fychan 2,802 8.3 +1.3
Labour Nick Colbourne 2,407 7.1 −5.2
UKIP David W. L. Rowlands 1,128 3.3 +0.4
National Front Milton Ellis 384 1.1 N/A
Independent Bruce Lawson 324 1.0 N/A
Majority 1,184 3.5 N/A
Turnout 33,813 69.4 +3.1
Registered electors 48,730
Conservative gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +13.2

note: The David Rowlands who stood here is different from the David Rowlands who stood in Newport East at this election for UKIP.

General election 2015: Montgomeryshire [27] [28] [29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Glyn Davies 15,204 45.0 +3.7
Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds[30] 9,879 29.3 −8.5
UKIP Des Parkinson[31] 3,769 11.2 +7.9
Labour Martyn Singleton[32] 1,900 5.6 −1.5
Plaid Cymru Ann Griffith[33] 1,745 5.2 −3.1
Green Richard Chaloner 1,260 3.7 N/A
Majority 5,325 15.7 +12.2
Turnout 33,757 69.3 −0.1
Registered electors 48,690
Conservative hold Swing +6.2
General election 2017: Montgomeryshire [34] [35]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Glyn Davies 18,075 51.8 +6.8
Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds 8,790 25.2 −4.1
Labour Iwan Wyn Jones 5,542 15.9 +10.3
Plaid Cymru Aled Morgan Hughes 1,960 5.6 +0.4
Green Richard Chaloner 524 1.5 −2.2
Majority 9,285 26.6 +10.9
Turnout 34,891 70.1 +0.8
Registered electors 50,755
Conservative hold Swing +5.5
General election 2019: Montgomeryshire [36] [37]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Craig Williams 20,020 58.5 +6.7
Liberal Democrats Kishan Devani 7,882 23.0 −2.2
Labour Kait Duerden 5,585 16.3 +0.4
Gwlad Gwlad Gwyn Evans 727 2.1 N/A
Rejected ballots 213
Majority 12,138 35.5 +8.9
Turnout 34,214 69.8 −0.3
Registered electors 48,997
Conservative hold Swing +4.4

Of the 213 rejected ballots:

  • 156 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.[37]
  • 24 voted for more than one candidate.[37]
  • 33 had want of official mark.[37]

See also

Copyright