Ceredigion (UK Parliament constituency)

Ceredigion
County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Ceredigion in Wales.
Preserved county	Dyfed
Population	75,922 (2011 census)[1]
Electorate	57,556 (March 2014)[2]
Current constituency
Created	1536
Member of parliament	Mark Fraser Williams (Liberal Democrat)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
Welsh Assembly	Mid and West Wales
European Parliament constituency	Wales

Ceredigion, formerly Cardiganshire, is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Created in 1536, the boundaries have remained remarkably unchanged for nearly five centuries. From 1536 until 1885 there were two single-member constituencies, one being a county constituency (Cardiganshire) comprising the rural areas, and the other being a borough constituency (Cardigan District of Boroughs) comprising a number of separate towns; in 1885 the borough constituency was abolished, and its towns and electors incorporated into the county constituency. The towns which comprised Cardigan Boroughs varied slightly over this long period, but primarily consisted of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Lampeter and Adpar, the latter now a suburb of Newcastle Emlyn across the River Teifi, in Carmarthenshire.

The county constituency was enlarged in 1983 with the addition of part of Pembrokeshire, being renamed Ceredigion and Pembroke North. In 1997 it reverted to its former boundaries, being renamed Ceredigion.

The Ceredigion Welsh Assembly constituency was created with the same boundaries in 1999.

Boundaries

The boundaries of this constituency mirror almost exactly those of the county of Ceredigion.

Proposed constituency changes

Under proposed constituency boundary changes announced in September 2016, ahead of the next general election, the seat's boundaries will be extended. The seat, which has the proposed name of Ceredigion and North Pembrokeshire, includes all of the current Ceredigion constituency, the northern part of the current Preseli Pembrokeshire constituency, a small part of Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire around the village of Dre-fach Felindre, as well the south-western part of Montgomeryshire around Llanidloes.^[3][4]

History

Ceredigion, formerly known by the anglicised version of its name as Cardiganshire, was first enfranchised in 1536 when King Henry VIII incorporated Wales within England. The county was given one member, who was to be elected by each person who owned property of a sufficient value. In addition the inhabitants of Cardigan, Aberystwyth, Adpar and Lampeter were given the right to elect one MP between them, with the vote restricted to the Freemen. The general election of 1715 saw the return of Lewis Pryse, who was expelled from the House of Commons in the following year for refusing to attend the House to take oaths of loyalty to King George I after the Jacobite rising, with which he sympathised.^[5]

Reformed elections

From 1832 the Reform Act changed the electoral system so that householders of homes worth over £10 were enfranchised in the boroughs. The Borough constituency was still dominated by the Loveden-Pryse family based in Gogerddan who were supporters of the Liberals; Pryse Pryse held the seat from 1818 until his death in 1849, except for the 1841 election (see below). The county saw more influence of the Powell family of Nanteos who were Conservatives; William Edward Powell held the seat from 1816 until he resigned in 1854. By agreement between the two, neither challenged the others' domination and so elections were almost always unopposed.

In the 1841 election there was a great deal of confusion in the borough constituency, which was being opposed. The poll books for Aberystwyth were either lost or stolen and never reached the returning officer, who decided that he should return both candidates due to the uncertainty (the Conservative was slightly ahead in the polls from the other three parts). Neither of the two candidates could actually speak in the House of Commons until a committee determined the election, and it accepted the evidence that the Liberal candidate (Pryse) had outpolled the Conservative (Harford) by 305 to 285, enough to make his election secure, so he was given the seat. Other than an 1855 byelection victory by 12 votes, the Conservatives never won the borough.

The county saw its first contest in the 1859 general election when two Conservatives fought for the seat. In 1865 the sitting MP stood down and there was a contest between two Liberals, won by Sir Thomas Lloyd, Bt. who defeated a Gladstonian opponent, David Davies, Llandinam. Lloyd transferred to the borough in the 1868 election when the seat was captured by Swansea industrialist, E.M. Richards. This election is often regarded as a landmark when tenant farmers apparently refused to follow patterns of age-old deference and vote in line with the wishes of their landlords. Following this election there were allegations of intimidation by Conservative landlords and a national fund was set up to support those allegedly evicted from their farms. In reality, however, Richards' victory owed much to the support of the powerful Pryse family of Gogerddan. There were close contests for the county thereafter, on a slightly widened franchise.

Single constituency

In a redistribution of seats for the 1885 general election, the borough constituency was abolished and absorbed into the county. This brought into the county seat the more radical politics of urban voters in the boroughs of Aberystwyth, Cardigan, Lampeter and Adpar. More significantly, the further widening of the franchise in 1884 added between five and six thousand new voters to the register by extending the pattern of household suffrage to the counties. The majority of these voters would have been tenant farmers, the more prosperous agricultural labourers, and householders in small towns or large villages such as Tregaron, Aberaeron, New Quay, Aberporth, Tal-y-bont and Borth, which had not been part of the old Cardigan Boroughs constituency. The impact of the widening of the franchise and boundary changes was to increase the electorate from 5,026 in 1883 to 12,308 by 1886.^[6] It was assumed that these changes would make the county a reasonably safe bet for the Liberal Party and that supporters of Gladstone would be comfortably returned at every election. These structural changes to the political arrangements of the county were also taking place against wider social and economic developments which affected all aspects of Cardiganshire life. Traditional industries were in decline, agriculture was increasingly in crisis and it was becoming increasingly difficult for a still-increasing population to earn a living within their native parishes and communities. As a result, there were two major consequences. Firstly there was a significant population shift as a result of emigration, in the majority of cases to the south Wales valleys. Secondly, the great landed estates of the county, which and for so long dominated the politics of the county, were in many cases heavily in debt. This second factor contributed to the loss of landowner influence in the politics of the county, a trend that became very apparent at the first elections to the Cardiganshire County Council.^[7]

Initially, the predictions that Gladstonian Liberals would dominate county politucs were realised, in 1885, David Davies was elected to represent the constituency with a majority of 2,323 (24.2%) on a turnout of 78%, heavily defeating the Conservative, Matthew Vaughan Davies. Although David Davies was no public speaker, he drew substantial support in Cardiganshire as a generous benefactor of the new university college at Aberystwyth and also through his links with Calvinistic Methodism, which had over 13,000 members in the county. Allied to this was a particularly effective Liberal association which paid close attention to the registration of voters.^[8]

In 1886, however, Davies broke with Gladstone over home rule for Ireland in 1886 and a number of his associates such as Robert J. Davies, Cwrtmawr followed him into the Liberal Unionist camp.^[9] He sought re-election as a Liberal Unionist but lost by 9 votes to William Bowen Rowlands, who was the Gladstonian candidate. This election split the Liberal Party in Cardiganshire and the election was hotly contested with almost all the landowenrs, including those previously regarded as having Liberal sympathies, supporting Davies. He also received the support of several prominent Liberals, especially from his own Methodist denomination.^[10] The result of the election was largely attributed to the influence of nonconformist ministers over their congregations, although the more effective canvassing of supporters by the Liberal Association was also identified as an important factor.^[11]

Even though Bowen Rowlands's victory was by the closest of margins it was a decisive moment in the political history of Cardiganshire. It proved that a Gladstonian Liberal candidate, even an Anglican with strong Irish Nationalist sympathies, could triump in Cardiganshire even against the resources and religious connections of a candidate such as David Davies. Although Liberal Unionism continued to be championed by a relatively small group, led by the journalist Henry Tobit Evans, who published a newspaper, Y Brython, at Lampeter. most of the leading Liberals who had defected to Davies eventually rrteunred to the fold, in some cases to contest the 1889 County Council elections. The demise of Liberal Unionism was confirmed at the 1892 General Election when, William Jones, a self-made Birmingham draper who had a small estate in Cardiganshire and was a member of the Cardiganshire County Council ran with the support of Joseph Chamberlain. Chamberlain had sponsored a number of Nonconformist unionist candidates in Wales in the hope of capitaliising upon perceived antipathy towards Irish Nationalism. Despite spending heavily and producing a farnmer evicted at the 1868 Election on his platform, Jones was heavily defeated by Bowen Rowlands.^[12] Rowlands served until 1895.

Once Rowlands's intention not to stand again was known, Matthew Vaughan Davies of Tan-y-Bwlch, who had been the Conservative candidate in the seat in 1885, but who had subsequently joined the Liberal Party, emerged as a contender for the nomination and was eventually chosen by a delegate conference, defeating Wynford Phillips by 160 votes to 111.^[13] The choice of Vaughan Davies was controversial and was strongly opposed by the Aberystwyth-based Cambrian News on the basis of his former association with the Conservative Party. Indeed, the paper went as far as to equate the division with that of 1886.^[14] There is no doubt that the choice of Vaughan Davies created deep divisions in the Liberal ranks.^[15] However, despite these divisions he saw off a strong Conservative candidate by a comfortable if reduced majority.

General Election 1895 Cardiganshire^[16] Electorate 12,994

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Matthew Vaughan-Davies	4,927	56.8
	Conservative	John Charles Harford	3,748	43.2
Majority			1,179	13.6
Turnout				66.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

He went on to become the longest serving MP for the constituency, holding it until 1921. His closest electoral call came in the 'Khaki election' of 1900 when he had a majority of 781 (9.4%) over J.C. Harford of Falcondale. The Cambrian News had tempered its opposition and grudgingly admitted that Vaughan Davies and won friends by his adherence to Liberal policies.^[17]

General Election 1900 Cardiganshire^[16] Electorate 13,299

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Matthew Vaughan-Davies	4,568	54.7
	Conservative	John Charles Harford	3,787	45.3
Majority			781	9.4
Turnout				62.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

Thereafter, Vaughan Davies was comfortably returned at each election but the vitality of the Liberal Association was in serious decline.

General Election 1906 Cardiganshire^[16] Electorate 13,215

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Matthew Vaughan-Davies	5,829	66.3
	Liberal Unionist	C E D M Richardson	2,960	33.7
Majority			2,869	32.6
Turnout				66.5
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election January 1910 Cardiganshire^[16] Electorate 13,333

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Matthew Vaughan-Davies	6,348	68.3
	Conservative	George Fossett Roberts	2,943	31.7
Majority			3,405	36.6
Turnout				69.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

By 1914 the Association was heavily dependent on Vaughan Davies's role as treasurer to keep it going. In the meantime, Vaughan Davies remained on poor terms with prominent Liberals, including John Gibson, editor of the Cambrian News until his death in 1915.^[18]

Like most Welsh Liberals, he supported David Lloyd George in the split in the Liberal Party, and not H. H. Asquith, and was therefore returned unopposed as a Coalition Liberal in 1918.

General Election 1918 Electorate 30,368

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	*Matthew Vaughan-Davies	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

* denotes candidate who was endorsed by the Coalition Government.

Liberal infighting

In many ways the Liberals had become the new elite in Cardiganshire by the time of the First World War. This was demonstrated in 1919 when John Humphreys Davies, the nonconformist squire of Cwrtmawr, was appointed Principal of the University College, Aberystwyth, at the expense of Thomas Jones, who was championed by Lord Davies of Llandinam, grandson of David Davies.^[19]

With Vaughan Davies known to be a supporter of Lloyd George, it was natural that Lloyd George looked to him to boost his support in the House of Lords and awarded him a peerage in the New Years' Honours list in 1921. Although he would have preferred to be called 'Lord Ceredigion', the Garter King of Arms refused this as an inappropriate title for a Baron, and so Vaughan Davies took his title from the River Ystwyth which ran past his home. The peerage created a vacancy in a historically Liberal seat and the Asquithites decided to take the Lloyd Georgeites on in their 'backyard' in what became a memorable by-election.

Ernest Evans, who asserted on his election posters that he was 'THE Liberal candidate', was a Barrister from Aberystwyth and had been Private Secretary to Lloyd George himself, and therefore had the blessing of the Coalition and official support from the Conservatives. A number of possible Asquithian Liberal candidates were approached to contest the seat against Evans and eventually the choice fell upon W. Llewelyn Williams who was sponsored by the Asquithite 'Welsh Liberal Federation'. No other candidate stood and in the straight fight, Evans won with a majority of 3,590 (14.6%).^[20]

Cardiganshire by-election, 1921

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Coalition Liberal	Ernest Evans	14,111	57.3	n/a
	Liberal	William Llewelyn Williams	10,521	42.7	n/a
Majority			3,590	14.6	n/a
	Coalition Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

Evans held on as a 'National Liberal' (as Lloyd George's supporters called themselves) in the 1922 general election but with a slim majority of 515 votes (2.0%) over Rhys Hopkin Morris.

General Election 1922: Cardiganshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	National Liberal	Ernest Evans	12,825	51.0	-6.3
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	12,310	49.0	+6.3
Majority			515	2.0	-12.6
Turnout				76.9
	National Liberal hold		Swing	-6.3

The sudden shotgun merger of the two factions in the Liberal Party led to Evans getting the official approval of the unified party for the 1923 election. However, the Conservatives decided to fight and this deprived him of their votes. Hopkin Morris decided to fight again as an unofficial Liberal and won with a 5,078 vote majority.

General Election 1923: Cardiganshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Independent Liberal	*Rhys Hopkin Morris	12,469	46.9	-2.1
	Liberal	Ernest Evans	7,391	27.7	-23.3
	Unionist	Earl of Lisburne	6,776	25.4	n/a
Majority				19.2	21.2
Turnout				81.0	+4.1
	Independent Liberal gain from National Liberal		Swing	+10.6

* Denotes that the candidate was pledged to take the Liberal Party Whip.

Hopkin Morris was lucky to survive the 1924 election, a disaster for the Liberals, by being returned unopposed.

General Election 1924 Electorate

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris*	unopposed	n/a	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

He held the seat again in 1929.

General Election 1929: Cardiganshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	17,127	60.6	n/a
	Unionist	E C L Fitzwilliams	11,158	39.4	n/a
Majority			5,969	21.1	n/a
Turnout			28,285	73.1	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

The first Labour Party candidate stood against him at the 1931 general election and polled 24% of the vote in a straight fight against Morris, who had a 13,752 (52.0%) majority.

General Election 1931: Cardiganshire^[21] Electorate 39,206

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Rhys Hopkin Morris	20,113	76.0	+15.5
	Labour	J. Lloyd Jones	6,361	24.0	N/A
Majority			26,474	52.0	+31.0
Turnout			26,474	67.5	-5.7
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

In 1932, Morris left Parliament temporarily (he was later to return as MP for Carmarthen) when he was appointed as a Metropolitan Police magistrate. The byelection on 22 September 1932 saw the first three-way fight between the parties, but was won by Owen Evans for the Liberals.

Cardiganshire by-election 1932: Cardiganshire^[21] Electorate 39,206

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Owen Evans	13,437	48.7	-27.3
	Conservative	E.C.L. Fitzwilliams	8,866	32.1	N/A
	Labour	D.M. Jones	5,295	19.2	-4.8
Majority			4,571	16.6	-35.4
Turnout			27,598	70.4	+2.9
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General Election 1935: Cardiganshire^[21] Electorate 39,851

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Owen Evans	15,846	61.1	+12.4
	Labour	Moelwyn Hughes	10,085	38.9	+19.7
Majority			5,761	22.2	+5.6
Turnout			25,931	65.1	-5.3
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Like many of the Liberal MPs he had been a barrister. Evans died shortly before the 1945 general election, but the seat was easily held by his successor Roderic Bowen; unusually the Labour vote actually fell in percentage terms compared with the previous election despite the Labour landslide in the country at large.

General Election 1945: Cardiganshire Electorate 41,597

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	18,912	63.8	+2.7
	Labour	Iwan J. Morgan	10,718	36.2	-2.7
Majority			8,194	27.6	+5.4
Turnout			29,630	71.2	+6.1
	Liberal hold		Swing	+2.7

Labour challenge

Labour established itself as the main challenger to the Liberals at the 1950 general election in a three-way contest, and the Conservatives opted out of the contest thereafter until 1964. This was partly a move to keep the seat from going Labour. Plaid Cymru first fought the seat in 1959 and kept their deposit (just, with 12.8% of the vote).

General Election 1950: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	17,093	52.17
	Labour	Iwan J. Morgan	9,055	27.64
	Conservative	G.S.R. Little	6,618	20.20
Majority			8,038	24.53
Turnout			32,766	73.42
Registered electors			44,627
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	19,959	67.30
	Labour	Brynmor Williams	9,697	32.70
Majority			10,262	34.60
Turnout			29,656	70.65
Registered electors			41,977
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	18,907	65.20
	Labour	David Jones-Davies	10,090	34.80
Majority			8,817	30.41
Turnout			28,997	72.67
Registered electors			39,902
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1959: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	17,868	58.96
	Labour	Loti Rees Hughes	8,559	28.24
	Plaid Cymru	Gareth W. Evans	3,880	12.80
Majority			9,309	30.72
Turnout			30,307	77.95
Registered electors			38,878
	Liberal hold		Swing

With a four-way contest involving the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru at the 1964 general election, and a national swing to Labour, Roderic Bowen suffered a precipitate decline in his share of the vote to only 38.4%; he was re-elected with a majority of 2,219 (7.4%) over Labour.

General Election 1964: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	11,500	38.41
	Labour	D. L. Davies	9,281	31.00
	Conservative	Arthur J. Ryder	5,897	19.70
	Plaid Cymru	Gareth W. Evans	3,262	10.90
Majority			2,219	7.41
Turnout			29,940	78.86
Registered electors			37,964
	Liberal hold		Swing

After the death of the Speaker in 1965, Bowen accepted the offer to become a Deputy Speaker, which prevented him from speaking on behalf of his constituency. For the 1966 election, Labour selected Elystan Morgan who had been a member of Plaid Cymru until 1964; with a further national swing and Morgan making a credible bid for the Welsh-speaking vote, Labour won the seat by 523 votes.

General Election 1966: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Elystan Morgan	11,302	37.13
	Liberal	Roderic Bowen	10,779	35.41
	Conservative	John Stradling Thomas	5,893	19.36
	Plaid Cymru	Edward Millward	2,469	8.11
Majority			523	1.72
Turnout			30,443	81.07
Registered electors			37,553
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Liberal resurgence

Morgan managed to hold on to the seat with an increased majority in the 1970 election. The Liberal vote had collapsed nationwide, with Plaid Cymru taking third place.

General Election 1970: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Elystan Morgan	11,063	33.4
	Liberal	Huw Lloyd Williams	9,800	29.6
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel ap Robert	6,498	19.6
	Conservative	David George	5,715	17.3
Majority			1,263	3.8
Turnout			40,226	82.2
	Labour hold		Swing

However, the Liberal resurgence in the early 1970s led to the party regaining the seat in the February 1974 general election with Geraint Howells.

General Election February 1974: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Geraint Howells	14,371	40.2
	Labour	Elystan Morgan	11,895	33.2
	Conservative	Trefor W Llewellyn	4,758	13.3
	Plaid Cymru	Clifford Gregory Davies	4,754	13.3
Majority			2,476	7.0
Turnout			35,778	83.7
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

The October 1974 general election saw almost the same result.

General Election October 1974: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Geraint Howells	14,612	42.2
	Labour	Elystan Morgan	12,202	35.2
	Plaid Cymru	Clifford G Davies	4,583	13.2
	Conservative	Delwyn Williams	3,257	9.4
Majority			2,410	9.4
Turnout			34,654	80.5	-3.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

In 1979, Howells increased his majority with Labour falling to third place and the Conservatives increasing their vote by more than 20%; this was one of the highest swings in the whole country.

General Election 1979: Cardigan

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Geraint Howells	13,227	35.6	-6.6
	Conservative	I. Emlyn Thomas	11,033	29.7	+20.3
	Labour	John L. Powell	7,488	20.2	-15.3
	Plaid Cymru	Dafydd J. L. Hughes	5,382	14.5	+1.3
Majority			2,194	5.9	-1.1
Turnout			37,130	81.5	+1.0
	Liberal hold		Swing

In boundary changes in 1983, the constituency gained a small part of Pembrokeshire and also took a Welsh version of its name, becoming known as Ceredigion and Pembroke North. Geraint Howells was re-elected with the Conservatives second, Labour third and Plaid Cymru fourth in both the 1983.

General Election 1983: Ceredigion & Pembroke North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Geraint Howells	19,677	41.8
	Conservative	Tom Raw-Rees	14,038	29.8
	Labour	Grifith Eric Hughes	6,840	14.5
	Plaid Cymru	Cynog Dafis	6,072	12.9
	Ecology	Marylin Anne Smith	431	0.9
Majority			5,639	12.0
Turnout			47,058	77.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

There was a similar result at the 1987 general election.

General Election 1987: Ceredigion & Pembroke North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal	Geraint Howells	17,683	36.6	-5.2
	Conservative	Owen John Williams	12,983	26.9	-3.0
	Labour	John Robert Davies	8,965	18.6	+4.0
	Plaid Cymru	Cynog Dafis	7,848	16.2	+3.3
	Green	Marylin Anne Wakefield	821	1.7	+0.8
Majority			4,700	9.7	-2.3
Turnout			48,300	76.5	-1.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

Surprise gain

The result of the 1992 general election in Ceredigion and Pembroke North was one of the least expected in the country.^[22] Cynog Dafis, a teacher at Ysgol Dyffryn Teifi, Llandysul, standing as a Plaid Cymru candidate with support from the local branch of the Green Party, gained the seat with a majority of 3,193.

General Election 1992: Ceredigion & Pembroke North

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Plaid Cymru	Cynog Glyndwr Dafis	16,020	30.3	+15.0
	Liberal Democrat	Geraint Wyn Howells	12,827	25.1	-11.6
	Conservative	Owen John Williams	12,718	24.8	-2.0
	Labour	John Robert Davies	9,637	18.8	+0.3
Majority			3,193	6.2
Turnout			51,202	77.4	+0.9
	Plaid Cymru gain from Liberal Democrat		Swing

Dafis more than doubled his majority in 1997 with Labour coming in second and the Liberal Democrat vote dropping by 10% to 16.5%. The constituency name was shortened to Ceredigion at this election as it reverted to its former borders, having lost the part of North Pembrokeshire in boundary changes.

General Election 1997: Ceredigion

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Plaid Cymru	Cynog Glyndwr Dafis	16,728	41.6	+10.7
	Labour	Robert George (Hag) Harris	9,767	24.3	+5.7
	Liberal Democrat	Dai Davies	6,616	16.5	-10.0
	Conservative	Felix Ffranc Elfed Aubel	5,983	14.9	-9.1
	Referendum	John Leaney	1,092	2.7
Majority			6,961	17.3	+4.9
Turnout			40,186	73.9	-4.1
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing	+2.5

Cynog Dafis was elected to the National Assembly for Wales in 1999, and unlike the other 'dual mandate' MPs, chose to resign his seat at Westminster, causing a by-election which saw Simon Thomas retain the seat for Plaid Cymru. The by-election saw Labour fall from second to fourth place and the Liberal Democrats vote rise.

Ceredigion by-election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Plaid Cymru	Simon Thomas	10,716	42.8	+1.1
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Williams	5,768	23.0	+6.5
	Conservative	Paul Davies	4,138	16.5	+1.6
	Labour	Maria Battle	3,612	14.4	-9.9
	UKIP	John Bufton	487	1.9
	Independent Green – Save the World Climate	John Davies	289	1.2
	Wales on Sunday – Match Funding Now	Martin Shipton	55	0.2
Majority			4,948	19.8	+2.5
Turnout			25,143	46.0	-27.9
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing	-2.7

At the 2001 general election, Thomas retained the seat, although the Liberal Democrat vote again rose to 26.9%.

General Election 2001: Ceredigion

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Plaid Cymru	Simon Thomas	13,241	38.3	-3.4
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Williams	9,297	26.9	+10.4
	Conservative	Paul Davies	6,730	19.4	+4.6
	Labour	David Grace	5,338	15.4	-8.9
Majority			3,944	11.4	-8.4
Turnout			34,606	61.7	-12.2
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing	-6.9

Second Liberal resurgence: 2005 onwards

At the 2005 general election, the Liberal Democrats regained the seat. Mark Williams, who had fought the seat in the 2000 by-election and in 2001, had a majority of 219 (0.6%) following a swing of 6% over Simon Thomas. Mark Williams was the first non-Welsh speaking Member of Parliament elected to represent the constituency since Bowen Rowlands (MP from 1886 until 1892, who declared at a meeting in Aberystwyth when adopted as candidate that he could not speak Welsh).^[23]

General Election 2005: Ceredigion

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Williams	13,130	36.53	+9.66
	Plaid Cymru	Simon Thomas	12,911	35.92	-2.35
	Conservative	John Harrison	4,455	12.39	-7.05
	Labour	Alun Davies	4,337	12.06	-3.36
	Green	Dave Bradney	846	2.35
	Veritas	Iain Sheldon	268	0.75
Majority			219	0.61	-12.01
Turnout			35,947	67.2	+5.53
	Liberal Democrat gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing	+6.0

At the 2010 general election, he received a massive increase in his vote, polling over 50% of the votes cast and raising his majority from 219 to 8,324 over the Plaid Cymru candidate, Penri James.

General Election 2010: Ceredigion^[24][25]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Williams	19,139	50.0	+13.5
	Plaid Cymru	Penri James	10,815	28.3	-7.6
	Conservative	Luke Evetts	4,421	11.6	-0.8
	Labour	Richard Boudier	2,210	5.8	-6.3
	UKIP	Elwyn Williams	977	2.6	N/A
	Green	Leila Kiersch	696	1.8	-0.5
Majority			8,324	21.8
Turnout			38,258	64.8	-3.2
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+10.6

In 2015, Williams suffered a decline of over 14% in his vote share, in common with other Liberal Democrat incumbents across the UK. However, after a campaign which made national headlines due to prior controversial comments by both the Plaid Cymru^[26] and Labour^[27] candidates, Plaid Cymru were unable to capitalise as their vote share went down slightly. The Conservative vote also declined, while UKIP, Labour and the Greens all improved on their 2010 performance. Williams retained the seat to become the only Liberal Democrat MP in Wales, and one of only eight in the UK.^[28]

General Election 2015: Ceredigion ^[29][30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Liberal Democrat	Mark Williams	13,414	35.9	-14.2
	Plaid Cymru	Mike Parker	10,347	27.7	-0.6
	Conservative	Henrietta Hensher	4,123	11.0	-0.5
	UKIP	Gethin James	3,829	10.2	+7.7
	Labour	Huw Thomas	3,615	9.7	+3.9
	Green	Daniel Thompson	2,088	5.6	+3.8
Majority			3,067	8.2	-13.6
Turnout			37,416	69.0	+4.2
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	-6.8

Members of Parliament

MPs 1541–1640

Parliament	Member
1541–1543	Rice ap Philip
1543–1544	Thomas Gynns
1545–1547	David ap Llewellin Lloid of Llan Dissill
1547	William Devereux
1553 (Mar)	James Williams
1553 (Oct)	John Pryse II
1554 (Apr)	John Pryse II
1554 (Nov)	James Williams
1555	Sir Henry Jones of Abermarlais
1558	Sir Henry Jones of Abermarlais
1563	John Pryse
1571	John Pryse
1572	John Pryse
1584	Richard Pryse
1586	Griffith Lloyd
1588	Richard Pryse
1593	Richard Pryse
1597	Thomas Pryse
1601	Richard Pryse
1604–1611	Sir John Lewis
1614–1622	Sir Richard Pryse
1625–1629	James Lewis
1629–1640	No Parliaments summoned

MPs after 1640

Short Parliament

• 1640: James Lewis

Long Parliament

• 1640–1644: Walter Lloyd (Royalist) – disabled to sit, 5 February 1644
• 1646–1648: Sir Richard Pryse, 1st Baronet – excluded in Pride's Purge, December 1648

Cardiganshire was unrepresented in the Barebones Parliament

First Protectorate Parliament

• 1654–1655: Col. James Philipps
• 1654–1655: Rev. Jenkin Lloyd

Second Protectorate Parliament

• 1656: Col. James Philipps
• 1656–1658: Col. John Clark
• 1656–1658: James Lewis

Third Protectorate Parliament

• 1659: Col. James Philipps

Year		Member[31][32]	Party
April 1660		Sir Richard Pryse, 2nd Baronet
1661		Sir John Vaughan
1669		Edward Vaughan
1685		John Lewis
1690		Sir Carbery Pryse, 4th Baronet (died 1694)
1694		John Vaughan, 1st Viscount Lisburne
1698		John Lewis
February 1701		Sir Humphrey Mackworth
December 1701		Lewis Pryse
1702		Sir Humphrey Mackworth
1705		John Pugh
1708		Lewis Pryse
1710		Sir Humphrey Mackworth
1713		Thomas Johnes
1715		Lewis Pryse[33]
1718		Owen Brigstocke
1722		Francis Cornwallis
1727		John Vaughan, 2nd Viscount Lisburne
1734		Walter Lloyd (1678-1747)
1742		Thomas Powell
1747		John Lloyd
1755		Hon. Wilmot Vaughan
1761		John Pugh Pryse
1768		Wilmot Vaughan, 1st Earl of Lisburne
1796		Thomas Johnes
1816		William Edward Powell	Tory
1834			Conservative
1854		Ernest Vaughan, 4th Earl of Lisburne	Conservative
1859		William Thomas Rowland Powell	Conservative
1865		Sir Thomas Lloyd, 1st Baronet	Liberal
1868		Evan Matthew Richards	Liberal
1874		Thomas Edward Lloyd	Conservative
1880		Lewis Pugh Pugh	Liberal
1885		David Davies	Liberal
1886		William Bowen Rowlands	Liberal
1895		Matthew Vaughan-Davies	Liberal
1921		Ernest Evans	Coalition Liberal
1923		Rhys Hopkin Morris	Independent Liberal
1932		Owen Evans	Liberal
1945		Roderic Bowen	Liberal
1966		Elystan Morgan	Labour
Feb 1974		Geraint Howells	Liberal
1983	Name changed to Ceredigion and Pembroke North (with boundaries extended)
1988		Geraint Howells	Liberal Democrat
1992		Cynog Dafis	Plaid Cymru
1997	Name changed to Ceredigion (with pre-1983 boundaries restored)
2000		Simon Thomas	Plaid Cymru
2005		Mark Williams	Liberal Democrat

See also

• Cardiganshire by-election, 1932
• Ceredigion by-election, 2000
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in Dyfed

Notes and References

References

Sources

• Morgan, Kenneth O. (1967). "Cardiganshire Politics: The Liberal Ascendancy 1885–1923". Ceredigion. 5 (4): 311–346. 
• Palmer, Caroline (2004). "Matthew Lewis Vaughan Davies – ambitious cad or assiduous politician?". Ceredigion. 14 (4): 73–104. 
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 2)

External links

• nomis Constituency Profile for Ceredigion – presenting data from the ONS annual population survey and other official statistics.