Cardiff Central (UK Parliament constituency)

Boundaries

1983–2010: The City of Cardiff wards of Adamsdown, Cathays, Cyncoed, Pentwyn, Plasnewydd, and Roath.

2010–2024: The Cardiff electoral divisions of Adamsdown, Cathays, Cyncoed, Pentwyn, Penylan, and Plasnewydd.

As its name suggests, Cardiff Central covered the central area of the City of Cardiff. It extended from the area around the Millennium Stadium in the south to Llanishen Golf Course in the north, taking in the City Centre and the University.

History

This was a Conservative-held three-way marginal constituency throughout the 1980s but since 1997 Labour and the Liberal Democrats have pushed the Conservative candidate into third place. The Liberal Democrats won the equivalent Welsh Assembly seat in 1999 and 2003 and also dominate the wards which make up the seat in elections to Cardiff Council.

The later constituency was socially diverse, with both very affluent and very deprived areas. It has a large student population which seems to have helped Labour to win in 1992 and 1997 but thereafter increasingly switched to the Liberal Democrats due to opposition to government plans for reforming student support. This switched yet again in the 2015 general election where students were disillusioned by the broken promises the Liberal Democrats made regarding tuition fees. This was despite the fact that these student loan promises did not apply to Wales, which has a different funding system and MP Jenny Willott had also voted against the English changes in Parliament.

The seat was unchanged in the Fifth Periodical Report of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales, which took effect at the 2010 general election.

Since the seat's re-creation in 1983, it was held successively by each of the three main political parties; the Liberal Democrats gained it at the 2005 election after 13 years of Labour representation. The constituency has transformed dramatically from being a Conservative seat for some years, to a Labour–Lib Dem marginal to the safest Labour seat in Wales at the time.

Members of Parliament

MPs since 1983

Elections

Elections 1983 to current

Elections in the 1980s

|reg. electors = 53,815

|reg. electors = 52,980

Elections in the 1990s

|reg. electors = 57,716

|reg. electors = 60,393

Elections in the 2000s

|reg. electors = 59,785

|reg. electors = 61,079

Elections in the 2010s

|reg. electors = 61,165

|reg. electors = 57,456 Of the 117 rejected ballots:

• 81 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
• 32 voted for more than one candidate.
• 4 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.

|reg. electors = 59,288

Of the 80 rejected ballots:

• 59 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
• 19 voted for more than one candidate.
• 2 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.

|reg. electors = 64,037

Of the 204 rejected ballots:

• 166 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
• 38 voted for more than one candidate.

Notes

References

References

1. "Cardiff Central: Usual Resident Population, 2011". Office for National Statistics.
2. (1 December 2010). "Beyond 20/20 WDS – Table view". StatsWales.
3. (28 June 2023). "2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies - The 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies in Wales". [[Boundary Commission for Wales]].
4. Waldram, Hannah. (9 December 2010). "Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott resigns over tuition fees". The Guardian.
5. Dewey, Philip. (8 May 2015). "Lib Dem Jenny Willott loses to Labour in Cardiff Central".
6. {{Rayment-hc. c. 2. (March 2012)
7. "Election Data 1983". [[Electoral Calculus]].
8. "Election Data 1987". [[Electoral Calculus]].
9. "Election Data 1992". [[Electoral Calculus]].
10. (9 April 1992). "Politics Resources". Politics Resources.
11. "Election Data 1997". [[Electoral Calculus]].
12. (1 May 1997). "BBC NEWS>VOTE 2001>Results and Constituencies>Cardiff Central". BBC News.
13. "Election Data 2001". [[Electoral Calculus]].
14. (7 June 2001). "BBC NEWS > Cardiff Central". BBC News.
15. "Election Data 2005". [[Electoral Calculus]].
16. "Cardiff Central parliamentary constituency - Election 2005".
17. link. (9 June 2011 Cardiff County Council – candidates Cardiff Central)
18. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/w10.stm Cardiff Central] BBC Election – Cardiff Central
19. "Election Data 2015". [[Electoral Calculus]].
20. (7 May 2015). "Cardiff Central result". City of Cardiff Council.
21. "Cardiff Central Parliamentary constituency". BBC News.
22. (8 June 2017). "Election results for Cardiff Central, UK Parliamentary Election - Thursday, 8th June, 2017". cardiff.gov.uk.
23. (11 May 2017). "Cardiff Central, Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations". cardiff.gov.uk.
24. (11 May 2017). "Cardiff Central, Notice of Election Agents' Names and Offices". cardiff.gov.uk.
25. "Cardiff Central Parliamentary constituency". [[BBC]].
26. (November 2023). "Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, ''Election 2017: Cardiff Central''}}{{Dead link".
27. (24 April 2017). "Eluned Parrott to fight for Cardiff Central".
28. "Scheduled elections and polls".
29. (12 December 2019). "Election results for Cardiff Central, UK Parliamentary Election - 2019". Cardiff Council.
30. "Election results for Cardiff Central, UK Parliamentary Election - 2019". BBC.