Aberavon (UK Parliament constituency)

Aberavon (Aberafan) was a constituency in Wales in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented from 1922 until 2024 by the Welsh Labour Party. It included the town of Aberavon, although the largest town in the constituency was Port Talbot.

The constituency was abolished 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. Its area was split between Aberafan Maesteg and Neath and Swansea East.

History
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election by the dividing of the Swansea District. With the exception of the first term, it has always been held by the Labour Party. Ramsay MacDonald, who became Labour's first Prime Minister in 1924, held the seat from 1922 to 1929. Its final MP, Stephen Kinnock, is the son of Neil Kinnock, who was Labour leader and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1992.

It was one of the most consistently safe seats for Labour; since the end of the Second World War, the Labour candidate had always won Aberavon with a majority at least 33%, and with the exception of 2015, the Labour candidate has also always won an overall majority of the vote in the seat. In 2015, Kinnock only won 48.9% of the vote in Aberavon, against a surge in the vote for the UKIP candidate; however, in 2017, Kinnock's vote share rose by 19.2 percentage points, the biggest increase in the Labour vote in the seat's history, and his majority increased to 50.4%, the highest for an Aberavon MP since 2001. The 2017 result also made Aberavon the safest Labour seat in Wales, however the seat saw a significant swing against Labour in 2019.

Boundaries
1918–1950: The Borough of Aberavon, the Urban Districts of Briton Ferry, Glencorwg, Margam, and Porthcawl and part of the Rural Districts of Neath and Penybont.

1950–1983: The Borough of Port Talbot, the Urban Districts of Glyncorrwg and Porthcawl, and part of the Rural District of Penybont.

1983–1997: The Borough of Afan, and the Borough of Neath wards nos. 3 and 6.

1997–2010: The Borough of Port Talbot; and the Borough of Neath wards of Briton Ferry East, Briton Ferry West, Coedffranc Central, Coedffranc North, and Coedffranc West.

2010–2024: The Neath Port Talbot County Borough electoral divisions of Aberavon, Baglan, Briton Ferry East, Briton Ferry West, Bryn and Cwmavon, Coedffranc Central, Coedffranc North, Coedffranc West, Cymmer, Glyncorrwg, Gwynfi, Margam, Port Talbot, Sandfields East, Sandfields West, and Tai-bach.

The constituency was in South Wales, situated on the right bank of the River Afan, near its mouth in Swansea Bay.

Commenting on the 1983 boundary changes to the constituency when moving the 2000 Loyal Address of the Blair Government in Parliament, the seat's then-MP Sir John Morris, who would retire at the 2001 general election, said:

"'It is a happy tradition on this occasion to refer to one's constituency and to the people who sent one here....Whatever may occur in future, I would deplore the loss of the Member-constituency link. When, after 23 years, I lost part of my constituency, I missed the friendship of two generations. My constituents and I had grown up and grown older together.'"

Elections in the 1910s

 * Jones withdrew in favour of Edwards on 13 December 1918.

Elections in the 1920s




Elections in the 2010s
Of the 44 rejected ballots:
 * 29 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
 * 14 voted for more than one candidate.
 * 1 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.

Of the 57 rejected ballots:
 * 37 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
 * 20 voted for more than one candidate.

Of the 57 rejected ballots:
 * 41 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
 * 16 voted for more than one candidate.

Of the 82 rejected ballots:
 * 61 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
 * 19 voted for more than one candidate.
 * 2 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.