# Swansea East (UK Parliament constituency)

Swansea East (Welsh: Dwyrain Abertawe) was a borough constituency in Wales in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was represented by members of the Labour Party from 1922 until 2024.
As part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales, the seat was abolished. Its wards were split between Neath and Swansea East, and Swansea West, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.

## Boundaries

1918–1949: The County Borough of Swansea wards of East, Landore, Morriston, and St John's.
1950–1955: The County Borough of Swansea wards of Alexandra, Castle, Clase, Kilvey, Landore, Llansamlet, Morriston, Penderry, St John's, and St Thomas.
1955–1983: The County Borough of Swansea wards of Castle, Landore, Llansamlet, Morriston, Penderry, St John's, and St Thomas.
1983-2024: The City of Swansea wards of Bonymaen, Cwmbwrla, Landore, Llansamlet, Morriston, Mynydd-Bach, Penderry and St. Thomas.

## Constituency profile

Although the constituency voted strongly to leave the European Union in 2016, an analysis of YouGov polling by Focaldata suggested support for Remain had risen from 37.9% to 50.7% in August 2018. However, in the 2019 European elections the city of Swansea as a whole voted strongly for the Brexit Party.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1918 | Thomas Williams | Coalition Liberal | |
| 1919 by-election | David Matthews | Coalition Liberal | |
| 1922 | David Williams | Labour | |
| 1940 by-election | David Mort | Labour | Died 1 January 1963 |
| 1963 by-election | Neil McBride | Labour | Died 9 September 1974, no by-election held |
| Oct 1974 | Donald Anderson | Labour | |
| 2005 | Siân James | Labour | |
| 2015 | Carolyn Harris | Labour | Deputy Leader of the Welsh Labour Party |
| 2024 | Constituency abolished | Constituency abolished |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | Thomas Jeremiah Williams | 11,071 | 63.6 | N/A |
| | Labour | David Williams | 6,341 | 36.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,730 | 27.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,411 | 64.1 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,185 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
1919 Swansea East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | David Matthews | 9,250 | 53.1 | −10.5 |
| | Labour | David Williams | 8,158 | 46.9 | +10.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,092 | 6.2 | −21.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 17,408 | 64.0 | −0.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,185 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | -10.5 | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Williams | 11,333 | 50.9 | +4.0 |
| | National Liberal | Edward Harris | 10,926 | 49.1 | −4.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 407 | 1.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,259 | 81.7 | +17.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,246 | | |
| | Labour gain from National Liberal | Labour gain from National Liberal | Swing | +4.0 | |
General election 1923: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Williams | 12,735 | 57.4 | +6.5 |
| | Liberal | Thomas Artemus Jones | 9,463 | 42.6 | −6.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,272 | 14.8 | +13.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,198 | 81.1 | −0.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,365 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.5 | |
General election 1924: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Williams | 12,274 | 54.6 | −2.8 |
| | Liberal | W Daniel Rees | 10,186 | 45.4 | +2.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,088 | 9.2 | −5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 22,460 | 80.7 | −0.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 27,836 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.8 | |
General election 1929: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Williams | 16,665 | 56.5 | +1.9 |
| | Liberal | Arthur Hopkins | 9,825 | 33.3 | −12.1 |
| | Unionist | P P Jones | 3,003 | 10.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,840 | 23.2 | +14.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,493 | 81.9 | +1.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 36,001 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +7.0 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Williams | 17,126 | 56.5 | ±0.0 |
| | Liberal | Richard David Chalke | 13,177 | 43.5 | +10.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,949 | 13.0 | −10.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,303 | 84.4 | +2.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,918 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.1 | |
General election 1935: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Williams | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,940 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |

### Elections in the 1940s

1940 Swansea East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Mort | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
General election 1945: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Mort | 19,127 | 75.8 | N/A |
| | National Liberal | Rowe Harding | 6,102 | 24.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,025 | 51.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,229 | 74.7 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,668 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Mort | 32,680 | 75.3 | −0.5 |
| | Conservative | J F Lynam | 10,712 | 24.7 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,968 | 50.6 | −1.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,392 | 81.8 | +7.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 53,014 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1951: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Mort | 32,790 | 73.6 | −1.7 |
| | Conservative | Jack C. Hope | 11,768 | 26.4 | +1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,022 | 47.2 | −3.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,558 | 82.8 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 53,790 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1955: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Mort | 28,198 | 72.4 | −1.2 |
| | Conservative | R Sarah Guest | 10,726 | 27.6 | +1.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,472 | 44.8 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,924 | 72.1 | −10.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 54,010 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1959: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | David Mort | 29,884 | 67.5 | −4.9 |
| | Conservative | Humphry J. F. Crum Ewing | 9,754 | 22.0 | −5.6 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Chris Rees | 4,651 | 10.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,130 | 45.5 | +0.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,289 | 80.1 | +8.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,301 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1960s

1963 Swansea East by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil McBride | 18,909 | 61.1 | −6.4 |
| | Liberal | R Owens | 4,895 | 15.8 | N/A |
| | People's Party | L Atkin | 2,462 | 8.0 | N/A |
| | Conservative | A P Thomas | 2,272 | 7.3 | −14.7 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Chris Rees | 1,620 | 5.2 | −5.3 |
| | Communist | Bert Pearce | 773 | 2.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,014 | 45.3 | −0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,931 | 55.9 | −24.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,328 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1964: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil McBride | 30,904 | 73.0 | +5.5 |
| | Conservative | Oliver C. Wright | 7,863 | 18.6 | −3.4 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Chris Rees | 3,556 | 8.4 | −2.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,041 | 54.4 | +8.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,323 | 76.2 | −3.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 55,505 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1966: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil McBride | 30,290 | 75.4 | +2.4 |
| | Conservative | Timothy Knowles | 6,241 | 15.5 | −3.1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Chris Rees | 2,749 | 6.8 | −1.4 |
| | Communist | William R. Jones | 902 | 2.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 24,049 | 59.9 | +5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,182 | 73.8 | −2.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 54,459 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil McBride | 28,183 | 68.5 | −6.9 |
| | Conservative | Michael J. Murphy | 8,191 | 19.9 | +4.4 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Roderick Evans | 4,188 | 10.2 | +3.4 |
| | Communist | William R. Jones | 563 | 1.4 | −0.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,992 | 48.6 | −11.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,125 | 70.1 | −3.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,653 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Neil McBride | 28,537 | 66.3 | −2.2 |
| | Conservative | David Mercer | 8,850 | 20.6 | +0.7 |
| | Plaid Cymru | John Ball | 5,135 | 11.9 | +1.7 |
| | Communist | W R Jones | 507 | 1.2 | −0.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,687 | 45.7 | −2.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,029 | 73.8 | +3.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,301 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 26,735 | 63.8 | −2.5 |
| | Conservative | David Mercer | 6,014 | 14.3 | −6.3 |
| | Liberal | Roger Anstey | 5,173 | 12.3 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | John Ball | 3,978 | 9.5 | −2.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,721 | 49.5 | +3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,900 | 71.3 | −2.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,780 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1979: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 31,909 | 69.9 | +6.1 |
| | Conservative | S Edwards | 10,689 | 23.4 | +9.1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | John Ball | 2,732 | 6.0 | −3.5 |
| | Communist | W Jones | 308 | 0.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,220 | 46.5 | −3.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 45,638 | 75.6 | +4.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 60,350 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 22,297 | 54.4 | −15.5 |
| | Liberal | Martyn J. Shrewsbury | 8,762 | 21.4 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Nicholas O'Shaughnessy | 8,080 | 19.7 | −3.7 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Clive Reid | 1,531 | 3.7 | −2.3 |
| | Communist | W R Jones | 294 | 0.7 | ±0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,535 | 33.0 | −13.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,964 | 71.5 | −4.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,285 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1987: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 27,478 | 63.7 | +9.3 |
| | Conservative | Richard Lewis | 8,140 | 18.9 | −0.8 |
| | Liberal | David Thomas | 6,380 | 14.8 | −6.6 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Clive Reid | 1,145 | 2.6 | −1.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,338 | 44.8 | +11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,143 | 75.4 | +3.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,200 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 31,179 | 69.7 | +6.0 |
| | Conservative | Henry L. Davies | 7,697 | 17.2 | −1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert E. Barton | 4,248 | 9.5 | −5.3 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Eleanor E. Bonner-Evans | 1,607 | 3.6 | +1.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,482 | 52.5 | +7.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,731 | 75.6 | +0.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 59,196 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.8 | |
General election 1997: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 29,151 | 75.4 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | Catherine Dibble | 3,582 | 9.3 | −7.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elwyn Jones | 3,440 | 8.9 | −0.6 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Michelle Pooley | 1,308 | 3.4 | −0.2 |
| | Referendum | Catherine Maggs | 904 | 2.3 | N/A |
| | Socialist Alternative | Ronnie Job | 289 | 0.8 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 25,569 | 66.1 | +13.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,674 | 67.4 | −8.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,371 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +6.8 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Donald Anderson | 19,612 | 65.2 | −10.2 |
| | Plaid Cymru | John Ball | 3,464 | 11.5 | +8.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Speht | 3,064 | 10.2 | +1.3 |
| | Conservative | Paul Morris | 3,026 | 10.1 | +0.8 |
| | Green | Tony Young | 463 | 1.5 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Tim Jenkins | 443 | 1.5 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,148 | 53.7 | −12.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,072 | 52.3 | −15.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,520 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -9.2 | |
General election 2005: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Siân James | 17,457 | 56.6 | −8.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Speht | 6,208 | 20.1 | +9.9 |
| | Conservative | Ellenor Bland | 3,103 | 10.1 | ±0.0 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Carolyn Couch | 2,129 | 6.9 | −4.6 |
| | BNP | Kevin Holloway | 770 | 2.5 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Tim Jenkins | 674 | 2.2 | +0.7 |
| | Green | Tony Young | 493 | 1.6 | +0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,249 | 36.5 | −17.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,834 | 52.4 | +0.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 57,502 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -9.3 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Siân James | 16,819 | 51.5 | −5.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Speht | 5,981 | 18.3 | −1.8 |
| | Conservative | Christian Holliday | 4,823 | 14.8 | +4.7 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Dic Jones | 2,181 | 6.7 | −0.2 |
| | BNP | Clive Bennett | 1,715 | 5.2 | +2.7 |
| | UKIP | David Rogers | 839 | 2.6 | +0.4 |
| | Green | Tony Young | 318 | 1.0 | −0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,838 | 33.2 | −3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,676 | 54.6 | +2.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 59,823 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.7 | |
General election 2015: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Carolyn Harris | 17,807 | 53.0 | +1.5 |
| | UKIP | Clifford Johnson | 5,779 | 17.2 | +14.6 |
| | Conservative | Altaf Hussain | 5,142 | 15.3 | +0.5 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Dic Jones | 3,498 | 10.4 | +3.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Amina Jamal | 1,392 | 4.1 | −14.2 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 107 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,028 | 35.8 | +2.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,618 | 58.0 | +3.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,011 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.5 | |
Of the 107 rejected ballots:
* 81 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
* 25 voted for more than one candidate.
* 1 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.
General election 2017: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Carolyn Harris | 22,307 | 63.4 | +10.4 |
| | Conservative | Dan Boucher | 9,139 | 26.0 | +10.7 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Steffan Phillips | 1,689 | 4.8 | −5.6 |
| | UKIP | Clifford Johnson | 1,040 | 3.0 | −14.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Charley Hasted | 625 | 1.8 | −2.3 |
| | Green | Chris Evans | 359 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,168 | 37.4 | +1.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,159 | 60.1 | +2.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,526 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.1 | |
General election 2019: Swansea East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Carolyn Harris | 17,405 | 51.8 | −11.6 |
| | Conservative | Denise Howard | 9,435 | 28.1 | +2.1 |
| | Brexit Party | Tony Willicombe | 2,842 | 8.5 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | Geraint Havard | 1,905 | 5.7 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Chloe Hutchinson | 1,409 | 4.2 | +2.4 |
| | Green | Chris Evans | 583 | 1.7 | +0.7 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 66 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,970 | 23.7 | −13.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,579 | 57.4 | −2.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,450 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -6.9 | |
Of the 66 rejected ballots:
* 50 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
* 12 voted for more than one candidate.
* 4 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.