# University of Wales (UK Parliament constituency)

University of Wales was a university constituency electing one member to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, from 1918 to 1950. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP), elected under the first-past-the-post voting system.

## Boundaries

This university constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918. It was abolished in 1950 by the Representation of the People Act 1948.
The constituency was not a physical area. Its electorate consisted of the graduates of the University of Wales.
Unlike many other university constituencies, University of Wales never elected a Conservative MP, instead regularly electing Liberal MPs.
The constituency returned one Member of Parliament.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party | Notes |
| 1918 | Rt Hon. Herbert Lewis | Coalition Liberal |
| 1922 | Thomas Arthur Lewis | National Liberal | died 18 July 1923 |
| 1923 | George Maitland Lloyd Davies | Christian Pacifist | Joined the Labour Party in February 1924 |
| 1924 | George Maitland Lloyd Davies | Labour | Joined the Labour Party in February 1924 |
| 1924 | Ernest Evans | Liberal | appointed County Court Judge in 1943 |
| 1943 by-election | William John Gruffydd | Liberal |
| 1950 | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished | University constituencies abolished |

## Elections

The elections in this constituency took place using the first past the post electoral system. In university seats, in this period, the polls were open for five days and voting did not take place on the polling day for the territorial constituencies.

### Elections of the 1910s

General election 1918: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| C | Liberal | Herbert Lewis | 739 | 80.8 | |
| | Labour | Millicent Mackenzie | 176 | 19.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 563 | 61.6 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 915 | 85.8 | |
| | 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. ||||||

### Elections of the 1920s

* After the fall of the coalition government in 1922, the former Coalition Liberals contested elections as the National Liberal Party.
General election 1922: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | National Liberal | Thomas Arthur Lewis | 487 | 39.5 | –41.3 |
| | Liberal | Ellis Ellis-Griffith | 451 | 35.9 | −44.9 |
| | Labour | Olive Wheeler | 309 | 24.8 | +5.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 46 | 3.6 | −58.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,247 | 87.2 | +1.4 |
| | National Liberal hold | National Liberal hold | Swing | | |
* Seat vacant at the dissolution of Parliament, following the death of Lewis on 18 July 1923
General election 1923: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Christian Pacifist | George Maitland Lloyd Davies | 570 | 35.7 | New |
| | Liberal | Joseph Jones | 560 | 35.1 | −0.8 |
| | Independent Liberal | John Edwards | 467 | 29.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1.597 | 83.1 | −4.1 |
| | Christian Pacifist gain from Liberal | Christian Pacifist gain from Liberal | | | |
General election 1924: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ernest Evans | 1,057 | 59.4 | +24.3 |
| | Labour | George Maitland Lloyd Davies | 721 | 40.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 336 | 18.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,778 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Christian Pacifist | Liberal gain from Christian Pacifist | Swing | | |
General election 1929: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ernest Evans | 1,712 | 63.5 | +4.1 |
| | Labour | David W. Richards | 671 | 24.9 | New |
| | Unionist | Courtenay Mansel | 314 | 11.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,041 | 38.6 | +20.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,697 | 74.4 | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections of the 1930s

General election 1931: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ernest Evans | 2,229 | 75.4 | +11.9 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Saunders Lewis | 914 | 24.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,315 | 50.8 | +12.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,143 | 61.4 | −13.0 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1935: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Ernest Evans | 2,796 | 61.3 | −9.6 |
| | Labour | Ithel Davies | 1,768 | 38.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,028 | 22.6 | −19.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 4,564 | 62.3 | +0.9 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |

### Elections of the 1940s

General Election 1939–40: Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place from 1939 and by the end of this year, the following candidates had been selected;
* Liberal: Ernest Evans
University of Wales by-election, 1943 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William John Gruffydd | 3,098 | 52.3 | −9.0 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Saunders Lewis | 1,330 | 22.5 | New |
| | Independent | Alun Talfan Davies | 755 | 12.8 | New |
| | Independent Labour | Evan Davies | 634 | 10.7 | New |
| | Independent Labour | Neville Lawrence Evans | 101 | 1.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,768 | 29.8 | +7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,918 | 53.4 | −8.9 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |
General election 1945: University of Wales :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | William John Gruffydd | 5,239 | 75.5 | +23.2 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Gwenan Jones | 1,696 | 24.5 | +2.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,543 | 51.0 | +21.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 6,935 | 58.5 | +5.1 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | | |