# Pontypool (UK Parliament constituency)

Pontypool was a county constituency in the town of Pontypool in Monmouthshire. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and was replaced with Torfaen for the 1983 general election. This was to correspond with the name and area of the Torfaen local authority created in 1974. The Torfaen constituency contained the whole of the old Pontypool seat, adding just 247 electors from Monmouth.

## Boundaries

1918–1950: The Urban Districts of Abersychan, Blaenavon, Llanfrechfa Upper, Llantarnam, Panteg, and Pontypool.
1950–1983: The Urban Districts of Blaenavon, Cwmbran, and Pontypool.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1918 | Thomas Griffiths | Labour |
| | 1935 | Arthur Jenkins | Labour |
| | 1946 by-election | Granville West | Labour |
| | 1958 by-election | Leo Abse | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Griffiths | 8,438 | 39.0 | |
| C | Unionist | Leonard Wilkinson Llewelyn | 7,021 | 32.5 | |
| | Liberal | Reginald McKenna | 6,160 | 28.5 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,417 | 6.5 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 21,619 | 72.1 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Griffiths | 11,198 | 40.6 | +1.6 |
| | Unionist | Thomas George Jones | 8,654 | 31.4 | −1.1 |
| | Liberal | Robert Connell | 7,733 | 28.0 | −0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,544 | 9.2 | +2.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,585 | 85.0 | +12.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.3 | |
General election 1923: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Griffiths | 13,770 | 50.6 | +10.0 |
| | Liberal | S.J. Robins | 13,444 | 49.4 | +21.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 326 | 1.2 | −8.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,214 | 81.6 | −3.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -5.7 | |
General election 1924: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Griffiths | 15,378 | 52.6 | +2.0 |
| | Unionist | Lionel Beaumont-Thomas | 13,831 | 47.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,547 | 5.2 | +4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,209 | 84.5 | +2.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1929: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Griffiths | 17,805 | 51.5 | −1.1 |
| | Liberal | Geoffrey Crawshay | 12,581 | 36.4 | New |
| | Unionist | Gwilym Rowlands | 4,188 | 12.1 | −35.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,224 | 15.1 | +9.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,574 | 84.6 | +0.1 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Thomas Griffiths | 18,981 | 56.34 | +4.8 |
| | National Liberal | Thomas Keens | 14,709 | 43.66 | +7.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,272 | 12.68 | −2.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,690 | 81.99 | −2.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 41,090 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.25 | |
General election 1935: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Jenkins | 22,346 | 67.92 | +11.58 |
| | Conservative | Leonard Caplan | 10,555 | 32.08 | −11.58 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,791 | 35.84 | +23.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,901 | 78.55 | −3.44 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +11.58 | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Arthur Jenkins | 27,455 | 77.28 | +9.36 |
| | Conservative | John Gabriel Weeple | 8,072 | 22.72 | −9.36 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,383 | 54.56 | +18.72 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,527 | 77.17 | −1.38 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +9.36 | |
1946 Pontypool by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Granville West | 23,359 | 74.09 | −3.19 |
| | Conservative | P. Welch | 8,170 | 25.91 | +3.19 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,189 | 48.17 | −6.39 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,529 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Granville West | 28,267 | 72.25 | −5.03 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Russell | 6,616 | 16.91 | −5.81 |
| | Liberal | Ernest Aneurin Robert Mathias | 4,240 | 10.84 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 21,651 | 55.34 | +0.78 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,123 | 84.78 | +7.61 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.39 | |
General election 1951: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Granville West | 29,553 | 75.74 | +3.49 |
| | Conservative | Aylwin O Hewitt | 9,464 | 24.26 | +7.35 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,089 | 51.49 | −3.85 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,017 | 84.29 | −0.49 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.93 | |
General election 1955: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Granville West | 26,372 | 72.91 | −2.83 |
| | Conservative | Aylwin O Hewitt | 9,800 | 27.09 | +2.83 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,572 | 45.81 | −5.68 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,172 | 77.09 | −7.20 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -2.83 | |
1958 Pontypool by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 20,000 | 68.49 | −4.42 |
| | Conservative | Paul S Thomas | 6,273 | 21.48 | −5.61 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Benjamin CL Morgan | 2,927 | 10.02 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,727 | 47.01 | +1.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,200 | 61.7 | −15.4 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election 1959: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 26,755 | 70.08 | −2.83 |
| | Conservative | Paul S Thomas | 8,903 | 23.32 | −3.77 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Benjamin CL Morgan | 2,519 | 6.60 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,852 | 46.76 | +0.95 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,177 | 80.45 | +3.36 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.47 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 27,852 | 74.57 | +4.49 |
| | Conservative | Paul D Mendel | 8,169 | 21.87 | −1.45 |
| | Communist | W Edward Jones | 1,329 | 3.56 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19,683 | 52.70 | +5.94 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,350 | 77.77 | −2.68 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 48,024 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.97 | |
General election 1966: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 27,909 | 77.05 | +2.48 |
| | Conservative | Peter T James | 7,418 | 20.48 | −1.39 |
| | Communist | W Edward Jones | 897 | 2.48 | −1.08 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 20,491 | 56.57 | +3.87 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,224 | 75.40 | −2.37 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 48,040 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.94 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 27,402 | 70.70 | |
| | Conservative | W Mather Bell | 8,869 | 22.88 | |
| | Plaid Cymru | Harri Webb | 2,053 | 5.30 | New |
| | Communist | Brian Watkinson | 435 | 1.12 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,533 | 47.82 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,759 | 71.94 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election February 1974: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 25,133 | 59.68 | −11.02 |
| | Liberal | Ernest Aneurin Robert Mathias | 7,668 | 18.21 | New |
| | Conservative | Wellesley Theodore Octavius Wallace | 7,497 | 17.80 | −5.08 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Roger David Tanner | 1,318 | 3.13 | −2.17 |
| | Communist | Graham Robert Williams | 498 | 1.18 | −0.06 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,465 | 41.47 | −6.35 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,114 | 77.01 | +5.07 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |
General election October 1974: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 25,381 | 63.40 | +3.72 |
| | Conservative | Robert John Moreland | 6,686 | 16.70 | −1.10 |
| | Liberal | Ernest Aneurin Robert Mathias | 5,744 | 14.35 | −3.86 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Roger David Tanner | 2,223 | 5.55 | +2.42 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,695 | 46.70 | +5.23 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,034 | 72.66 | −3.35 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +2.41 | |
General election 1979: Pontypool :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Leo Abse | 27,751 | 61.93 | −1.47 |
| | Conservative | Tom Sackville | 10,383 | 23.17 | +6.47 |
| | Liberal | Ernest Aneurin Robert Mathias | 5,508 | 12.29 | −2.06 |
| | Plaid Cymru | William James Hyde | 1,169 | 2.61 | −2.94 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,368 | 38.76 | −7.94 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,811 | 78.36 | +5.70 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.97 | |