# Cardiff South and Penarth (UK Parliament constituency)

Cardiff South and Penarth (Welsh: De Caerdydd a Phenarth) is a constituency created in 1983 represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2012 by Stephen Doughty, a Labour Co-op MP.
The constituency retained its name, but with altered boundaries, as part of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the 2024 general election.

## Boundaries

1983–2010: The City of Cardiff wards of Butetown, Grangetown, Llanrumney, Rumney, Splott, and Trowbridge; and the Borough of Vale of Glamorgan wards of Alexandra (became Plymouth and St Augustine's from 2004), Cornerswell, Llandough, and Stanwell.
2010–2024: As above with the addition of Sully from the Vale of Glamorgan seat.
2024–present: The City and County of Cardiff wards of Butetown, Cathays, Grangetown, and Splott; and the County Borough of the Vale of Glamorgan wards Cornerswell, Dinas Powys, Llandough, Plymouth, St Augustine's, Stanwell, and Sully.
The seat gained Cathays from the abolished Cardiff Central constituency, and Dinas Powys from the Vale of Glamorgan constituency, offset by the loss of Llanrumney, Rumney, and Trowbridge to the new Cardiff East constituency.

## History
### Creation

Prior to 1983 Penarth had been part of the abolished Barry constituency, represented by the Conservative backbencher Sir Raymond Gower. Most of the electorate of the new constituency had previously fallen into the abolished seat of Cardiff South East, represented by former Prime Minister, James Callaghan.

### Political history

Cardiff South and Penarth has had three MPs since its creation, containing some very safe Labour wards from Cardiff such as Butetown, Grangetown and Splott, and several wards from the neighbouring borough of the Vale of Glamorgan, with Penarth mostly favourable to Labour, but with some areas such as Plymouth and Sully in the southern end of the seat where the Conservatives attracted more support. The first, elected at the 1983 general election, was the former Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan, who secured the seat with a 5.4% majority over Conservative David Tredinnick. Callaghan had immediately prior to the dissolution of Parliament, represented Cardiff South East. Callaghan first became an MP at the 1945 general election, for Cardiff South.
The second MP was Alun Michael (Labour and Co-operative Party) who served 25 years from 1987 before choosing to stand down in 2012. Michael's affiliation with the Co-operative Party did not appear on ballot papers at the 2010 general election because the Electoral Commission ruled that any joint candidates who wanted the names of both their parties included on the ballot paper could not also display the Labour red rose logo. Michael opted to drop the reference to the Co-operative Party but after the election denounced the ruling as "an outrageous piece of incompetence by the Electoral Commission". Michael briefly became Secretary of State for Wales in 1998. Michael held the seat at the 2010 general election with a majority of 10.6% following a 6% swing to the Conservative candidate.
In 2012, Michael was selected by the Labour and Co-operative Parties as their candidate for the election of a Police and Crime Commissioner for the South Wales Police force area and announced he would be standing down from Parliament.
At a by-election held on 15 November 2012, Labour's decline was reversed coupled with very low turnout (down 38.2% on the previous election). Labour's Stephen Doughty succeeded Alun Michael winning 47.3% of the overall vote. This was an increase (in share-of-the-vote terms) on Michael's 2010 performance. However, in terms of actual votes cast (9,193 compared with 17,262 in 2010), it was Labour's lowest in this constituency. The 2015 result gave the seat the 83rd-smallest majority of Labour's 232 seats by percentage of majority. Labour's result in 2017 saw them secure their largest ever margin in the constituency in terms of raw votes.

### Other parties

Five parties' candidates achieved more than the deposit-retaining threshold of 5% of the vote in 2015. The second-placed candidate has been a Conservative candidate since the seat was formed. The closest result was in 1983, when Callaghan won by 5.5% of the vote.

### Turnout

Turnout at general elections has ranged between 77.2% in 1992 and 56.2% in 2005.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1983 | James Callaghan | Labour |
| 1987 | Alun Michael | Labour and Co-operative |
| 2012 by-election | Stephen Doughty | Labour and Co-operative |

## Elections
### Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Callaghan | 17,448 | 41.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | David Tredinnick | 15,172 | 35.9 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Winston Roddick | 8,816 | 20.8 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | Sian Edwards | 673 | 1.6 | N/A |
| | Freedom from World Domination | Benjamin Lewis | 165 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,276 | 5.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,274 | 71.0 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 59,520 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
General election 1987: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alun Michael | 20,956 | 46.7 | +5.4 |
| | Conservative | Gareth Neale | 16,382 | 36.5 | +0.6 |
| | Liberal | Jenny Randerson | 6,900 | 15.4 | −5.4 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Sian Edwards | 599 | 1.3 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,574 | 10.2 | +4.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,837 | 76.4 | +5.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 58,714 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +1.5 | |

### Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alun Michael | 26,383 | 55.5 | +8.8 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Jarvie | 15,958 | 33.6 | −2.9 |
| | Liberal | Prabhat Verma | 3,707 | 7.8 | −7.6 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Barbara Anglezarke | 776 | 1.6 | +0.3 |
| | Green | Lester Davey | 676 | 1.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,425 | 21.9 | +11.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,500 | 77.2 | +0.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 61,484 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +5.9 | |
General election 1997: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alun Michael | 22,647 | 53.4 | −2.1 |
| | Conservative | Caroline E. Roberts | 8,786 | 20.7 | −12.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Simon J. Wakefield | 3,964 | 9.3 | +1.5 |
| | New Labour | John Foreman | 3,942 | 9.3 | N/A |
| | Plaid Cymru | David B. L. Haswell | 1,356 | 3.2 | +1.6 |
| | Referendum | Phillip S. E. Morgan | 1,211 | 2.9 | N/A |
| | Socialist Alternative | Mike K. Shepherd | 344 | 0.8 | N/A |
| | Natural Law | Barbara Caves | 170 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,861 | 32.7 | +10.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,420 | 68.3 | −8.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 62,138 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +5.3 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alun Michael | 20,094 | 56.2 | +2.8 |
| | Conservative | Maureen Owen | 7,807 | 21.8 | +1.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rodney Berman | 4,572 | 12.8 | +3.5 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Lila Haines | 1,983 | 5.5 | +2.3 |
| | UKIP | Justin Callan | 501 | 1.4 | N/A |
| | Socialist Alliance | David Bartlett | 427 | 1.2 | N/A |
| | ProLife Alliance | Anne Savoury | 367 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,287 | 34.4 | +1.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,751 | 57.1 | −11.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 62,627 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +0.8 | |
General election 2005: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alun Michael | 17,447 | 47.3 | −8.9 |
| | Conservative | Victoria Green | 8,210 | 22.2 | +0.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gavin Cox | 7,529 | 20.4 | +7.6 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Jason Toby | 2,023 | 5.5 | 0.0 |
| | Green | John Matthews | 729 | 2.0 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Jennie Tuttle | 522 | 1.4 | 0.0 |
| | Socialist Alternative | David Bartlett | 269 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Independent | Andrew Taylor | 104 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Rainbow Dream Ticket | Catherine Taylor-Dawson | 79 | 0.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,237 | 25.1 | −9.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,912 | 56.2 | −0.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 65,786 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | −4.7 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2010: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Alun Michael | 17,262 | 38.9 | −7.7 |
| | Conservative | Simon Hoare | 12,553 | 28.3 | +4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dominic Hannigan | 9,875 | 22.3 | +2.4 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Farida Aslam | 1,851 | 4.2 | −1.1 |
| | UKIP | Simon Zeigler | 1,145 | 2.6 | +1.2 |
| | Independent | George Burke | 648 | 1.5 | N/A |
| | Green | Matthew Townsend | 554 | 1.2 | −0.6 |
| | Christian | Clive Bate | 285 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Communist | Robert Griffiths | 196 | 0.4 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,709 | 10.6 | −14.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 44,369 | 60.2 | +2.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 73,707 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | −6.0 | |
2012 Cardiff South and Penarth by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Stephen Doughty | 9,193 | 47.3 | +8.4 |
| | Conservative | Craig Williams | 3,859 | 19.9 | −8.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Bablin Molik | 2,103 | 10.8 | −11.5 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Luke Nicholas | 1,854 | 9.5 | +5.3 |
| | UKIP | Simon Zeigler | 1,179 | 6.1 | +3.5 |
| | Green | Anthony Slaughter | 800 | 4.1 | +2.9 |
| | Socialist Labour | Andrew Jordan | 235 | 1.2 | N/A |
| | Communist | Robert Griffiths | 213 | 1.1 | +0.7 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 135 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,334 | 27.4 | +16.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 19,436 | 25.7 | −34.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 76,764 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +8.4 | |
Of the 135 rejected ballots:
* 63 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
* 69 voted for more than one candidate.
* 3 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.
General election 2015: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Stephen Doughty | 19,966 | 42.8 | +3.9 |
| | Conservative | Emma Warman | 12,513 | 26.8 | −1.5 |
| | UKIP | John Rees-Evans | 6,423 | 13.8 | +11.2 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Ben Foday | 3,443 | 7.4 | +3.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nigel Howells | 2,318 | 5.0 | −17.3 |
| | Green | Anthony Slaughter | 1,746 | 3.7 | +2.5 |
| | TUSC | Ross Saunders | 258 | 0.6 | N/A |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 121 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,453 | 16.0 | +5.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,667 | 61.4 | +1.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 76,006 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +2.7 | |
Of the 121 rejected ballots:
* 82 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
* 35 voted for more than one candidate.
* 4 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.
General election 2017: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Stephen Doughty | 30,182 | 59.5 | +16.7 |
| | Conservative | Bill Rees | 15,318 | 30.2 | +3.4 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Ian Titherington | 2,162 | 4.3 | −3.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Emma Sands | 1,430 | 2.8 | −2.2 |
| | UKIP | Andrew Bevan | 942 | 1.9 | −11.9 |
| | Green | Anthony Slaughter | 532 | 1.0 | −2.7 |
| | Pirate | Jebediah Hedges | 170 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 107 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,864 | 29.3 | +13.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,736 | 66.3 | +4.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 76,499 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | +6.7 | |
Of the 107 rejected ballots:
* 76 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
* 29 voted for more than one candidate.
* 2 had writing or a mark by which the voter could be identified.
General election 2019: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Stephen Doughty | 27,382 | 54.1 | −5.4 |
| | Conservative | Phillippa Broom | 14,645 | 29.0 | −1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dan Schmeising | 2,985 | 5.9 | +3.1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Nasir Adam | 2,386 | 4.7 | +0.4 |
| | Brexit Party | Tim Price | 1,999 | 4.0 | N/A |
| | Green | Ken Barker | 1,182 | 2.3 | +1.3 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 160 | | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 12,737 | 25.1 | −3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,579 | 64.2 | −2.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 78,837 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | −2.1 | |
Of the 160 rejected ballots:
* 132 were either unmarked or it was uncertain who the vote was for.
* 27 voted for more than one candidate.
* 1 had writing or mark by which the voter could be identified.

### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Cardiff South and Penarth :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour Co-op | Stephen Doughty | 17,428 | 44.5 | −9.2 |
| | Green | Anthony Slaughter | 5,661 | 14.5 | +12.2 |
| | Conservative | Ellis Smith | 5,459 | 13.9 | −16.2 |
| | Reform UK | Simon Llewellyn | 4,493 | 11.5 | +8.7 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Sharifah Rahman | 3,227 | 8.2 | +4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alex Wilson | 2,908 | 7.4 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,767 | 30.0 | +4.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,176 | 54.0 | −15.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 72,613 | | |
| | Labour Co-op hold | Labour Co-op hold | Swing | −10.7 | |