# Rhondda West (UK Parliament constituency)

Rhondda West was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rhondda district of Wales. 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 system. Along with Rhondda East it was formed by dividing the old Rhondda constituency.

## History

The constituency was created for the 1918 general election, and abolished for the February 1974 general election.

## Boundaries

Throughout its existence the constituency included the towns of Treorchy and Tonypandy.
1918–1974: The Urban District of Rhondda first, second, third, fourth, and fifth wards, and part of the sixth.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1918 | William Abraham | Labour |
| 1920 by-election | William John | Labour |
| 1950 | Iorwerth Thomas | Labour |
| 1967 by-election | Alec Jones | Labour |
| Feb 1974 | constituency abolished: see Rhondda | constituency abolished: see Rhondda |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1910s
#### General Election 1918, Rhondda

    William Abraham returned unopposed
General election 1918: West Rhondda :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William Abraham | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

### Elections in the 1920s

1920 Rhondda West by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | 14,035 | 58.5 | N/A |
| C | Unionist | Gwilym Rowlands | 9,959 | 41.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,076 | 17.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,949 | 70.2 | N/A |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||
General election 1922: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | 18,001 | 62.1 | +3.6 |
| | Unionist | Gwilym Rowlands | 10,990 | 37.9 | −3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,011 | 24.2 | +7.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,991 | 83.7 | +13.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.6 | |
General election 1923: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | 18,206 | 65.4 | +3.3 |
| | Liberal | John Robert Jones | 9,640 | 34.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,566 | 30.8 | +6.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,846 | 78.5 | −5.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

#### General Election 1924, Rhondda West

    William John returned unopposed
General election 1924: West Rhondda :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
General election 1929: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | 23,238 | 65.1 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Moelwyn Hughes | 9,247 | 25.9 | New |
| | Unionist | Wilfred Augustus Prichard | 3,210 | 9.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,991 | 39.2 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,695 | 86.7 | N/A |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | 23,024 | 84.3 | +19.2 |
| | Communist | John Leigh Davies | 4,296 | 15.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 18,728 | 68.6 | +21.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,320 | 66.7 | −20.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 40,950 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +19.2 | |
General election 1935: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 41,032 | | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | William John | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 39,652 | | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iorwerth Thomas | 27,150 | 82.37 | N/A |
| | Conservative | JP Driscoll | 3,632 | 11.02 | New |
| | Plaid Cymru | James Kitchener Davies | 2,183 | 6.62 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23,518 | 71.35 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,965 | 87.94 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,484 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1951: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iorwerth Thomas | 26,123 | 81.06 | −1.31 |
| | Conservative | E Simons | 3,635 | 11.02 | 0.00 |
| | Plaid Cymru | James Kitchener Davies | 2,467 | 7.66 | +1.04 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 22,488 | 69.78 | −1.57 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,225 | 86.36 | −1.58 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 37,315 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.79 | |
General election 1955: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iorwerth Thomas | 21,288 | 73.80 | −7.26 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Glyndwr Powell James | 4,424 | 15.34 | +7.68 |
| | Conservative | Charles PT Burke | 3,134 | 10.86 | −0.16 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,864 | 58.46 | −11.32 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,846 | 80.25 | −6.11 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 35,943 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -7.47 | |
General election 1959: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iorwerth Thomas | 21,130 | 71.99 | −1.81 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Glyndwr Powell James | 4,978 | 16.96 | +1.62 |
| | Conservative | Francis Pym | 3,242 | 11.05 | +0.19 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,152 | 55.03 | −3.43 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,350 | 85.20 | +4.95 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,450 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.72 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iorwerth Thomas | 20,713 | 79.3 | +7.3 |
| | Conservative | Norman Lloyd-Edwards | 2,754 | 10.5 | −0.5 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Henry Victor Davies | 2,668 | 10.2 | −6.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17,959 | 68.8 | +13.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,135 | 80.7 | −4.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 32,401 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.89 | |
General election 1966: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Iorwerth Thomas | 19,060 | 76.12 | −3.13 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Henry Victor Davies | 2,172 | 8.67 | −1.54 |
| | Conservative | Bryan Sandford-Hill | 1,955 | 7.81 | −2.73 |
| | Communist | Arthur True | 1,853 | 7.40 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,888 | 67.45 | −1.29 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,040 | 80.28 | −0.38 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 31,189 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -0.80 | |
By-election 1967: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alec Jones | 12,373 | 49.0 | −27.1 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Henry Victor Davies | 10,067 | 39.9 | +31.2 |
| | Communist | Arthur True | 1,723 | 6.8 | −0.6 |
| | Conservative | Gareth Neale | 1,075 | 4.3 | −3.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,306 | 9.1 | −58.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,238 | 82.2 | −1.9 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −29.1 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Rhondda West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Alec Jones | 18,779 | 74.8 | −1.3 |
| | Plaid Cymru | Henry Victor Davies | 3,528 | 14.1 | +5.4 |
| | Conservative | John D. Morgan | 1,610 | 6.4 | −1.4 |
| | Communist | Arthur True | 1,201 | 4.8 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 15,251 | 60.7 | −6.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,118 | 81.4 | +1.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 30,854 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −3.4 | |