Cardiff South East was a
parliamentary constituency
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...
in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
.
The constituency was created for the
1950 general election, and abolished for the
1983 general election. Its only MP was
Labour's James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, ( ; 27 March 191226 March 2005), commonly known as Jim Callaghan, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980. Callaghan is ...
, who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
from 1976 to 1979, while still serving as the seat's MP. Its present-day equivalent is
Cardiff South and Penarth.
Boundaries
1950–1974: The County Borough of Cardiff wards of Adamsdown, Roath, South, and Splott, and the Urban District of Penarth.
1974–1983: The County Borough of Cardiff wards of Adamsdown, Grangetown, Roath, Rumney, South, and Splott.
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 1950s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1970s
Note: The official Liberal candidate for Cardiff South East in 1979, Christopher Bailey, deliberately failed to submit his nomination papers in time and advised Liberal voters to vote Conservative. He was subsequently expelled from the Liberal Party.
This election was remembered for when Pat Arrowsmith heckled Callaghan throughout the election declaration. During the customary victory speech, Callaghan continued to be interrupted throughout and Callaghan remarked it was the first time he had ‘conducted a duet’ whilst giving a victory speech. When Arrowsmith refused to desist, Callaghan and the other candidates left the stage. Arrowsmith (who had been arrested in Cardiff the day before the election) made a short statement about
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. These scenes were broadcast live on BBC Election 79.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cardiff South East (Uk Parliament Constituency)
Politics of Cardiff
History of Glamorgan
Historic parliamentary constituencies in South Wales
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1950
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1983
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom represented by a sitting Prime Minister