West Carmarthenshire 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
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
which returned one
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) 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 ...
.
It was created for the
1885 general election, when the old two-member
Carmarthenshire constituency was divided into two new single-member seats:
East Carmarthenshire and West Carmarthenshire, both of which were in turn abolished for the
1918 general election.
Boundaries
The constituency included the Sessional Divisions of
Carmarthen
Carmarthen (, RP: ; cy, Caerfyrddin , "Merlin's fort" or "Sea-town fort") is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community in Wales, lying on the River Towy. north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. The population was 14,185 in 2011, ...
,
Llanboidy
Llanboidy is a village and community in the principal area and historic county of Carmarthenshire, West Wales. The community includes the village of Llanglydwen.
Location
According to the 2001 United Kingdom Census, the community had a populat ...
,
Llanfihangel-ar-Arth
Llanfihangel-ar-Arth is a village and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales.
The area includes six villages: Alltwalis, Dolgran, Gwyddgrug, Llanfihangel-Ar-Arth, New Inn, Carmarthenshire, New Inn and Pencader, Carm ...
,
Newcastle Emlyn
Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenarth ...
, and
St Clears
St Clears ( ; cy, Sanclêr) on the River Tâf in Carmarthenshire, Wales, is both a small town and a community. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,995. The community includes the small settlements of Bancyfelin and Pwlltrap. It is border ...
, and parts of the Sessional Divisions of Llandilo and
Llandovery
Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon.
Histo ...
. It was an almost exclusively rural and agricultural constituency, with the only significant industry being the tinplate works at Kidwelly in the extreme south of the constituency and the woollen mills around Newcastle Emlyn.
Members of Parliament
History
1885-88
At the first election in 1885, the two sitting members for the former constituency of
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
faced each other. The Conservative candidate,
Viscount Emlyn
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a Title#Aristocratic titles, title used in certain European countries for a nobility, noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-he ...
, although most of his family property lay in the eastern part of the county, calculated that his chances there would be negligible given the growing industrial population which had been a key factor in the triumph of the Liberal candidate,
Edward Sartoris
Edward John Sartoris (30 May 1814 – 23 November 1888) was a British landowner and Liberal politician of French ancestry.
Early life
The eldest son of Peter Urban Sartoris (1767-1833) of Sceaux, near Paris and his wife Matilda, the daughter of ...
at the 1868 general election. He was opposed by the Liberal
W.R.H. Powell, himself a former Conservative supporter who had first declared his support for the Liberals at the 1874 election. Powell now proclaimed that he had a duty to the Liberal cause to oppose Emlyn.
It was reported that the Conservatives were confident of their chances in the new West Carmarthenshire constituency, on the grounds that it was largely an agricultural division. However, the electorate had more than doubled in the county, and the 1885 electorate in the Western Division alone exceeded that of the combined county seat in 1880.
However, the overwhelmingly nonconformist character of the constituency was regarded as a distinct advantage to the Liberal candidate, and the influence of the chapels predicted to be decisive in view of their direct influence over rural agricultural communities.
After a vigorous contest, Powell won a decisive victory.
By the next election the following year, Emlyn had retired from the fray, and Powell increased his majority significantly.
1889 by-election
Powell died in 1889. After a short campaign he was succeeded by
John Lloyd Morgan
John Lloyd Morgan (13 February 1861 – 17 May 1944) was Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP) for West Carmarthenshire from 1889 to 1910.
Background
He was the son of Rev. William Morgan, Professor of Theology at the Presbyterian Colleg ...
who comfortably won the by-election.
1890-1910
Morgan was returned unopposed in 1890. In 1895, however, the Conservatives had their best result in the history the constituency, and their candidate, W.J. Buckley of Llanelli, fought a vigorous campaign supported by local landowners.
He was still, however, some distance short of victory.
Lloyd Morgan was opposed for the first time for fifteen years at the first General Election of 1910. His opponent, a Welsh-speaking barrister from Manchester, fought a vigorous campaign but made little impression. Later that year it was announced that Morgan was being made a judge and would not contest the second General Election.
The second 1910 general election
Six candidates contested the nomination, including
Sir Owen Philipps, who had latterly stood down as member for Pembroke Boroughs, and
Courtenay Mansel
Sir Courtenay Cecil Mansel, 13th Baronet (25 February 1880 – 4 January 1933) was a Welsh landowner and farmer, barrister and Liberal Party politician who later joined the Conservatives.
Family
Courtenay Cecil Mansel was the son of Sir Richard ...
. The final choice was between
John Hinds, a native of Carmarthen who was now a successful businessman in London and Henry Jones-Davies, who was both a prominent member of
Carmarthenshire County Council
Carmarthenshire County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin) is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It provides a range of services including education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The counc ...
and brother-in-law of the late Liberal politician,
Tom Ellis. Jones-Davies had led throughout the Hinds won the final ballot by 188 votes against 186.
At the election that followed, Hinds was opposed by Jones Cremlyn, who was once again the Conservative candidate. It was suggested at one stage that the Rev Arthur Fuller Mills of Carmarthen, chairman of Carmarthenshire County Council, would contest the seat as an independent but the rumour proved unfounded.
Jones Cremlyn fought vigorous campaign, which was enthusiastically supported by the ''Carmarthen Journal'' and addressed meetings throughout the constituency, travelling from village to village by motor car.
Following the election, a ''Carmarthen Journal'' editorial complained about the dominance of the Liberals in the constituency and the means by which nonconformist ministers sustained them.
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914,
Alfred Stephens
Alfred George Stephens (28 August 1865 – 15 April 1933), commonly referred to as A. G. Stephens, was an Australian writer and literary critic, notably for '' The Bulletin''. He was appointed to that position by its owner, J. F. Archibald in ...
of Kidwelly had been chosen to oppose John Hinds.
[Western Mail 24 Jul 1914]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carmarthenshire West
Historic parliamentary constituencies in South Wales
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885
Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 1918
West Carmarthenshire