The Carmarthen by-election, was held in

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, ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, on 14 July 1966. The contest was significant in that it resulted in the election of

Gwynfor Evans Gwynfor Richard Evans (1 September 1912 – 21 April 2005) was a Welsh politician, lawyer and author. He was President of the Welsh political party Plaid Cymru for thirty-six years and was the first Member of Parliament to represent it at Westmi ...

, the first ever

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

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 o ...

's victory in the Carmarthen constituency, a seminal moment for

Welsh nationalism Welsh nationalism ( cy, Cenedlaetholdeb Cymreig) emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self determination which includes ...

, was part of a wider process toward

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

devolution which eventually led to the establishment of the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh ...

in 1999. The election was caused by the death of Labour Party

Megan Lloyd George Lady Megan Arvon Lloyd George, (22 April 1902 – 14 May 1966) was a Welsh politician and the first female Member of Parliament (MP) for a Welsh constituency. She also served as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party, before later becoming a Lab ...

. Gwynfor Evans' surprise win is credited with laying the foundations for

Winnie Ewing Winifred Margaret Ewing (' Woodburn; born 10 July 1929) is a Scottish politician, lawyer and figure within the independence movement who served as President of the Scottish National Party from 1987 to 2005. Ewing was a Member of the Scottish ...

's victory for the Scottish National Party at the

1967 Hamilton by-election The Hamilton by-election in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland, was held on 2 November 1967. It saw a surprise victory for the Scottish National Party candidate Winnie Ewing. The SNP took 46% of the vote in a constituency which they had not even con ...

, an event of equal significance for

Scottish nationalism Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottish Rights, progressing into t ...

Results

References

External links

BBC – South East Wales – Hall of Fame – Gwynfor Evans
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20031203061757/http://www.wales.gov.uk/keypubstatisticsforwales/content/publication/compendia/1985/dwhs1985/dwhs1985-ch10/dwhs1985-t10-2b.xls Welsh by-election results: 1833–1972]
1966 – 67 By Elections
{{Westminster by-elections in Wales 1950–present By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Welsh constituencies Plaid Cymru

Carmarthen by-election Carmarthen by-elections are the by-elections held on occasion for the British House of Commons constituency of Carmarthen in North Wales: * 1878 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election * 1882 Carmarthen Boroughs by-election * 1924 Carmarthen by-election * ...

Carmarthen by-election, 1966 Elections in Carmarthenshire 20th century in Carmarthenshire

Results

See also

References

External links