Rhondda
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Rhondda in Wales
Preserved county	Mid Glamorgan
Electorate	50,262 (December 2019)[1]
Major settlements	Porth, Tonypandy, Treherbert, Treorchy, Tylorstown
1974 (1974)–2024
Seats	One
Created from	Rhondda East and Rhondda West
Replaced by	Rhondda and Ogmore
1885–1918
Seats	One
Type of constituency	County constituency
Created from	Glamorganshire
Replaced by	Rhondda East and Rhondda West
Senedd	Rhondda, South Wales Central

Rhondda was a constituency^{[n 1]} in Wales in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was represented since its 1974 recreation by the Labour Party.^{[n 2]}

The constituency was abolished as part of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies and under the June 2023 final recommendations of the Boundary Commission for Wales for the 2024 general election. The entire constituency became part of the new seat of Rhondda and Ogmore.^[2]

Boundaries

1974–1983: The Municipal Borough of Rhondda.

1983–2010: The Borough of Rhondda.

2010–2024: The Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough electoral divisions of Cwm Clydach, Cymmer, Ferndale, Llwyn-y-pia, Maerdy, Pentre, Pen-y-graig, Porth, Tonypandy, Trealaw, Treherbert, Treorchy, Tylorstown, Ynyshir, and Ystrad.

The Westminster constituency of Rhondda was based around the western edge of the Rhondda Cynon Taf council area, with population centres including Treherbert, Maerdy, Tylorstown, Tonypandy, and Pen-y-Graig. The seat bordered the constituencies of Cynon Valley, Ogmore, Pontypridd, and Aberavon.

History

This constituency was first created under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885, for the 1885 general election. For the 1918 general election it was divided into Rhondda East and Rhondda West.

The constituency was reunited in 1974. Since 1974, the constituency has always had a large Labour majority, and in the 1987 general election was the safest seat for any party, anywhere in Britain. In 2001, it was the only seat in the country where Liberal Democrats lost their deposit, and the Conservative Party also lost their deposit in their worst performance outside Northern Ireland.^[3]

Early history: the 1885 general election

The constituency was formed following the Third Reform Act of 1884, as a result of the rapid growth of population in the two valleys over the previous twenty years. During the 1880s the demand for working men representatives in the ranks of the Parliamentary Liberal Party were increasingly vociferous and there was a precedent for a Liberal-Labour (Lib-Lab) candidate in South Wales as Thomas Halliday had contested Merthyr Tydfil in 1874.

The local trade union, the Rhondda Steam Coal Miners' Association, laid claim to the candidacy as early as 1883, on the basis that the franchise had been extended to many working men within the county constituencies and that in Mabon, their agent for six years they had the ideal candidate.^[4] The local Liberal Association, however, formed in early 1885,was dominated by middle-class business and professional men, and included a disproportionate number of colliery officials. . Lewis Davis of Ferndale, brother of David Davis, Maesyffynnon, one of the leading coalowners in the valley, was selected as president of the association.^[4] Ministers, including William Morris of Noddfa, Treorchy were also prominent.^[5] At a meeting in April 1885 six names were put forward as possible candidates for the nomination, including Lewis Davis, Mabon and Alfred Thomas, a leading figure in the municipal life of Cardiff.^[5] Shortly afterwards, Lewis Davis was invited by the Association to be its parliamentary candidate and defeated Mabon in a ballot by 143 votes to 51. In spite of his selection, however, he declined and proposed that his son, the 22-year-old Frederick Lewis Davis, be the candidate. In a further ballot, F.L. Davis again defeated Mabon by 125 votes to 56.^[4]

The refusal of the trade union movement to accept this decision and to support an independent campaign by Mabon is regarded as an important watershed in the political history of South Wales. In terms of policy there was little apparent difference between the candidates, with the only notable difference being that Mabon supported the payment of MPs while Davis did not.^[4] The campaign was therefore waged on other grounds. Davis's supporters claimed that Mabon lacked legitimacy, having been rejected by the Liberal Association. Mabon's adherents, in turn, claimed that the miners' had held mass meetings throughout the two valleys to promote his candidature long before the middle-class-dominated Association was established.^[4] Davis's youth and inexperience was a major issue, although he had qualified as a barrister. There were also claims of intimidation on both sides. Mabon's supporters were said to be victimised at the workplace while several of Davis's meetings were disrupted by violence.^[4]

Class therefore became a major issue in the campaign. The vast majority of Mabon' supporters were trade union activists and working men, along with a relatively small number of tradesmen and professionals, some of whom had links of one form or another to the miners' union. These included Walter H. Morgan of Pontypridd, often described as the miners' lawyer. One nonconformist minister, supported Mabon, namely John Salisbury Edwards of Treorchy. In contest, Davis had the support of the vast majority of the middle-classes in the Rhondda, and natural deference together with the paternalistic influence of the Davis family, in the Rhondda Fach in particular, was a factor.^[4]

On polling day, Mabon scored a clear and decisive victory.

General election 1885: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	3,859	56.3	N/A
	Liberal	Frederick Lewis Davis	2,992	43.7	N/A
Majority			867	12.6	N/A
Turnout			6,851	83.5	N/A
	Lib-Lab win (new seat)

Despite the fierce contest the two wings of the Liberal Party in the Rhondda were soon reconciled. After the result, the Davis family accepted Mabon's victory and he was not challenged thereafter for the parliamentary seat. Following the election, Mabon's supporters established the Rhondda Labour and Liberal Association which shortly afterwards absorbed the rival Liberal Association which had supported Davis.^[4] Mabon was returned unopposed the following year.

General election 1886: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Lib-Lab hold

Members of Parliament

1885–1918

Election		Member[7]	Party
	1885	William Abraham	Lib-Lab
	1910		Labour
	1918	Constituency abolished: See Rhondda East and Rhondda West

1974–2024

Election		Member[7]	Party	Notes
	Feb 1974	Alec Jones	Labour	Shadow Welsh Secretary 1979–1983. Died in office March 1983; no by-election held due to imminent general election.
	1983	Allan Rogers
	2001	Chris Bryant		Shadow Cabinet Member 2011–16
	2024	Constituency abolished

Elections

Elections 1885–1910

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1885: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	3,859	56.3	N/A
	Liberal	Frederick Lewis Davis	2,992	43.7	N/A
Majority			867	12.6	N/A
Turnout			6,851	83.5	N/A
Registered electors			8,210
	Lib-Lab win (new seat)

General election 1886: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Lib-Lab hold

Elections in the 1890s

General election 1892: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Lib-Lab hold

General election 1895: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Lib-Lab hold

Elections in the 1900s

General election 1900: Rhondda^[6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Lib-Lab	William Abraham	8,383	81.7	N/A
	Conservative	Robert Hughes	1,874	18.3	N/A
Majority			6,509	63.4	N/A
Turnout			10,257	81.7	N/A
Registered electors			12,549
	Lib-Lab hold		Swing	N/A

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Rhondda_(UK_Parliament_constituency)
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