In the Parliamentary Constituencies Order 2023, the name is given asCaerfyrddin (Carmarthen).[2] Of the twenty-five Welsh constituencies with names in bothEnglish andWelsh, Caerfyrddin is the only one where the Welsh name comes first followed by the English name in brackets (in each of the other cases, the opposite is true).Caerfyrddin is the form used by the UK Parliament.[3]
A similar constituency existed between 1918 and1997 under the nameCarmarthen.
Under the 2023 review, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following wards of the County ofCarmarthenshire, as they existed on 1 December 2020:[2]
Abergwili; Ammanford; Betws; Carmarthen Town North; Carmarthen Town South; Carmarthen Town West; Cenarth; Cilycwm; Cynwyl Elfed; Cynwyl Gaeo; Garnant; Glanamman; Laugharne Township; Llanboidy; Llanddarog; Llandeilo; Llandovery; Llandybie; Llanegwad; Llanfihangel Aberbythych; Llanfihangel-ar-Arth; Llangadog; Llangeler; Llangunnor; Llansteffan; Llanybydder; Manordeilo and Salem; Penygroes; Pontamman; Quarter Bach; St. Clears; Saron; Trelech; and Whitland.
Following a local government boundary review which came into effect in May 2022,[4] the constituency now comprises the following wards of the County of Carmarthenshire from the 2024 general election:[5]
Abergwili; Ammanford; Betws; Carmarthen Town North and South; Carmarthen Town West; Cenarth and Llangeler; Cilycwm; Cwarter Bach; Cynwyl Elfed; Garnant; Glanamman; Laugharne Township; Llanboidy; Llanddarog; Llandeilo; Llandovery; Llandybie; Llanegwad; Llanfihangel Aberbythych; Llanfihangel-ar-Arth; Llangadog; Llangunnor; Llanybydder; Manordeilo and Salem; Penygroes; Saron; St. Clears and Llansteffan; Trelech; and Whitland.
The Parliamentary Borough ofCarmarthen (made up ofCarmarthen town andLlanelli) existed from 1542 to 1832 alongside the Parliamentary County ofCarmarthenshire, each returning onemember. Under theGreat Reform Act of 1832, the Borough was expanded to include bothCarmarthen town andLlanelli (known as the Carmarthen Boroughs), and the representation of the county was increased to two members. In 1885, Carmarthenshire was split into the two county constituencies ofEast Carmarthenshire andWest Carmarthenshire with one member each.
Because the seat contained mining areas in the valley of theRiver Gwendraeth (until the 1980s), much countryside and a high proportion ofWelsh speakers, it was fertile territory for theLabour Party, theConservatives andPlaid Cymru alike. Although the Conservatives never won the seat, they came within 1200 votes of doing so in1983.
Carmarthen is notable as the first constituency to elect a Plaid Cymru MP,Gwynfor Evans, at a1966 by-election. Evans was later involved in one of the closest General Election results ever inFebruary 1974, when he lost to the Labour candidate by only three votes.[9][10] The constituency also shot to fame in the following election in October 1974 as the only seat in the country to see its turnout rise on that of February 1974.
^The BBC article quoted above says that it was the second closest General Election result since the Second World War. But theWinchester general election result of 1997 was closer.
^abcdefghijkCraig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918–1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications.ISBN0-900178-019. Page 551
^abcdefghiCraig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950–1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications.ISBN9780900178023. Page 570
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