The Pontypridd constituency was created in its original form from parts of the oldSouth Glamorganshire &East Glamorganshire constituencies as part of theRepresentation of the People Act 1918 (sometimes referred to as 'The Fourth Reform Act') which granted virtually all men over 21 the right to vote, extended voting rights to women over 30 years of age, & increased the number of the now abolishedUniversity constituencies. Part of this Act also effected a 'General Redistribution of Seats' on an 'equitable basis'.[4] It originally included the old Borough ofCowbridge, the Cowbridge Rural District (which includedYstradowen,St Athan,Llantwit Major &Llandow)[5]: map & the Urban District of Pontypridd plus the Rural District of Llantrisant & Llantwit Fardre.[6] The constituency remained unchanged from this form until the boundary changes implemented in 1983.
Under the 2023 boundary review, the constituency was defined as being composed of the following wards of theCounty Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, as they existed on 1 December 2020:[10]
Following local government boundary reviews which came into effect in May 2022,[11] the constituency now comprises the following Rhondda Cynon Taf wards from the 2024 general election:[12]
Abercynon; Beddau and Tyn-y-nant; Brynna and Llanharan; Church Village; Cilfynydd; Glyn-coch; Graig and Pontypridd West; Hawthorn and Lower Rhydfelen; Llanharry; Llantrisant Town and Talbot Green; Llantwit Fardre; Mountain Ash; Penrhiw-ceiber; Pontyclun West (part); Pontypridd Town; Rhydfelen Central; Ton-teg; Trallwng; Treforest; Upper Rhydfelen and Glyn-taf; Ynysybwl.
This section needs to beupdated. The reason given is: Needs updating to reflect new boundaries from 2024. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(March 2025)
One can think of the constituency as being divided between a 'suburban' district in the south and communities that grew in the industrial revolution to the north; the southern area, particularly between Church Village and Llantrisant, contains much new residential and light industrial development, and benefits from good transport links due to its proximity to the M4. This section has a growing population and is an important 'dormitory' for Cardiff. The northern parts, particularly Tonyrefail and the northern end of Pontypridd town consists of large sections of 19th century housing and suffered high unemployment in the 1980s as the old industries closed. However, in recent years, economic recovery has been firm, especially considered with neighbouring constituencies to the north.
Like many seats in South Wales, Pontypridd has been held by theLabour Party for over 100 years. In all the years since the Labour Party first took the seat in the1922 by-election, its smallest majority has been the 2,785 (7.6%) by which it held the seat over theLiberal Democrats in 2010. Generally its majorities have been considerably higher.
a In 1983 the Third Periodical Boundary Review report made major changes to the constituency, removing the areas of the former Cowbridge Borough and the former Cowbridge Rural District from the seat & placing them in the newVale of Glamorgan seat with the exception of the Llanharry, Llanharan and Brynna communities which were transferred to theOgmore seat. However, the Pentyrch & Creigiau communities were added to the new seat from the oldBarry seat, to give a new seat with nearly 15,000 fewer electors.
b This was and still is the largest number of electors for the Pontypridd constituency in any of its forms.
c Arthur Pearson's initial selection following a closely contested process at a selection conference at Pontyclun occurred only after several rounds of voting, and he was finally chosen against the prominent local miners' agent W. H. May on 15 January 1938.
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1910, 1911, 1919, Politico's Publishing Page 68 1918 Section
^abcdefghijkCraig, F. W. S. (1969). British parliamentary election results 1918-1949 (1 ed.). Glasgow: Political Reference Publications.ISBN0-900178-019. Page 562
^abcHouse of Commons Information Office Email Dated 18 December 2008
^abThe Times House of Commons Guide 1929, 1931, 1935, Politico's Publishing Page 119 1929 section
^abThe Times House of Commons Guide 1929, 1931, 1935, Politico's Publishing Page 108 1931 section
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1929, 1931, 1935, Politico's Publishing Page 135 1935 section
^abThe Times House of Commons Guide 1945, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 109
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1950, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 240
^abcdefgCraig, F. W. S. (1971). British parliamentary election results 1950-1970 (1 ed.). Chichester: Political Reference Publications.ISBN9780900178023. Page 582
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1951, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 182
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1955, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 206
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1959, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 189
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1964, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 202
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1966, The Times Office, Printing House Square Page 170
^The Times House of Commons Guide 1970, The Times Newspapers Ltd, Printing House Square Page 182
^The Times House of Commons Guide February 1974, The Times Newspapers Ltd, Printing House Square Page 207
^"Politics Resources".Election February 1974. Politics Resources. 28 February 1974. Archived fromthe original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved2 February 2021.
^The Times House of Commons Guide October 1974, The Times Newspapers Ltd, Printing House Square Page 218
^"Politics Resources".Election October 1974. Politics Resources. 10 October 1974. Archived fromthe original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved2 February 2021.
^The Times House of Commons Guide May 1979, The Times Newspapers Ltd, Ogle Street, London Page 188
^"Politics Resources".Election 1979. Politics Resources. 3 May 1979. Archived fromthe original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved2 February 2021.
^abc"Pontypridd Results".UK Parliamentary Elections May 2015 results. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council.Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved7 April 2020.
