2017 United Kingdom general election in Wales explained

Election Name:2017 United Kingdom general election in Wales
Country:Wales
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2015 United Kingdom general election in Wales
Previous Year:2015
Election Date:8 June 2017
Next Election:2019 United Kingdom general election in Wales
Next Year:2019
Turnout:68.6% 3.0%
Party1:Labour Party (UK)
Last Election1:25 seats, 36.9%
Seats1:28
Seat Change1:3
Popular Vote1:771,354
Percentage1:48.9%
Swing1:12.1%
Map Size:300px
Previous Mps:List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (2015–2017)
Elected Mps:List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (2017–2019)
Party2:Conservative Party (UK)
Last Election2:11 seats, 27.2%
Seats2:8
Seat Change2:3
Popular Vote2:528,839
Percentage2:33.6%
Swing2:6.3%
Party3:Plaid Cymru
Last Election3:3 seats, 12.1%
Seats3:4
Seat Change3:1
Popular Vote3:164,466
Percentage3:10.4%
Swing3:1.7%

The 2017 United Kingdom general election in Wales was held on 8 June 2017; all 40 seats in Wales were contested.[1] The election for each seat was conducted on the basis of first-past-the-post.

The Labour party won the most votes in Wales, with the Conservatives winning overall across the UK.[2]

Results summary

Party! colspan="5"
SeatsVotes
Total Gains LossesNet +/-% seatsTotal%Change
2830370.0771,35448.912.1
803320.0528,83933.66.3
410110.0164,46610.41.7
001171,0394.52.0
000031,3762.011.6
00005,1280.32.2
 Others00003,6120.20.1
Total40 1,575,814Turnout68.6

Analysis

The Labour Party remained the largest party in Wales and won an even larger majority of seats after gaining three seats from the Conservatives. Its 48.9% of the vote and total of 771,354 popular votes were its best in Wales since 1997.[3]

The Conservative Party, who entered the campaign with high hopes of making gains, saw its representation reduced back to the levels it won in the 2010 general election.[4]

Plaid Cymru won back Ceredigion after the constituency's 12 years in Liberal Democrat hands, and brought its tally up to four seats, which was its best result showing since 2001 and one of its joint best in history.[5] [6]

Plaid Cymru's gain in Ceredigion and the Liberal Democrats' failure to make gains elsewhere meant that this was the first time in Welsh electoral history where there were no Liberal or Liberal Democrat MPs elected to represent a Welsh constituency in a Westminster Parliamentary election.[7] [8]

Target seats

Labour

Conservative

Plaid Cymru

Opinion polling

Date(s)
conducted
Polling organisation/clientSample sizeLabConUKIPPlaidLib DemGreenOthersLead
8 June General Election results 1,575,81448.9% 33.6% 2.0% 10.4% 4.5% 0.3% 0.2% 15.3%
5–7 June 2017YouGov/ITV1,07446%34%5%9%5%1%12%
29–31 May 2017YouGov/ITV1,01446%35%5%8%5%0%0%11%
18–21 May 2017YouGov/ITV1,02544%34%5%9%6%1%1%10%
5–7 May 2017YouGov/ITV1,01835%41%4%11%7%1%1%6%
4 May 20172017 Welsh local elections
19–21 April 2017YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,02930%40%6%13%8%2%1%10%
18 AprPrime Minister Theresa May announces her intention to seek a general election to be held on 8 June 2017
3–6 Jan 2017YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,03433%28%13%13%9%2%05%
18–21 Sep 2016YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,00135%29%14%13%7%2%06%
13 Jul 2016Theresa May becomes the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
30 Jun–4 Jul 2016YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,01034%23%16%16%8%1%2%11%
5 May 2016Welsh Assembly election and Ogmore by-election
19–22 Apr 2016YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,00137%23%17%13%7%2%1%14%
7–11 Apr 2016YouGov/ITV Wales1,01138%22%18%13%6%2%1%16%
7–18 Mar 2016Welsh Election Study 3,27236% 25% 16% 14% 6% 3% 11%
9–11 Feb 2016YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,02437%27%18%13%4%1%-10%
30 Nov–4 Dec 2015YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,00537%27%17%12%4%2%-10%
21–24 Sep 2015YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,15142%26%16%10%5%2%-16%
24–26 Jun 2015YouGov/Welsh Political Barometer1,15137%28%15%12%4%3%1%9%
7 May 2015General Election results1,498,43336.9%27.2%13.6%12.1%6.5%2.6%1.0%9.7%

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Election 2017 – Wales . 9 June 2017 . BBC News.
  2. Web site: UK Election Statistics: 1918-2022, A Long Century of Elections . House of Commons Library . 22.
  3. Web site: The 2017 General Election – the numbers behind the result – London Datastore. 29 June 2017. Colombeau. Joseph. 2020-12-27. en-US.
  4. News: Watson. Leon. 2017-06-09. Tory hopes of breakthrough in Wales dashed as Labour gain Gower, Vale of Clwyd and Cardiff North. en-GB. The Daily Telegraph. 2020-12-27. 0307-1235. subscription.
  5. Web site: 2017-06-09. Meet Ben Lake - Wales' youngest Member of Parliament. 2020-12-27. ITV News. en.
  6. Web site: Coles. Jon. 2017-06-10. Plaid wrestle Ceredigion from Lib Dems. 2020-12-27. The Ceredigion Herald. en-GB.
  7. News: 2017-06-09. No Liberal MP in Wales for the first time since 1859. en-GB. BBC News. 2020-12-27.
  8. Web site: Shipton. Martin. 2017-06-09. The end of Liberalism in Wales as party loses Ceredigion seat. 2020-12-27. WalesOnline. en.