On Thursday 8 October 1959, the 1959 United Kingdom general election was held in Wales, to elect all 630 members of the House of Commons, with 36 constituencies being in Wales.

The election saw the Labour party win the most votes and seats in Wales, retaining its overall 27 seats, though losing one seat and gaining another in this election.

The seat changes in Wales were minor during the election. The Liberal Party lost Caerfyrddin to the Labour Party in the 1957 Carmarthen by-election. The incumbent Labour Party candidate Megan Lloyd George, who was the first female Member of Parliament for a Welsh constituency, retained the seat with an increased majority, representing a gain when compared to 1955. Lloyd George had previously held the seat of Anglesey as a member and deputy leader of the Liberal Party.

At the same time, the Conservative Party gained Swansea West from Labour. The Conservatives retained all of its other seats. The National Liberal Party, which was under a constituency agreement with the Conservatives, retained Denbigh. However, the previously sitting MP, Garner Evans retired from Parliament in this election, after having been the sitting MP since 1950 United Kingdom general election. Instead, Geraint Morgan retained the seat for the party in this election. The Conservatives therefore gained an overall of one seat in Wales.

Candidates

Below is a table summarising the candidates of the 1959 general election in Wales.

Affiliation CandidatesLabour Party 36Conservative Party 31Plaid Cymru 20Liberal Party 8National Liberal Party 3Communist Party of Great Britain 2Independent 1Total 101

Results

Below is a table summarising the results of the 1959 general election in Wales.

+PartySeatsAggregate votes Total Gains Losses Net Of total (%) Total Of total (%) Change (%)   Labour 27 1 1 75.0 841,450 56.4 1.2   Conservative (Total) 7 1 0 1 19.4 486,335 32.6 2.7 6 1 0 1 16.7 441,461 29.6 2.9 1 0 0 2.8 44,874 3.0 0.2   Liberal 2 0 1 1 5.6 78,951 5.3 2.0   Plaid Cymru 0 0 0 — 77,571 5.2 2.1   Communist 0 0 0 — 6,542 0.4 0.1   Independent 0 0 0 — 408 0.0 1.8 Total 36 0 100.0 1,491,257 100.0 0.0 Registered voters, and turnout 1,805,686 82.6 3.0

See also 1959 United Kingdom general election in England 1959 United Kingdom general election in Scotland 1959 United Kingdom general election in Northern Ireland List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (1959–1964)

Notes

References