{{distinguish|Aberavon (National Assembly for Wales constituency)}}
{{UK constituency infobox alt|
| Name = Aberavon
| Map = [[Image:AberavonConstituency.svg|180px|]]
| Type = County
| Entity = Wales
| DivisionType = [[Preserved counties of Wales|Preserved county]]
| Division = [[West Glamorgan]]
| Year = [[1918]]
| MP = [[Hywel Francis]]
| Party = [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
| EP = Wales
}}
'''Aberavon''' is a [[county constituency]] of the [[United Kingdom House of Commons|House of commons]] of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]. It elects one [[Member of Parliament|Member of Parliament]] (MP) by the [[first past the post]] system of election.

== Boundaries ==

The constituency is in [[south Wales]], situated on the right bank of the [[River Afan]], near its mouth in [[Swansea]] Bay. The original village of [[Aberavon]] or Aberafan is now a district of [[Port Talbot]] (so named to reflect the involvement of wealthy local landowner and MP [[Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot]] in improving Aberavon's harbour). The valley of the Afan as from about [[1840]] a place of much metallurgical activity, resulting in tinplate and engineering works (now mostly closed down).

The town derives its name from the river Avon (corrupted from Afan), which also gave its name to a mediæval lordship. On the Norman conquest of [[Glamorgan]], Caradoc, the eldest son of the defeated prince, [[Iestyn ab Gwrgant]], continued to hold this lordship, and for the defence of the passage of the river built a castle whose foundations now lie underneath the streets around St Mary's church. His descendants (who from the 13th century onwards styled themselves De Avan or D'Avene) established, under line protection of the castle, a chartered town, which in [[1372]] received a further charter from [[Edward le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer]], into whose family the lordship had come on an exchange of lands. In modern times these charters were not acted upon, the town being deemed a borough by prescription, but in [[1861]] it was incorporated under the Municipal Corporations Act. From [[1832]] it belonged to the Swansea parliamentary district of boroughs, uniting with [[Kenfig]], [[Loughor]], [[Neath]] and Swansea to return one member; later it acquired its own MP, the most famous to hold the constituency having been [[Ramsay MacDonald]] who would become the first [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] prime minister. Aberavon has been one of the Labour Party's safest seats since its creation.

Aberavon village hosted the [[National Eisteddfod]] in [[1932]] and [[1966]].

== Members of Parliament ==
{|class="wikitable"
!colspan=2|Election!!Member!!Party
|-
| style="background-color: {{Labour Party (UK)/meta/color}}" |
| [[United Kingdom general election, 1918|1918]]
| [[John Edwards (Welsh politician)|John Edwards]]
| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| style="background-color: {{Labour Party (UK)/meta/color}}" |
| [[United Kingdom general election, 1922|1922]]
| [[Ramsay Macdonald]]
| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| style="background-color: {{Labour Party (UK)/meta/color}}" |
| [[United Kingdom general election, 1929|1929]]
| [[William George Cove]]
| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| style="background-color: {{Labour Party (UK)/meta/color}}" |
| [[United Kingdom general election, 1959|1959]]
| [[John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon|John Morris]]
| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| style="background-color: {{Labour Party (UK)/meta/color}}" |
| [[United Kingdom general election, 2001|2001]]
| [[Hywel Francis]]
| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|}

== Boundary Changes ==

The boundaries of this constituency have not been changed by boundary changes due to take effect in time for the next UK General Election. No notional results are required.

== Election results ==

{{Template:Election box begin |
|title=[[United Kingdom general election, 2005|General Election 2005]]: Aberavon
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Labour Party (UK)
|candidate = [[Hywel Francis]]
|votes = 18,077
|percentage = 60.0
|change = -3.1
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = Claire Waller
|votes = 4,140
|percentage = 13.8
|change = +4.0
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Plaid Cymru
|candidate = Philip Evans
|votes = 3,545
|percentage = 11.8
|change = +2.1
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = [[Annunziata Rees-Mogg]]
|votes = 3,064
|percentage = 10.2
|change = +2.6
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Veritas (political party)
|candidate = Jim Wright
|votes = 768
|percentage = 2.6
|change = +2.6
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Green Party of England and Wales
|candidate = Miranda La Vey
|votes = 510
|percentage = 1.7
|change = +1.7
}}
{{Template:Election box majority|
|votes = 13,937
|percentage = 46.3
|change = -7.1
}}
{{Template:Election box turnout|
|votes = 30,104
|percentage = 58.9
|change = -1.9
}}
{{Template:Election box hold with party link|
|winner = Labour Party (UK)
|swing = -3.6
}}
{{Template:Election box end}}

{{Template:Election box begin | title=[[UK general election, 2001|General Election 2001]]: Aberavon}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Labour Party (UK)
|candidate = [[Hywel Francis]]
|votes = 19,063
|percentage = 63.1
|change = -8.2
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Plaid Cymru
|candidate = Lisa Turnbull
|votes = 2,955
|percentage = 9.8
|change = +4.0
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = [[Chris Davies]]
|votes = 2,933
|percentage = 9.7
|change = -1.6
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = Ali Miraj
|votes = 2,296
|percentage = 7.6
|change = -0.3
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent (politician)
|candidate = Andrew Tutton
|votes = 1,960
|percentage = 6.5
|change = ''N/A''
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate|
|party = [[New Millennium Bean Party|New Millennium Bean]]
|candidate = [[Captain Beany]]
|votes = 727
|percentage = 2.4
|change = +1.4
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Welsh Socialist Alliance
|candidate = Martin Chapman
|votes = 256
|percentage = 0.8
|change = ''N/A''
}}
{{Template:Election box majority|
|votes = 16,108
|percentage = 53.3
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box turnout|
|votes = 30,190
|percentage = 61.0
|change = -10.9
}}
{{Template:Election box hold with party link|
|winner = Labour Party (UK)
}}
{{Template:Election box end}}

{{Template:Election box begin | title=[[UK general election, 1997|General Election 1997]]: Aberavon}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Labour Party (UK)
|candidate = [[John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon|John Morris]]
|votes = 25,650
|percentage = 71.3
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Liberal Democrats (UK)
|candidate = Ronald McConville
|votes = 4,079
|percentage = 11.3
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Conservative Party (UK)
|candidate = Peter Harper
|votes = 2,835
|percentage = 7.9
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Plaid Cymru
|candidate = Philip Cockwell
|votes = 2,088
|percentage = 5.8
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate|
|party = [[Referendum Party]]
|candidate = Peter David
|votes = 970
|percentage = 2.7
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Independent (politician)
|candidate = Captain Beany
|votes = 341
|percentage = 1.0
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box majority|
|votes = 21,571
|percentage = 62.8
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box turnout|
|votes = 35,963
|percentage = 71.9
|change =
}}
{{Template:Election box end}}

{{Wikisource1911Enc|Aberavon}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Parliamentary constituencies in West Glamorgan]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bewdley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bewdley]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=Constituency represented by the Prime Minister|years=1924}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bewdley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bewdley]]}}
{{end}}
{{Constituencies in Wales}}
[[Category:Parliamentary constituencies in South Wales]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies established in 1918]]
[[Category:Districts of Neath Port Talbot]]
[[Category:Politics of Glamorgan]]
[[Category:United Kingdom Parliamentary constituencies represented by a sitting Prime Minister]]

[[ar:أبيرافون (دائرة انتخابية في المملكة المتحدة)]]
[[cy:Aberafan (etholaeth seneddol)]]