Alternatively, 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.
The Pontypridd constituency was created in its original form from parts of the old South Glamorganshire & East Glamorganshire constituencies as part of the Representation 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 abolished University constituencies. Part of this Act also effected a 'General Redistribution of Seats' on an 'equitable basis'.[4] It originally included the old Borough of Cowbridge, the Cowbridge Rural District (which included Ystradowen, 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 Third Periodic Parliamentary Boundary Review's proposals were implemented in 1983.[7] This removed Cowbridge Borough and the southern part of the former Cowbridge Rural District, placing them in the Vale of Glamorgan constituency, and additionally moving the communities of Llanharry, Llanharan, and Brynna (i.e. the northern part of the former Cowbridge RDC) into the Ogmore constituency. However, the communities of Creigiau and Pentyrch were added to the seat at this time.
Like many seats in South Wales, Pontypridd has been held by the Labour party for over 100 years. In all the years since the Labour Party first took the seat in the 1922 by-election, its smallest majority has been the 2,785 (7.6%) by which it held the seat over the Liberal 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 new Vale of Glamorgan seat with the exception of the Llanharry, Llanharan and Brynna communities which were transferred to the Ogmore seat. However, the Pentyrch & Creigiau communities were added to the new seat from the old Barry 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 from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 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 from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 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 from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ abc"Pontypridd Results". UK Parliamentary Elections May 2015 results. Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
