Information on Llanelli Constituency

For most of the last century Llanelli returned a Labour Member of Parliament with a comfortable majority. The election of Plaid’s Helen Mary Jones in the 1999 and 2007 National Assembly Elections, and the electoral success of Plaid in local elections in 2008 and European elections in 2009 indicate a deep shift in Llanelli towards the left-of-centre policies advocated by Plaid.

Election History

Social and Economic Statistics

Around 77, 400 people live in Llanelli, which with 329 people per square kilometre is more densely populated than Wales as a whole. 48.2% of the population is male and 51.8% female. There are approximately 32, 400 households and 56, 600 electors registered on the electoral roll entitled to vote.

66.7% of the working age population is in employment, 2.8% claim Job-Seeker’s Allowance. Of those, 3.9% are male and 1.6% female. 15.5% claim incapacity benefit or other disablement allowances, compared to 11.6% nationally. Again, the figure is higher amongst men (16.3) than women (14.7). 28.6% of the population suffers from a limiting long-term illness.

The Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2005 ranks areas in Wales in terms of deprivation; 7 of Llanelli’s areas fall within the 10% most deprived areas in Wales, and the majority of Llanelli’s areas are more deprived than the Wales average. These include Bigyn, Felinfoel, Llwynhendy, Pembrey and Tyisha.

Llanelli has the sixth highest concentration of Welsh speakers (41.5%).

Sources

The Wales Yearbook 2008 (Aberystwyth: FBAGroup, 2007)

Key Statistics for Llanelli Constituency, Finance & Statistics Team, MRS (Cardiff: Members Research Services, 2007)