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1979 United Kingdom general election in Wales

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1979 United Kingdom general election in Wales
← Oct 1974 3 May 1979 1983 →
All 38 Welsh seats to the House of Commons
  First party Second party
 
Leader James Callaghan Margaret Thatcher
Party Labour Conservative
Leader since 5 April 1976 11 February 1975
Last election 23 seats, 49.5% 8 seats, 23.9%
Seats won 22 11
Seat change Decrease1 Increase3
Popular vote 795,500 526,300
Percentage 48.6% 32.2%
Swing Decrease0.9% Increase8.3%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader David Steel Gwynfor Evans
Party Liberal Plaid Cymru
Leader since 7 July 1976 1 August 1945
Last election 2 seats, 15.5% 3 seats, 10.8%
Seats won 1 2
Seat change Decrease1 Decrease1
Popular vote 173,500 132,500
Percentage 10.6% 8.1%
Swing Decrease4.9% Decrease2.7%

The 1979 United Kingdom general election in Wales saw the Labour Party win the most votes and seats in Wales.[1]

Background

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The Labour party won the most votes in Wales, although the Conservatives won most votes UK-wide.[1]

John Morris, Baron Morris of Aberavon was under the impression that Prime Minister James Callaghan would call a general election in the autumn of 1978, but called it off. A Welsh devolution referendum was held in March 1979, two months prior. A Welsh Assembly was rejected, with regional distrust as a potential factor.[2]

MPs elected

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Main article: List of MPs for constituencies in Wales (1979–1983)

References

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  1. ^ a b "UK Election Statistics: 1918-2022, A Long Century of Elections" (PDF). House of Commons Library. p. 22.
  2. ^ WalesOnline (2011-10-02). "Lord Morris of Aberavon lifts the lid on the disastrous 1979 devolution referendum". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
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