General Election 2019: how did Wales vote?

Published 13/12/2019   |   Last Updated 27/05/2021   |   Reading Time minutes

Yesterday’s General Election resulted in a significant number of Welsh constituencies changing hands, with the Welsh Conservatives gaining seats from Welsh Labour and the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Labour remains the largest party winning 22 of the 40 Welsh seats. The Conservatives managed their best result since 1983 with a total of 14 seats, gaining six seats from Labour as well as the only Liberal Democrat seat in Wales. Plaid Cymru held its four seats from the previous election in 2017.

Turnout in Wales was 66.6%, down from 68.6% in the 2017 election.

Welsh MPs in the UK Parliament

Wales has 40 of the 650 MPs in the UK Parliament. Welsh Labour won the most seats in this election, followed by the Welsh Conservatives, and then Plaid Cymru. Here are the seat numbers:

Welsh seats in the UK Parliament

Graphic showing the number of Welsh seats won by each party. Source: BBC

What was the vote share?

Vote share is the percentage of the total vote that each party wins. This diagram shows Wales’ vote share with any changes from the 2017 General Election:

Wales vote share and change from 2017

Graphic showing the total vote share for each party with any changes from the 2017 General Election. Source: BBC

Have any constituencies changed hands?

A total of seven constituencies changed hands in Wales, with all going to the Conservatives. The Conservatives gained Ynys Môn, Wrexham, Vale of Clwyd, Clwyd South, Delyn and Bridgend from Labour. They also won Brecon and Radnorshire from the Liberal Democrats.

Seat changes

Graphic showing all seat changes from the 2019 General Election.


Article by Sara Moran, Rhun Davies, Helen Jones and Joe Wilkes, Senedd Research