Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare general election 2024: constituency result in full

Labour's Gerald Jones has been elected as MP for Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare. He was elected on 15,791 votes with Reform taking second place with over 8,000 votes ahead of both Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives.

The Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare constituency is taking on a majority of the Cynon Valley seat after the boundary review which has impacted almost every Welsh seat. There was a row within Labour ranks about the selection of the incumbent Merthyr Tydfil MP, Gerald Jones, rather than the Cynon Valley candidate, Beth Winter. You can read about that here.

This constituency is now 79.7% of the former Merthyr Tydfil constituency plus 58.1% of the current Cynon Valley constituency. The new seat emerged from the redrawing of the political map with the aim of shrinking the number of constituencies from 40 to 32 to make them more equally sized.

READ MORE: General Election 2024 results live: Exit poll, updates and reaction Labour on course for landslide

READ MORE: The general election results in full for every constituency in Wales in 2024

The turnout was 47.43% or 35,215 out of a total electorate (people who could vote) of 76,189.

After the win, Mr Jones said he’s been out and about across the constituency for a number of months now saying: “And I think all of our communities have similar issues they’re facing but there’s a unique identity in Merthyr Tydfil as there is in Aberdare.

“My job, what I will look to do, is see how we can bring all of our communities together and share experiences and just be out there, be working across the communities to support wherever I can.

“Whether that’s individuals with issues, problems they need solving or community groups, working with colleagues in the Senedd in local government to actually make a real tangible difference for communities here in Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare.”

On the national picture, he said: “It’s really exciting. It feels really exciting. I think the Labour Party have put up a manifesto that is deliverable, it’s fully costed and I think within that there are measures that can make a real difference.

“Stabilising the economy is key so we can use more money then to invest in our public services but I think as a starting point, looking at the non doms and the tax loopholes to invest in the NHS and the windfall tax to bring bills down for families.”

Gerald Jones is 53 and has been the MP for the former Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney constituency since 2015 having spent 20 years as a county & community councillor beforehand.

He spent almost 20 years volunteering for a range of local community projects and working in the charity sector identifying funding opportunities for marginalised and deprived areas and working with volunteers to build stronger communities.

He was born and raised in the village of Phillipstown in New Tredegar, in the Upper Rhymney Valley and by the age of 14, he was drawn into community action by the the miners’ strike.

Result:

Anthony Cole (Workers Party) 531

Bob Davenport (Communist Party of Britain) 212

Lorenzo De Gregori (Independent) 375

David Peter Griffin (Green Party) 1231

Amanda Jenner (Conservatives) 2687

Gerald Jones (Labour) 15,791

Jade Smith (Lib Dem) 1276

Gareth Thomas (Reform UK) 8344

Francis Daniel Whitefoot (Plaid Cymru) 4768

Where does the constituency cover?

It includes the wards of Rhigos, Cyfartha, Aberaman South, Treharris, Merthyr Vale and Dowlais as well as Gurnos, Park and Penydarren.

What happened in the general election in 2019

The candidates

• Anthony Cole (Workers Party)

• Bob Davenport (Communist Party of Britain)

• Lorenzo De Gregori (Independent)

• David Peter Griffin (Green Party)
  

• Amanda Jenner (Conservatives)

• Gerald Jones (Labour)
  

• Jade Smith (Lib Dem)

• Gareth Thomas (Reform UK)

• Francis Daniel Whitefoot (Plaid Cymru)