Constituency profile

Neath and Swansea East

Wales · County constituency

Carolyn Harris MP
Sitting MP

Carolyn Harris

Labour

First elected May 2015

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
Wales
County constituency
Last 5 GE winners
LLLLL
Labour 5/5
EU referendum 2016
56.3% Leave
UK average 51.9%; +4.4pp above mean
Current outlook
Reform UK +6.6pp
Vulnerability score 8/10 (Labour projected to lose)
WelshLeave-leaningWorking-class profile

About the Neath and Swansea East constituency

Neath and Swansea East is a county constituency in Wales, spanning parts of Neath Port Talbot, Swansea and neighbouring councils. The sitting MP is Carolyn Harris (Labour), first elected in May 2015.

At the 2024 general election, Labour won Neath and Swansea East with 41.9% of the vote, ahead of Reform UK on 25.3%, a majority of 6,627 votes. Turnout was 52.6%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has Reform UK on 30.5% and Labour on 23.9% in Neath and Swansea East, a margin of 6.6 points, a projected change from Labour since 2024. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, Neath and Swansea East is a Leave-leaning area (an estimated 56.3% voted Leave in 2016). About 27.3% of residents hold a degree, 65.7% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 42 (2021 Census).

Across the most recent general elections on record here, the seat has been won by Labour each time.

Who lives in Neath and Swansea East? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
56.3%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
27.3%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
21.9%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
65.7%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
33.8%
UK average ~36%
Median age
41.6
UK median ~40
Age 65+
24.1%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
30.4%
UK average ~28%

How did Neath and Swansea East vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Lab hold · majority 6,627 votes (16.6pp) · turnout 52.6%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Neath and Swansea East

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 1,500 residents each, from the 2021 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Senedd 2026 layer

How Neath and Swansea East voted at the Senedd election (7 May 2026)

Neath and Swansea East sits almost entirely within the Senedd constituency of Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd. Senedd elections use a closed-list proportional system; each Senedd seat returns six members.

Senedd constituencyShare of Neath and Swansea EastWinnerRunner-upSeats (6 per constituency)
Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd99%Reform UK 33.2%Plaid Cymru 28.7%3 Reform UK, 2 Plaid Cymru, 1 Liberal Democrats

Senedd 2026 results from official declarations. Overlap percentages are area-based using the post-2024 Westminster boundary against the new 16-seat Senedd boundary.

Council layer (not Westminster)

Neath and Swansea East within Neath Port Talbot and Swansea

Neath and Swansea East crosses multiple council boundaries: Neath Port Talbot (63%), Swansea (37%). English councils rotate their election cycles and none of the constituent councils were due to vote in 2026, so the figures below show the most recent ward result available for each ward.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
Neath Port Talbot
39 LSOAs
63%
Swansea
23 LSOAs
37%

Recent council by-elections

Council ward by-elections held inside this seat, most recent first. The result column shows which party won; the share column shows the top three parties’ vote shares on the day.

DateWardResultTop 3 vote shares
29 Mar 2024Neath East
Neath Port Talbot
Lab HOLD

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Neath and Swansea East at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Neath and Swansea East at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010predecessorLab holdPeter Hain Neath MP46.3%13.1%14.9%2.2% UKIP-3.6%9,77564.8%
2015predecessorLab holdChristina Rees Neath MP43.8%15.3%3.2%16.4% UKIP3.2%-9,54866.2%+1.4
2017predecessorLab holdChristina Rees Neath MP56.7%23.7%1.9%3.7% UKIP--12,63168.5%+2.3
2019notionalLabour winnerChristina Rees Neath MP, pre-review boundary47.1%28.2%4.1%-1.7%18.9%8,45160.0%
2024Lab holdCarolyn Harris41.8%9.4%5.8%25.3% Ref4.3%-6,62752.6%-7.4

Neath and Swansea East was created or substantially redrawn by the 2023 boundary review. Pre-2024 rows below are for the predecessor seat Neath (the seat that covered most of this area), so vote shares and majorities aren’t directly comparable to the post-2024 figures.

Constituencies most like Neath and Swansea East

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Neath and Swansea East. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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