Wales · 74,236Boundary · 2023

Swansea West

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Dispatch
Apr 2026

A safe Lab seat, won with 41% of the vote in 2024. Centred on Swansea. Population 109,974. Recorded crime is 42% above the national average. Median income £26K (below average).

Torsten Bell is serving as Pensions Minister, and his ministerial work has dominated recent coverage -- he has been publicly defending the triple lock commitment, communicating pension increases worth around £43.60 per month extra from April, and overseeing improvements to DWP benefit processing times. He also made headlines locally after condemning a hate crime in Swansea West, where a Nazi swastika was daubed on a church wall, and weighed in on Welsh rugby governance, publicly criticising the WRU's leadership approach following the announcement of chief executive Steve Phillips's departure. On votes, Bell backed the government's rejection of multiple Lords amendments to both the Victims and Courts Bill and the National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill in late March 2026.

Bell has voted in 72% of divisions -- somewhat below the Commons average -- and has never broken from the Labour whip across 50 recorded votes, making him a 100% party-line voter. His stance profile shows strong alignment with progressive taxation and government spending priorities, and zero alignment with positions characterised as anti-tax-increases or pro-business-interests. Notably, he votes more frequently in favour of criminal justice reform (+34 percentage points above his party average) and assisted dying access (+29pp above average), while voting less often than Labour peers on positions framed as anti-regulatory-burden (-24pp below average). His 154 parliamentary contributions have focused heavily on economy and jobs, cost-of-living, and social care.

335
Commons votes
This parliament
£26k
Median income
HMRC · 2024
74.2k
Electorate
2024 GE

Lab held for 5 consecutive elections.

Current Member of Parliament

Torsten Bell

Torsten Bell

Labour Party

Torsten Bell is the Labour MP for Swansea West, and has been an MP continually since 4 July 2024. He currently holds the Government posts of Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury), and Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions).

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Voting at a Glance

A safe Lab seat, won with 41% of the vote in 2024. Centred on Swansea. Population 109,974. Recorded crime is 42% above the national average. Median income £26K (below average).

2024 General Election

§ 06This week in Westminster.Live · today’s sittingOrder Paper · refreshed daily

Bell’s scheduled Commons activity this week — whipped divisions, oral questions, debates — drawn from the House of Commons Order Paper.

§ 07The record, at a glance.365 divisions voted

Two readings of the same data. Issue volume shows where Bell has cast the most ballots — a proxy for engagement, not direction. Notable votes are the moments where the whip was free or where they broke ranks.

Issue volume
Top issues by total divisions voted · cumulative this Parliament
Taxation
77
Economy
77
Employment
36
Crime & Policing
32
Education
27
Constitution and Democracy
26
Notable votes
Free votes and rebellions — moments the MP’s own judgment matters more than the whip

No rebellions or free votes recorded yet.

§ 08The local picture.10 wards

Constituencies are not uniform. Below — the local council make-up, key facts worth knowing, and the neighbouring seats on either side.

WardCouncillorVotesParty
CastleDavid Phillips1,475Labour P
CastleFiona Margaret Gordon1,613Labour P
CastleHannah Frederika Lawson1,564Labour P
CastlePatience Nansat Bentu1,533Labour P
CwmbwrlaChris Holley1,160Liberal
CwmbwrlaLewis Graham Thomas1,136Liberal
CwmbwrlaPeter Malcolm Black1,455Liberal
LandoreBeverley Hopkins1,044Labour P
LandoreMike White1,026Labour P
MorristonAndrea Sharon Lewis2,471Labour P
MorristonCeri Evans2,741Labour P
MorristonRob Stewart2,665Labour P
Population (2021 Census)
109,974
Electorate 74,236 · 2024 register
Median income
£25,800
HMRC SPI 2024
Households renting privately
22.7%
England average 20.0%
Schools
38
0 primary · 0 secondary
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More constituency data is being added, including local issue analysis and historical trends. Learn about our methodology. View data sources & attribution.