Carmarthenshire County Council Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 1 April 1996 |
| Preceded by | Carmarthen District Dinefwr Borough Llanelli Borough Dyfed County Council |
| Leadership | |
Wendy Walters since June 2019[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 75 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 5 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
First election | 4 May 1995 |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| County Hall, Carmarthen, SA31 1JP | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Carmarthenshire County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir Gâr or Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin) is the local authority for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales. It provides a range of services including education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The council is one of twenty-two unitary authorities that came into existence on 1 April 1996 under the provisions of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. It took over local government functions previously provided by the three district councils of Carmarthen, Dinefwr, and Llanelli, as well as the county-level services in the area from Dyfed County Council, all of which councils were abolished at the same time.
The council is based at County Hall in Carmarthen.
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Transcription
History
It is the second body of this name; the previous Carmarthenshire County Council was formed on 1 April 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888, taking over the local government functions of the Quarter Sessions. The first election to the original council was held in January 1889 and the majority of the seats were won by the Liberals.[3] This pattern continued until the 1920s from which time most rural seats were held by independents, while the Labour Party dominated the industrial part of the county.
The original Carmarthenshire County Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, with the area becoming part of the county of Dyfed, which also covered the former administrative counties of Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire. From 1974 until 1996 the area of the former administrative county of Carmarthenshire was split into the three districts of Carmarthen, Dinefwr, and Llanelli, with Dyfed County Council providing county-level services.[4]
Under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 these councils established in 1974 were all abolished, and Carmarthenshire County Council was re-established as a unitary authority for the area.[5]
Political control
The first election to the re-established council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been held by the following parties:[6]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1996–2022 | |
| Plaid Cymru | 2022–present | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1996 have been:[7]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gerald Meyler[8] | Labour | 1 Apr 1996 | May 1999 | |
| Meryl Gravell[9][10] | Independent | May 1999 | May 2012 | |
| Kevin Madge[11] | Labour | May 2012 | May 2015 | |
| Emlyn Dole[12][13] | Plaid Cymru | May 2015 | 8 May 2022 | |
| Darren Price[14] | Plaid Cymru | 25 May 2022 | ||
The council's chief executive since 2019 has been Wendy Walters.[15] She succeeded Mark James, who had held the post for 17 years.[16]
Composition
Following the 2022 election the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Plaid Cymru | 38 | |
| Labour | 23 | |
| Independent | 14 | |
| Total | 75 | |
Of the independent councillors, 11 sit together as the "Independent Group", the other three are unaffiliated to any group.[17] The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
Elections take place every five years. The last election was held on 5 May 2022.
| Year | Seats | Plaid Cymru | Labour | Independent | Liberal Democrats | Conservative | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995[18] | 80 | 7 | 37 | 32[a] | 3 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 74 | 13 | 28 | 32[b] | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 74 | 16 | 25 | 33 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2008 | 74 | 31 | 12 | 30 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 74 | 28 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 74 | 36 | 22 | 16 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 75 | 38 | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | Plaid Cymru majority controlled |
Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in Notes column
Electoral divisions
The county is divided into 51 electoral wards returning 75 councillors.[19] In July 2021 Welsh Government accepted a number of ward change proposals by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales, the changes gave a better parity of representation. Thirty-four wards remained unchanged.
Most of these wards are coterminous with communities. Most communities in Carmarthenshire have a community council. For each ward, councillors are elected to sit on Carmarthenshire County Council. The following table lists council wards, community councils and associated geographical areas. Communities with their own community council are marked with a *.
Arms
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|
References
- ^ "Council minutes, 24 May 2023". Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ Harries, Robert (2 May 2019). "Welsh council appoints first ever female chief executive - but she will earn £30k less than previous boss". Wales Online. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "County Councils. The Carmarthenshire Elections". Carmarthen Journal. 1 February 1889. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 4 October 2022
- ^ "Local Government (Wales) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 19, retrieved 4 October 2022
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
- ^ "Council minutes". Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Council's new leader". Carmarthen Journal. 15 November 1995. p. 20. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Meryl's 'first lady'". Carmarthen Journal. 26 May 1999. p. 26. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Carmarthenshire council leader Meryl Gravell steps down after 13 years". BBC News. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Carmarthenshire council leader Kevin Madge voted out". BBC News. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "New coalition takes over Carmarthenshire council". BBC Wales News. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ^ Dalling, Robert (6 May 2022). "Leader of Carmarthenshire Council loses his seat". WalesOnline. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ Youle, Richard (6 July 2022). "Why town centres will have to be different, says council leader". WalesOnline. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
- ^ "Welsh council appoints first ever female chief executive - but she will earn £30k less than previous boss". Wales on Line. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ "Carmarthenshire chief executive Mark James to retire". BBC News. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
- ^ "Your councillors by party". Carmarthenshire County Council. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Election Centre".
- ^ "The County of Carmarthenshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2021". Legislation.gov.uk. 22 September 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ "Carmarthenshire Boundary review 2018" (PDF). Boundary and local Government Commission.
- ^ "Wales". Civic Heraldry of Wales. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
- ^ Includes candidates elected as Independent Labour and/or Ratepayers Association.
- ^ Includes candidates elected as Independent Labour and/or Ratepayers Association.
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This page was last edited on 26 October 2023, at 01:31