1981 West Glamorgan County Council election

The third election to West Glamorgan County Council was held in May 1981.^[1] It was preceded by the 1977 election and followed by the 1985 election.

Candidates

The Labour Party fielded candidates in every ward. A significant proportion of seats were contested by the Conservative Party and Plaid Cymru with fewer candidates fielded by the Liberal Party. A feature of the election was the number of Ratepayer candidates.

In the Neath area, Labour contested all thirteen seats, with Plaid Cymru running nine candidates.^[2]

Outcome

Labour retained their majority and regained some of the ground lost to Ratepayers four years earlier.

Results

indicates sitting councillor

Ward Results

Aberavon East and West (three seats)

Aberavon East and West 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Colin Crowley*	3,656
	Labour	Cyril Lewis*	3,434
	Labour	P. Jones*	3,287
	Tenants Association	B. Thomas	1,495
	Tenants Association	W. Johnson	1,423
	Tenants Association	Jim Roberts	1,241
Turnout				43.1
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberavon North (one seat)

Aberavon North 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Malcolm Harris	1,653
	Ratepayers	R. Hubbard*	1,590
Turnout
	Labour gain from Ratepayers		Swing

Aberavon South (one seat)

Aberavon South 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	W. Llewellyn	1,310
	Ratepayers	L. Carey*	709
Turnout
	Labour gain from Ratepayers		Swing

Brynmelyn (two seats)

Brynmelyn 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	R. Dowdle*	1,407
	Labour	J. Adams*	1,334
	Conservative	P. Morgan	382
	Ratepayers	M. John	348
Turnout				43.8
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Castle (two seats)

Castle 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. Jones	945
	Labour	B. Ludlam*	893
	Ratepayers	I. Williams	558
	Ratepayers	B. Matthews	508
	Conservative	S. Patriarcia	358
Turnout				46.0
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmafan (one seat)

Cwmafan 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Mel John*	1,632
	Independent	A. Bevan	122
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Fforest Fach (two seats)

Fforest Fach 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. Bevan*	1,292
	Labour	Victor Cyril Alexander*	1,193
	Ratepayers	D. Jones	1,115
	Ratepayers	L. Evans	1,091
	Conservative	C. Andrews	767
	Conservative	E. Charles	750
	Plaid Cymru	A. Williams	319
	Plaid Cymru	D. Morton	305
	Communist	B. Lewis	92
Turnout				37.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Ffynone (two seats)

Ffynone 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Paul Valerio*	1,840
	Ratepayers	J. Thomas	1,383
	Conservative	G. Ashmole	1,296
	Plaid Cymru	J. Thomas	456
	Liberal	S. Evans	441
Turnout				63.6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Ratepayers gain from Conservative		Swing

Glyncorrwg (two seats)

Glyncorrwg 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. Davies*	1,839
	Labour	D. Daniels*	1,601
	Ratepayers	G. James	934
	Independent	Mairwen Goodridge	922
Turnout				58.8
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Gower No.1 (one seat)

Gower No.1 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Bartlett	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Gower No.2 (one seat)

Gower No.2 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Ratepayers	C. Sanders	1,660
	Labour	F. Lord*	1,407
Turnout				64.5
	Ratepayers gain from Labour		Swing

Gower No.3 (one seat)

Gower No.3 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	P. Bevan	1,565
	Ratepayers	G. Beynon	1,166
	Labour	M. Thomas	273
Turnout				47.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Landore (two seats)

Landore 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. Cox*	1,286
	Labour	S. John*	1,237
	Ratepayers	J. Lewis	921
	Ratepayers	C. Phillips	917
	Communist	R. Thomas	97
Turnout				43.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llansamlet (two seats)

Llansamlet 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	L. Penhaligan*	2,471
	Labour	W. Davies	1,931
	Plaid Cymru	C. Phillips	1,181
	Ratepayers	E. James	845
	Plaid Cymru	W. Smith	779
	Ratepayers	C. Stevens	773
	Conservative	J. Edgecombe	661
	Conservative	J. Holmes	560
Turnout				42.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwchwr No.1 (one seat)

Llwchwr No.1 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. Williams	1,410
	Independent	D. Thomas	829
	Conservative	R. Day	576
Turnout				62.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwchwr No.2 (two seats)

Llwchwr No.2 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. Davies*	2,518*
	Labour	J. Jones*	1,962
	Plaid Cymru	E. Thomas	1,780
Turnout				48.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwchwr No.3 (two seats)

Llwchwr No.3 1977
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	J. Thomas*	1,835
	Labour	D. Turner*	1,697
	Conservative	W. Davies	1,301
	Independent	Cled Morgan	1,176
	Conservative	M. Bevan	1,167
	Plaid Cymru	H. Price	862
Turnout				64.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Margam Central (one seat)

Margam Central 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	J. Rogers	1,252
	Independent	W. Jones	606
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Margam North (one seat)

Margam North 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	D. Southall	843
	Independent	S. Williams*	618
Turnout
	Labour gain from Ratepayers		Swing

Margam West (one seat)

Margam West 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Ratepayers	Edward Miles*	1,254
	Labour	E. Hayward	541
Turnout
	Ratepayers hold		Swing

Morriston (two seats)

Morriston 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	P. Evans	1,996
	Labour	S. Havard	1,977
	Ratepayers	C. Hadley	1,810
	Ratepayers	J. Howes	1,295
Turnout				35.8
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Mumbles (two seats)

Mumbles 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	A. Chilcot	3,180
	Conservative	M. Jones	3,072
	Labour	L. Neale	1,757
Turnout				38.2
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Neath No.1, South and Briton Ferry (four seats)

Neath No.1, South and Briton Ferry 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Fred Kingdom*	3,620
	Labour	Dillwyn David*	3,549
	Labour	David Jeffs	3,399
	Labour	David Roberts*	3,371
	Ratepayers	Samuel Leonard Evans	1,879
	Plaid Cymru	M. Griffiths	882
	Conservative	John Leaker	734
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Neath No.2, North, Pontrhydyfen and Tonmawr (two seats)

Neath No.2, North, Pontrhydyfen and Tonmawr 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Frank Cecil Evans*	2,086
	Labour	M. Jones	1,834
	Ratepayers	Ronald Jones*	1,318
	Ratepayers	O. Phillips	1,289
	Plaid Cymru	Iris Curtis	593
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Ratepayers		Swing

Neath Rural (six seats)

Neath Rural 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	R. Jones	2,905
	Independent	Martin Thomas^o	2,534
	Labour	N. Thomas	2,385
	Labour	T. Thomas	2,131
	Plaid Cymru	H. Evans	1,919
	Plaid Cymru	O. Roberts	1,629
	Labour	W. Jones	1,575
	Labour	C. Jones	1,499
	Independent	T. Rees	1,346
	Labour	R. Davies	1,300
	Independent	L. Adams	1,191
	Communist	Glaslyn Morgan	734
	Plaid Cymru	T. Evans	346
Turnout				67.3
	Labour win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Plaid Cymru win (new seat)
	Plaid Cymru win (new seat)

Neath Rural No.5 (one seat)

Neath Rural No.5 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. Hull	1,470
	Independent	R. Rees	1,277
	Plaid Cymru	G. Dawe	273
Turnout				63.2
	Labour win (new seat)

Penderry (three seats)

Penderry 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	John Allison	3,152
	Labour	T. Jones	3,090
	Labour	G. Thomas	3,032
	Plaid Cymru	D. Reynon	972
	Communist	W. Jones	584
	Communist	B. Lewis	424
	Communist	H. Barrow	280
Turnout				29.4
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Pontardawe No.1 (one seat)

Pontardawe No.1 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J. Williams	1,151	62.1
	Labour	G. Williams	703	37.9
Turnout				56.1
	Independent win (new seat)

Pontardawe No.2 (two seats)

Pontardawe No.2 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	J. Maunder	2,694
	Independent	M. Rees	1,948
	Labour	C. Jones	1,836
	Plaid Cymru	M. Mulcahy	1,507
	Independent	R. Jones	1,037
Turnout				78.9
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Pontardawe No.3 (three seats)

Pontardawe No.3 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	G. Lake	4,702
	Labour	W. Rees	4,615
	Labour	B. Richards	4,464
	Plaid Cymru	R. Davies	3,305
Turnout				65.4
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St Helens (two seats)

St Helens 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	C. Dilley	1,741
	Conservative	M. Hinds	1,545
	Labour	D. Davies	1,067
Turnout				49.1
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Sketty (two seats)

Sketty 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	M. Vaughan	5,270
	Conservative	S. Perry	4,819
	Conservative	R. Massey-Shaw	4,477
	Labour	J. Dalton	2,372
Turnout				47.2
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

St Johns (two seats)

St Johns 1973
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	A, Morris	Unopposed
Labour	H. Tabram	Unopposed
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

St Thomas (two seats)

St Thamas 1973
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	A. Hare	Unopposed
Labour	I. Morgan	Unopposed
Labour win (new seat)
Labour win (new seat)

Townhill (two seats)

Townhill 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	T. Wignall	1,848
	Labour	T. Evans	1,748
	Conservative	C. McPherson	429
Turnout				34.4
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Victoria (two seats)

Victoria 1973
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Ratepayers	D. Jenkins	1,390
	Ratepayers	S. Jenkins	1,132
	Labour	A. Taylor	1,051
	Labour	R. Lloyd	852
	Conservative	T. Morgan	477
	Conservative	E. Burrington	329
Turnout				57.5
	Ratepayers win (new seat)
	Ratepayers win (new seat)

References

^ "West Glamorgan County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
^ Thomas, Wally (13 April 1981). "It's a Fight All the Way". Neath Guardian. p. 1. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

[Election_Centre-1] "West Glamorgan County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 14 November 2019.

[NG_13-4-81-2] Thomas, Wally (13 April 1981). "It's a Fight All the Way". Neath Guardian. p. 1. Retrieved 10 October 2022.

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