1934 Carmarthenshire County Council election

1934 Carmarthenshire County Council election
← 1931 1937 →
All 53 seats to Carmarthenshire County Council; 27 seats needed for a majority
	Council control after election ; TBD;

An election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in March 1934. It was preceded by the 1931 election and followed by the 1937 election.

Overview of the result

The Independent group remained the majority grouping on the Council, with Labour polling strongly in the industrial south and east of the county. In the Llanelli area, Communist Party candidates contested a number of seats but polled a low vote in all cases.

Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes.

Candidates

Only a minority of the 53 divisions were contested. Labour fielded 30 candidates, more than ever before; eleven of whom were returned unopposed.^[1] A greater number of contests took place in 1934 in Carmarthenshire than at any time since the First World War. This was as a result of more contests in rural areas between rival Independent candidates.

Outcome

There were very few changes as a result of the election. The most striking result was the defeat of the Council chairman, David Harry, in the Berwick ward. The Llanelly Star considered this 'a shabby return' after over twenty years' service.^[2] However, the result confirmed a pattern of increasing Labour dominance in the industrial part of the county, and Harry had previously been defeated in 1928 before regaining the seat in 1931.

In Llanelli town, the late withdrawal of W.T. Morris led to the unopposed return of Tom Charles for Labour. Charles had been narrowly defeated by Morris at several previous elections. In Ward Two, Percy Evans, returned at a by-election in 1931 following a split Indepednent vote, but now standing for the ILP, was defeated.

Ward results

Abergwili

Abergwili 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Ammanford

Ammanford 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Davies*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Bettws

Bettws 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Phillips*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Caio

Caio 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Isaac Williams*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Katherine Isobel Harries*	529
Labour	E.J. Richards	256
Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division) 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	William Jones	504
Labour	Mary Charles	422
Independent	L.D. Thomas*	154
Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division) 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	H.S. Holmes*	361
Labour	W. Clarke	204
Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	J. Ithel P. Thomas*	461
Labour	Arthur Phillips	296
Independent hold		Swing

Cenarth

Cenarth 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ellenora James*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Cilycwm

Cilycwm 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Lewis Jones	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Conwil

Conwil 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	J.J. Evans*	538
Independent	T.L. Harries	300
Independent hold		Swing

Kidwelly

Kidwelly 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Alfred Stephens*	662
Labour	S. Evans	615
Independent hold		Swing

Laugharne

Laugharne 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	S.B. Williams*	unpopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanarthney

Llanarthney 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	W. Edgar Lewis*	1,433
Independent	William Gealy	410
Independent	William Hughes	252
Labour hold		Swing

Llanboidy

Llanboidy 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Benjamin Salmon	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandebie North

Llandebie North 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Gwilym R. Thomas*	685
	Independent	David O. Davies	571
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandebie South

Llandebie South 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.B. Lewis*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandilo Rural

Llandilo Rural 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Evan Davies*	654
	Independent	J.W. Nicholas	568
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandilo Urban

Llandilo Urban 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Charles Rhys*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandovery

Llandovery 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Harry Vaughan Watkins*	605
Independent	J. James	154
Independent hold		Swing

Llandyssilio

Llandyssilio 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Henry Morris*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanedy

Llanedy 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T.J. Parry-Jones*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanegwad

Llanegwad 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Delme Davies-Evans*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 1

Llanelly Division 1 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Daniel Roberts*	993
Independent	W.H. Williams	437
Labour	J.R. Jones	350
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 2

Llanelly Division 2 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Brinley R. Jones*	519
Labour	Richard Phillips	231
Communist	Brinley Jones	100
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 3

Llanelly Division 3 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	D. Haddon Jones	327
	Independent	James Jones	272
	Ind. Labour Party	Percy M. Evans*	236
	Labour	David John	68
Majority
	Independent gain from Ind. Labour Party		Swing

Llanelly Division 4

Llanelly Division 4 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Charles	Unopposed
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Llanelly Division 5

Llanelly Division 5 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Gwen Trubshaw*	546
	Labour	Margaret Griffiths	142
	Communist	E.F. Seaward	35
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 6

Llanelly Division 6 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	W. Douglas Hughes*	591
	Communist	Enoch Collins	126
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 7

Llanelly Division 7 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	W. Powell Rees*	628
Communist	E. Leyshon	265
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 8

Llanelly Division 8 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	A.H. Olive	781
Labour	H.W. Bowen*	712
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Berwick

Llanelly Rural, Berwick 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	T.S. Bowen	1,022
	Independent	David Harry*	765
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Joseph Howells*	750
	Independent	D.J. Stone	625
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Emrys Aubrey*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Aberbythick

Llanfihangel Aberbythick 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	W.J. Evans*	504
Labour	T.J. Willams	365
Independent hold		Swing

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	E. Haydn Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangadock

Llangadock 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	R.E. Williams*	578
Independent	W.T. Morgan	431
Independent hold		Swing

Llangeler

Llangeler 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	R.G. Owen*	774
Labour	Tom Jones	535
Independent hold		Swing

Llangendeirne

Llangendeirne 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	James Jenkins*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangennech

Llangennech 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	D.J. Davies*	696
Independent	David J. Jones	524
Labour hold		Swing

Llangunnor

Llangunnor 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	William Edwards*	638
Independent	H. Spencer-Morris	205
Independent hold		Swing

Llanon

Llanon 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rees Morgan*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llansawel

Llansawel 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Evan Harris*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanstephan

Llanstephan 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	T.Ll. Haries*	513
Independent	John James Bowen	286
Independent hold		Swing

Llanybyther

Llanybyther 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	W. James Williams	691
	Independent	Evan Morgan Evans*	423
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Myddfai

Myddfai 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.R. Clement*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembrey North

Pembrey North 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gomer Evans*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pembrey South

Pembrey South 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Henry Williams*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Quarter Bach

Quarter Bach 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Jones*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Rhydcymmerai

Rhydcymmerai 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Gwendoline Lloyd-Price*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

St Clears

St Clears 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Joseph David Rees*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

St Ishmael

St Ishmael 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	E.H. Stephens	537
Independent	William Bowen	391
Independent hold		Swing

Trelech

Trelech 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Lewis L. Bowen*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Whitland

Whitland 1934
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Thomas Lewis Phillips*	432
Independent	W.H. Mathias	186
Independent	W.S. Cole	184
Independent	H. Williams	164
Independent hold		Swing

Election of aldermen

In addition to the 53 councillors the council consisted of 17 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. There had been suggestions in the past that aldermen should face the elctorate before being re-appointed but when this was suggested by Edgar Lewis (Lab, Llanarthey) at the statutory meeting the suggestion was greeted with laughter.^[3] The following nine aldermen were re-elected.

Western Area

Sir F.D. Williams-Drummond, Hafodneddyn
W.D. Davies, Parcygroes
Edward James, Clynderwen
John Lewis, Meirios Hall
W. Price Williams, Carmarthen

Eastern Area

William Greville, Cross Hnads
Tom Morris, Garnant
Thomas Thomas, Llangennech
W.J. Williams, Brynamman

References

^ "County Council Elections. Nominations for Carmarthenshire". Welshman. 2 March 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
^ "The Election Results (editorial)". Llanelly Star. 10 March 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
^ "Carmarthenshire County Council. New Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Retiring Aldermen Re-Elected". Welshman. 23 March 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 2 September 2024.

[W_2-3-34_noms-1] "County Council Elections. Nominations for Carmarthenshire". Welshman. 2 March 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 12 August 2024.

[LS_10-3-34_edit-2] "The Election Results (editorial)". Llanelly Star. 10 March 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 21 November 2024.

[W_AGM_23-3-34-3] "Carmarthenshire County Council. New Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Retiring Aldermen Re-Elected". Welshman. 23 March 1934. p. 1. Retrieved 2 September 2024.

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