1949 Glamorgan County Council election

The eighteenth election to Glamorgan County Council, south Wales, took place in April 1949. It was preceded by the 1946 election and followed by the 1952 election.

Overview

Labour's comfortable majority on the council, including the aldermanic bench, remained unchanged.

Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Candidates

Many candidates were returned unopposed.

Among the Labour candidates returned unopposed was John Shea (Briton Ferry) who had been selected in a 'referendum' to succeed George Gethin, who had died some months before the election.^[1]

Outcome

Labour retained their majority as comfortably as in all previous elections, and captured both the Garw Valley ward^[2] and the Coedffranc ward^[3] from the Communists.

Results

Aberaman

Aberaman 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Florence Rose Davies**
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberavon

Aberavon 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Lewis Hare*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon

Abercynon 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Dicks**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberdare Town

Aberdare Town 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas Alwyn John	1,292
	Labour	Tom Williams	977
	Independent	Henry Cohen	242
Majority			315
	Independent hold		Swing

Bargoed

Bargoed 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William John Kedward*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Barry

Dudley Howe had previously represented Cadoxton and gained the neighbouring Barry ward from Labour. However, Labour won Cadoxton for the first time against the new candidate.

Barry 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Dudley Thomas Howe*	2,304
	Labour	W. East*	2,004
Majority			300
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Barry Dock

Barry Dock 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Dorothy Rees**	1,965
	Independent	G. Edward Smith	1,762
Majority			203
	Labour hold		Swing

Blaengwawr

Blaengwawr 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William J. Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Bridgend

Bridgend 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	H.P. Williams	1,808
	Labour	W.T. Ellis	1,344
	Conservative	H.D. Bellew	945
Majority			464
	Independent hold		Swing

Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Shea	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cadoxton

Cadoxton 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Digby Smith	1,499
	Independent	A.L. Davies	1,158
Majority			341
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Caerphilly

Caerphilly 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Evan Phillips*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Castell Coch

Castell Coch 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Sir Lewis Lougher*	1,458
	Labour	Edward Harry Follis	606
Majority			852
	Independent hold		Swing

Cilfynydd

Cilfynydd 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Edryd Lewis	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc

Coedffranc 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	D.T. Jenkins	3,278
	Communist	Alun Thomas*	1,456
	Independent	Bessie Davies	908
Majority			1,822
	Labour gain from Communist		Swing

Cowbridge

Cowbridge 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	D.I. Morgan	2,770
	Independent	D.H. Hopkin	2,410
Majority			360
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwm Aber

Cwm Aber 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rev David M. Jones*	Unopposed
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmavon

Cwmavon 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Jones Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cymmer

Cymmer 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John James Garwood*	1,167
	Independent	Evan Thomas	485
Majority			682
	Labour hold		Swing

Dinas Powys

Dinas Powys 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ivor Broadbent Thomas*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Dulais Valley

Dulais Valley 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Adams*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ferndale

Ferndale 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alfred Evans*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Gadlys

Gadlys 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas Phillips*	1,802
	Labour	David Idris Bruton	796
Majority			1,006
	Independent hold		Swing

Garw Valley

Garw Valley 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Gunter*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Glyncorrwg

Glyncorrwg 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sir William Jenkins**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Gower

Gower 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Fredrick William Davies	2,083
	Labour	Stanley Jones	1,480
Majority			603
	Independent hold		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Loveday*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Hopkinstown

Hopkinstown 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Waite	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Kibbor

Kibbor 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Edgar L. Chappell	1,769
	Independent	John Kane	1,400
Majority			369
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo Talybont

Llandeilo Talybont 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caradoc Jones**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfabon

Llanfabon 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Bowen**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwydcoed

Llwydcoed 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Martha Emma Jones*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llwynypia

Llwynypia 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Haines Rowlands*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughor

Loughor 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David John Davies	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E.D. Evans*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg, East and West

Maesteg East and West 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Jenkins*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Mountain Ash

Mountain Ash 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Justin Lewis	Unopposed
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Neath (North)

Neath (North) 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	W.K. Owen*	2,072
	Labour	J.W. Morgan	1,462
Majority			610
	Independent hold		Swing

Neath (South)

Neath (South) 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Reg Francis*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Newcastle

Newcastle 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Philip Squire*	3,081
	Conservative	W.T. Baker	530
Majority			2,551
	Labour hold		Swing

Ogmore Valley

Ogmore Valley 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Frederick Arthur Llewellyn*	1,963
	Labour	Stanley James Moore	833
Majority			1,130
	Communist hold		Swing

Penarth North

Penarth North 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	H.J. Cook	1,001
	Independent	F.R. Cratchley	801
Majority			200
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Penarth South

Penarth South 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.B. Jones	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pencoed

Pencoed 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mervyn W. Paine*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Penrhiwceiber

Penrhiwceiber 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Bath*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pentre

Pentre 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Glyn L. Wales	2,530
	Labour	Glyn Evans	978
	Communist	Thomas Evans	414
Majority			1,552
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Penygraig

Penygraig 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Churchill*	2,148
	Independent	William John Gribble	981
Majority			1,267
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontardawe

Pontardawe 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Daniel Davies**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontlottyn

Pontlottyn 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.A. Hancock*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontyclun

Pontyclun 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Johnson Miles**	2,483
	Independent	Annie Mary Russell	1,554
Majority			929
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontypridd Town

Pontypridd Town 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ivor M. Jenkins	1,458
	Independent	Cyril R. Morgan	1,450
Majority			308^{[dubious – discuss]}
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot East

Port Talbot East 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Thomas**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot West

Port Talbot West 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rees L. Matthews	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Porth

Porth 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Griffiths	976
	Independent	Daniel Jones*	974
	Communist	Murray Williams	868
Majority			2
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Porthcawl

Porthcawl 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Jenkin Francis John*	3,634
	Independent	Bruce Cameron	2,287
Majority			1,347
	Labour hold		Swing

Swansea Valley

Swansea Valley 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jenkins*
	Labour hold		Swing

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Rogers*	1,484
	Communist	David John Griffiths	711
	Independent	Harold Whitton Davies	584
	Independent	Evan Jones	97
Majority			773
	Labour hold		Swing

Trealaw

Trealaw 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Lewis Jones	1,945
	Labour	Richard Jones	1,315
Majority			630
	Communist hold		Swing

Treforest

Treforest 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Arthur W. Harris	2,507
	Independent	Ceiriog Williams	1,029
Majority			1,478
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Treherbert

Treherbert 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William Llewellyn*	3,345
	Communist	George Thomas	1,964
Majority			1,391
	Labour hold		Swing

Treorchy

Treorchy 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rhys Evans**	4,401
	Communist	Ivor Williams	1,077
Majority			3,324
	Labour hold		Swing

Tylorstown

Tylorstown 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Llewellyn Jones	1,984
	Communist	Frederick J. Morton	942
Majority			1,042
	Labour hold		Swing

Vale of Neath

Vale of Neath 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frances Handy*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ynyshir

Ynyshir 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ivor Jones	1,855
	Independent	Morgan Benjamin	1,418
Majority			437
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Alice Williams*	2,051
	Plaid Cymru	Wynne Samuel	873
Majority			1,176
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystrad

Ystrad 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Sidney Cadogan**	1,931
	Communist	Annie Powell	1,189
	Independent	Thomas Aldridge	853
Majority			742
	Labour hold		Swing

Election of Aldermen

In addition to the 66 councillors the council consisted of 22 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the 1928 election, there were eleven Aldermanic vacancies, all of which all of which were filled by Labour nominees despite the protestations of their opponents.^[4]

The following retiring aldermen were re-elected:

Sidney Cadogan (Lab, Rhondda)
W.H. Davies (Lab, Gower)
Alfred Evans (Lab, Rhondda)
Rhys Evans (Lab, Treorchy)
Tom Evans (Lab, Pengam)
Daniel T. Jones (Lab, Ystalyfera)
W. Arthur Jones (Lab, Tonyrefail)
Evan Phillips (Lab, Caerphilly)
Rev W. Degwel Thomas (Lab, Neath)

The following new aldermen were elected:

H.J. Cook (Lab, Penarth)
Mervyn Payne (Lab, Pencoed)

By-elections

Eleven vacancies were caused by the election of aldermen.

Aberaman by-election

Aberaman by-election 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sydney Herbert Stephens*
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Barry Dock by-election

Labour lost the by-election held following the re-election of Dorothy Rees to the aldermanic bench.^[5]^{[dubious – discuss]} The Labour candidate had been elected following Rees's original election as alderman three years previously and at the recent election had unsuccessfully contested the neighbouring Barry ward.

Barry Dock by-election 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	J. Edward Smith	2,080
	Labour	W. East*	1,783
Majority			297
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Glyncorrwg by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Hopkinstown by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Llandeilo Talybont by-election

Llandeilo Talybont
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Llewellyn Davies	1,501
	Labour	J. Powell	1,378
Majority
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llanfabon by-election

Llanfabon by-election 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Charles Herbert Davies	1,387
	Independent	Rev. Henry Withers	798
Majority			589
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Pontardawe by-election

Pontardawe by-election 1949
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Williams	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot by-election

Tylorstown by-election

Tylorstown by-election 1947
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Mardy Evans*	1,977
	Communist	George Edward Maslin	584
	Independent	David John	284
Majority			1,393
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ "County Council Election Candidates". Neath Guardian. 4 March 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ "County Council Election Results. Mid Glamorgan Area". Glamorgan Gazette. 8 April 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
^ "Labour Regains Skewen By Big Majority. County Council Election Results". Glamorgan Gazette. 8 April 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ "Seniority Ignored in Selection of Chairman". Western Mail. 15 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
^ "County Council By-Elections". Western Mail. 20 April 1937. p. 10. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

Bibliography

Williams, Chris (1996). Democratic Rhondda: Politics and society 1885-1951. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.

[NG_4-3-46-1] "County Council Election Candidates". Neath Guardian. 4 March 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

[GG_8-4-49-2] "County Council Election Results. Mid Glamorgan Area". Glamorgan Gazette. 8 April 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 9 June 2021.

[NG_8-4-49-3] "Labour Regains Skewen By Big Majority. County Council Election Results". Glamorgan Gazette. 8 April 1949. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

[WM_15-3-46-4] "Seniority Ignored in Selection of Chairman". Western Mail. 15 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2021.

[WM_20-4-37-5] "County Council By-Elections". Western Mail. 20 April 1937. p. 10. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

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