The final local election preview takes in the post-1996 authorities that were part of the former South, West and Mid Glamorgan.
Pedants who will say, “Well, Rhymney Valley was in Mid Glamorgan so surely you should put Caerphilly here?” are politely redirected to the Gwent preview.
- Current Administration: Labour majority.
- Current Leader: Cllr. Rob Stewart (Lab).
- Number of Seats (2022): 75 (+3).
- Current Seat Distribution: Labour (48), Conservative (9), Independents & Non-Affiliated (8), Liberal Democrats (7).
Previous Results:
- 1995 – Labour control.
- 1999 – Labour control.
- 2004 – No Overall Control.
- 2008 – No Overall Control.
- 2012 – Labour control.
- 2017 – Labour control.
It would take something big to oust Labour.
The Labour administration can point to the delivery of a fairly bold regeneration programme on the seafront – which no doubt has its critics.
There’s an opposition group made up of the Lib Dems and some Independents, but they would probably have to treble their numbers to get anywhere close to forming an alternative administration and barring a miracle that’s unlikely to happen.
The other thing to note is that the Conservatives are standing 30 fewer candidates compared to 2017 – one of the few councils in Wales where that’s happened. The Tories have their safe seats – particularly in and around Mumbles – but it’s difficult to see them doing anything elsewhere.
