1898 Carmarthenshire County Council election

The third election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in March 1898.^[1] It was preceded by the 1895 election and followed by the 1901 election.

Overview of the result[]

The Liberal Party once again retained a strong majority.

Boundary changes[]

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Retiring aldermen[]

Eight aldermen retired at the election.

• John Lewis, Meirios Hall, Liberal
• J. Bagnall Evans, Liberal
• Gwilym Evans, Liberal
• D.L. Jones, Derlwyn, Liberal
• R.W. Stephens, Coedybrain, Liberal
• Robert Scourfield, Llansteffan, Liberal
• J.S. Tregoning, Iscoed, Conservative
• David Evans, Llangennech, Liberal
• Henry Wilkins, Liberal

Candidates and unopposed returns[]

This section is empty. You can help by . (April 2015)

Contested elections[]

There were a large number of contested elections and the majorities were small in most instances.

Summary of results[]

This section summarises the detailed results which are noted in the following sections. This was the inaugural county election and therefore no comparison can be made with the previous elections. In some cases there is an ambiguity in the sources over the party affiliations and this is explained below where relevant.

This table summarises the result of the elections in all wards. 51 councillors were elected.

Carmarthesnhire County Council 1898: elected members

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal
	Conservative
	Liberal Unionist
	Independent

Carmarthenshire County Council 1898 : following election of new aldermen

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal
	Conservative
	Liberal Unionist
	Independent

Carmarthenshire County Council 1898 : following election of new aldermen and by-elections

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Liberal
	Conservative
	Liberal Unionist
	Independent

Ward results[]

Abergwili[]

Abergwili 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lloyd*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Bettws[]

Bettws 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Nathaniel Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Caio[]

Caio 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	T. Francis Jones	217
	Conservative	Sir James Hills-Johnes*	201
Majority			16
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division)[]

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T.E. Brigstocke	unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division)[]

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division) 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Thomas*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division)[]

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division) 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	James John	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Upper Division)[]

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Professor D.E. Jones*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Cenarth[]

Cenarth 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Davies	258
	Liberal	D.D. Walters	163
Majority			95
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Cilycwm[]

Cilycwm 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Conwil[]

Conwil 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Jones	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Kidwelly[]

Kidwelly 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alfred Stephens	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Laugharne[]

Laugharne 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John D. Morse*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanarthney[]

Llanarthney 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Henry Jones-Davies*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanboidy[]

Llanboidy 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Thomas	298
	Liberal	Thomas Evans*	248
Majority			50
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Llandebie[]

Llandebie 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llandilo Rural[]

Llandilo Rural 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Jones*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandilo Urban[]

Llandilo Urban 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J.W. Gwynne Hughes*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llandovery[]

Llandovery 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Walter Powell Jeffreys*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llanedy[]

Llanedy 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Ll. Thomas*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanegwad[]

Llanegwad 18958

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division.1[]

Llanelly Division.1 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	J. Allen Williams	unopposed
	Liberal Unionist gain from Conservative		Swing

Llanelly Division 2[]

Llanelly Division 2 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Mayberry*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 3[]

Llanelly Division.3 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William David	unopposed
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Llanelly Division 4[]

Llanelly Division 4 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rev Thomas Johns*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 5[]

Llanelly Division 5 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	D.C. Parry*	222
	Liberal	D. Rees Edmunds	114
Majority			108
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 6[]

Llanelly Division 6 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Phillips*	147
	Liberal	T. Williams	135
	Liberal	J. Auckland	102
Majority			12
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 7[]

Llanelly Division 7 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Jones	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 8[]

Llanelly Division 8 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Williams*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Berwick[]

Llanelly Rural, Berwick 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Owen Bonville*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed[]

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David John*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn[]

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gwilym Evans**	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Aberbythick[]

Llanfihangel Aberbythick 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Viscount Emlyn*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth[]

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Thomas Rees Jones	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llangadock[]

Llangadock 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Davies	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangeler[]

Llangeler 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Colonel W.P. Lewes	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llangendeirne[]

Llangendeirne 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	William Jenkins	159
	Liberal	John Jenkins	126
Majority			33
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangennech[]

Llangennech 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Thomas	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llangunnor[]

Llangunnor 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	C.E. Morris*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanon[]

Llanon 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Morgan Jones	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llansawel[]

Llansawel 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Sir J.H.W. Drummond, Bart.*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llanstephan[]

Llanstephan 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Johns	177
	Liberal	D.W. Lewis	114
		William Williams	80
Majority			63
	Liberal hold		Swing

Llanybyther[]

Llanybyther 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Mothvey[]

Mothvey 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Pembrey North[]

Pembrey North 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Evans	336
	Liberal Unionist	W.J. Buckley*	213
Majority			123
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

Pembrey South[]

Pembrey South 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W.S. Marsh*	unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Quarter Bach[]

Quarter Bach 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Dr Howell Rees*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Rhydcymmerai[]

Rhydcymmerai 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal		unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

St Clears[]

St Clears 1895

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Dr R.L. Thomas	253
	Liberal	John Williams*	246
Majority			7
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

St Ishmael[]

St Ishmael 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Lloyd Thomas*	unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Trelech[]

Trelech 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Phillips*	Unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Whitland[]

Whitland 1898

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rev William Thomas*	unopposed
	Liberal win (new seat)

Election of Aldermen[]

In addition to the 51 councillors the council consisted of 17 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the elections, the following aldermen were appointed by the newly elected council.^[2]

• J.S. Tregoning, Iscoed, Conservative (retiring alderman) 43
• John Lewis, Meirios Hall, Liberal (retiring alderman) 42
• D.L. Jones, Derlwyn, Liberal (retiring alderman) 42
• R.W. Stephens, Coedybrain, Liberal (retiring alderman) 41
• Rev. W. Thomas, Whitland, Liberal (elected member for Whitland) 38
• David Evans, Llangennech, Liberal (retiring alderman)38
• Rev. William Davies, Llandilo, Liberal 38
• J. Williams, Llanginning, 35
• James Hill-Johnes, Dolaucothy, Conservative (defeated candidate at Caio) 35

References[]